How to Maintain a Clean House – 8 Easy Steps

Does anyone even like to clean?

Cleaning the house after a long week is such a pain!  And it always takes longer than you expect!  It probably does not help that even though we say we clean once a week, it does not happen.  In reality, the house gets cleaned maybe once every two weeks or once a month.  Let’s be honest.  There is so much to do!  But cleaning always seems to feel to the back of the list!  So, I am here to help! Keep reading for some quick and dirty tips on how to maintain a clean house!

Everything Needs a Spot

This sounds easier than it is.  But everything in your house needs a spot.  It belongs somewhere.  If it does not have a home, then it does not belong.  It is that simple!    So, make a spot for everything.  When you buy something new, it needs to be assigned a home.  Where will it be when it is not in use?  Then, when you are done with it, you know where it goes.  It is vital to let everyone know where it goes so that it always finds its way home.

Put it away when you are done with it

This one is simple, and it is a good one to teach the kids when they are little.  When you are done with a toy, dish, whatever, it needs to be put away.  Right away.  This will help keep the mess at bay.

Start and Finish Laundry

Laundry is a royal pain, and I have yet to meet a person that likes doing laundry.  But once you start doing laundry, finish it!  Check out these quick tips on successfully completing laundry.

Clean the house in manageable chunks

Depending on how big or small your house is, cleaning may be a 2-hour event or a 5-hour event.  And really, even at a 2-hour event, that is a lot of cleaning!  

I find the best way to keep the house clean is to do a little bit at a time, and gradually clean different areas over the week.

An example of my cleaning schedule looks like this:

• • Monday: Powder room on the main floor
  • Tuesday:  Main bath on the top floor
  • Wednesday: Quick vacuum on the main floor to get rid of dog fluff and kids crumbs.  I may even pull out my Swiffer wet and wipe the floor in a few high traction areas.
  • Thursday: Clean kitchen counters, stove, and kitchen table
  • Friday: Day off
  • Saturday: Vacuum the whole house and wash floors (the proper way).
  • Sunday:  Everyone tidies their room.

If you can plan to clean small parts of the house daily, it is much easier to manage.  

If you lack the creativity to come up with a cleaning schedule, you can use the one I have for my house.  It really helps to stay on top of the mess and reduces the brunt of cleaning on cleaning day.

Teach Your Kids to Help Out

Kids need to learn how to keep the house clean.  Ideally, they will have their own place to maintain one day, so I find it is best to start them off young.

Start off with little things, like keeping their room clean, putting dirty dishes away, and folding laundry.  When they get older, washing dishes, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms.  

The more you can have them participate, the less you have to do it yourself!

And ideally, by the time they are pre-teen/teens, they have learned enough about cleaning that they will do the weekly house cleaning for you.

Things you did not realize also get dirty

Over time, the regular wear and tear of life will catch up with you and your home. Walls and baseboards will get dirty, cabinet doors will get stained, dust will accumulate everywhere. Even in places you did not know even existed. But it happens!   

You need to be aware of these and add them into a rotation of cleaning. 

I will wash walls  and scrub cabinet doors from little finger stains about every month.  I will give my baseboards a thorough scrub every 2 months.   

Although you do not think about these areas, they need care.  If you forget about them, even though you are maintaining the rest of the house clean, these areas will add up.

Got for an easy Win every once in a while

Every so often, pick an easy target to clean/organize, for example, the cutlery drawer in the kitchen.  Just pull it all out, wipe it clean, toss the bits that have somehow made their way into your life, and put it all back nice and clean.

Easy wins like this make you feel good but also help with maintaining cleanliness in your house.

Do not be afraid to get help

If you absolutely hate cleaning and just can not find time for it, there is no shame in hiring someone to clean your house! 

You need to check your finances to make sure you can afford it, but after that, the world is your oyster!

Having someone come and clean for you is a great idea! 

Over the years, I have found that having someone come and clean and maintain the mess at my house has been very beneficial.  

And honestly, you would be surprised how many people are already doing this!

Final Thoughts

Full disclosure, I do not like cleaning. But I dislike a super mess house more. So I will try to stay on top of things. And things slide, sometimes. I do not stress out about it. But the system I use helps keep the house mostly clean.  Even my mom will comment that my place is not a mess when she comes over. And my mother-in-law has commented that the floors shine so nicely.  I do not want to tell her that it is a combination of dog drool and kids running and sliding on their knees….. but the house is mostly clean. I am not tripping over dust bunnies, and I am not walking through mud.  

I am also not constantly walking around cleaning, but I am trying to stay on top of it all. Small steps seem to work best for me.

Was this List Helpful?

Did you find this post on how to maintain a clean house helpful? Try out some of my tips above and me know your thoughts in the comments below!

If you liked this post,  be sure to check out my organization posts here.