10 Tips to Make Home Cleaning Simple

Spring cleaning is a great idea, but most of us rarely are able to save our cleaning for just once a year. It’s not everyone’s favorite activity, but here are some tricks to make cleaning your home easier and just a little bit less stressful. If your home in Colorado Springs is exposed to the elements, it could be a great idea to hire a home cleaning company to take care of the exterior while you tidy up inside.

1. Create a plan
   1. Figure out how the house will be cleaned, in what order, whether that depends on importance or on level of simplicity. With a plan, cleaning the entire house is not only manageable, but checking things off a list will make you feel much more productive.
2. Know when to hire a professional
   1. While a plan is great, you need to be practical with what you can do, and what you can’t. When it comes to gutter cleaning, washing the exterior of your home or touching up a paint job, know when to call in a little help. Plus, less things for you to do means you’ll be finished with the entire cleaning process faster.
3. Clean top to bottom, back to front
   1. There’s no sense cleaning baseboards before you’ve dusted the ceiling, windows or window coverings. Similarly, clean from a corner, working your way out of the room so you’re not tracking any dust, dirt or debris back over where you’ve already cleaned.
4. Steam clean
   1. If you have access to a steam cleaner, use it! Tile, wood floors, laminate flooring all are easily cleaned with steam, and everything else can be easily wiped away. Curtains, bedding and other fabrics can also be steamed for easy cleaning.
5. Microfiber cloths to wipe everything
   1. Rather than a duster, which spreads dust everywhere, use a microfiber cloth for cleaning. Not only does it dust, but it can get wet and will work with your favorite cleaner. Buy a few extra to keep cleaning easy, and throw them all in the washing machine when you’re done with them.
6. Shower curtain liner in washing machine with towels (low heat and no dryer, because it’ll melt)
   1. Have a dirty, slimy or grimy shower curtain liner? Spraying and wiping it can be a hassle and awkward, so make life easier and clean it the easier way. Add it to a load of towels and the washing machine will do all the work for you. After the wash cycle is done, take it out before putting everything else in the dryer; the heat of the dryer could melt the liner, so hang it up to dry instead.
7. Put curtains in the dryer
   1. Any lightweight curtains that are easy to take down can be put in the dryer, on a low setting, for 10 to 15 minutes for an easy cleaning. They’ll be wrinkle-free, dust-free and come out smelling nice when the cycle’s done.
8. Clean as you go
   1. This’ll not only help when you’re trying that new recipe, but will ultimately make life easier, with no end-of-the-day kitchen messes to clean up when all you want to do is go to bed. Whether it’s wiping down the microwave as dishes splatter, doing dishes as you use them or cleaning off surfaces every night to ensure you’re not waking up to a messy kitchen island or coffee table.
9. Fridge every week
   1. Choose a day, and make a point to clear out the fridge of old, smelly or unused food each week. It’s a good excuse, too, to clean the fridge’s surfaces and wipe out the drawers, keeping it smelling and looking clean.
10. Boil a cup of water in the microwave to steam off messes
    1. If cleaning the microwave eludes you, and sounds like the worst activity, trying to get your hand and arm into weird positions to clean the inside, try this trick. Fill a microwave-safe bowl or glass halfway with water, and add a teaspoon of white vinegar. Put it in the microwave for five minutes, and when it’s done, you have a steam-cleaned microwave, and anything previously stuck on the microwave’s walls now will wipe off easily.

The combination of using these tips and breaking your cleaning up into different focus areas will make maintaining a clean home easier than you’d expect. Stick to a plan, whether it’s a weekend chore list, or a weekly reminder to clean up just one thing, and your home will see a major difference.