Keeping your home clean and tidy can be a real chore. Though a bit of hoovering and dusting may not sound like a lot, it’s easy for these jobs to pile up into what can seem like a never-ending battle just to keep the mess to a minimum. A cluttered mind can mean a cluttered home, and it’s only common for the stresses and duties of everyday life to stand between you and the sweeping brush.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Sometimes you just need to take a different approach to tidiness. That’s why we’re going to offer a few mental tips and hacks to help you train your brain to keep your home tidier – and we promise, it isn’t nearly as difficult as it sounds!

Break it Down

Maybe the DJs are onto something… By breaking down your household chores into a nice little list, they can seem a lot more manageable. Rather than forcing yourself to use your Sunday to do a full manic deep clean, you can just do twenty minutes each evening with a different task every night; Mondays are for dusting, Tuesdays are for hoovering and so on. That way, keeping up with the cleanliness will never seem so daunting, and your days of worrying about finding time to do it all will be long behind you.

A Day to Get it Done

On the flip side, some people enjoy doing things in a totally opposite manner. If you’re someone who prefers to get a large task done in one go rather than constantly finding time to do bits and bobs here and there, try setting a time during the week to tackle it all. Whether it’s a Saturday morning or a Wednesday evening, planning a cleaning period for a couple of hours on a weekly basis (and sticking to it!) can soon have your big clean feeling like only a small part of an otherwise wonderful week.

Clean as you Go

Leaving a mess when we’re finished in the kitchen, bedroom or living room is something we’re all guilty of. “I’ll put that back later,” we say to ourselves. “I’ll wipe that down when I come back.” Alas, it never happens how we intend it to, does it? That’s why reminding yourself to clean as you go can work wonders. Whether it’s wiping the coffee table down when you’re done with it or washing a pan thoroughly instead of leaving it to soak, keeping on top of the little things goes a long way with making housekeeping more manageable.

Reward Yourself

Sometimes you just need a little treat after a hard day’s work. For some of us, the sight of a neat and tidy home is reward enough, but for others, a little extra nudge might be required. Setting your sights on a reward at the end of a big clean is a great way to mentally motivate yourself to get the job out of the way. So, when you’re feeling tired after all that scrubbing and wiping, a cheeky pizza and a good movie can be a perfect way to celebrate a job well done.

It’s All About the Endgame

Ultimately, it can simply be too easy to forget that feeling of pride and accomplishment when looking at your home in its best state. Life gets hectic, and soon the house or apartment you spent so long trying to make your dream home can end up far from that. That’s why often just remembering or imagining what your home looks like when it has had the TLC it deserves is all the boost you need. Nothing feels like a weight off your shoulders more than dropping onto the sofa in the evening surrounded by a home you know you can truly take pride in. Take a picture for Instagram while you’re at it; you know it deserves the attention!

Go With the Flow

And finally… well, why not just try and enjoy it? When you approach any task, no matter how large or small, it’s certainly going to be more difficult if you’ve already decided it’s not something you want to do. Instead, try reminding yourself that cleanliness is productive and rewarding in itself. Stick some music on, or perhaps have your favourite sitcom playing in the background, and make home cleaning as enjoyable as you possibly can. The clock will tick by, you’ll be done before you know it and the responsibility of keeping your home spick and span will never again feel like a drain on your valuable time.

While we’re on the topic of efficient cleaning, have you seen our blog post on timesaving cleaning tips? It’ll be right up your street if you liked what you read here!

Tags: Cleaning Hacks, Home Cleaning