Written by Siti Maisaroh – A highly experienced member of the Maid to Clean team
Good question!
Or more like “How often do you need to clean your home to keep it clean?”
Those two questions are extremely common. Sometimes we just have this idea inside our head that cleaning will take hours or even all day to do. But does it really need to take that long?
It’s true that not everyone loves spending hours, or even all-day cleaning or tidying up their home. Not everybody is super clean and tidy. But one thing that everybody has in common is that they love a clean and tidy home. Some people may be great at achieving that and they can’t stand any mess; maybe that’s linked to how they were brought up and taught as a child while growing up. They just subconsciously start picking things up that are laying around, or wiping and dusting surfaces they come across.
But some of us aren’t wired like that. Some of us are busy with our working lives and are too exhausted to start cleaning up by the time we get home. Not to mention parents with young kids who seem to be determined to make as much mess as possible 24/7. And for some of us it is simply not in our nature. It’s hard to say exactly why, but some of us definitely don’t have the “clean and tidy” streak in us.
How can we keep our home clean and tidy without having to spend hours doing it?
Don’t worry! In this article I would like to share my tips on how I keep my home clean and tidy in less than an hour.
I’m a single mother with two little children age 6 and 3. And I also work as a cleaner for Maid To Clean, a premium house cleaning business that I am proud to say is currently ranked the highest in Melbourne.
Are my kids constantly making a mess? Yes.
Do I get home tired after all day working outside cleaning up other people’s homes? Yes.
Do I spend hours to keep my home clean? No!
I simply don’t have time for that. But here’s my secret. I don’t do everything all at once! I break it down and do a little bit each day.
First Things First
So, let’s start with the areas that will require more time to do, e.g. the bathrooms and toilet. On average it takes from 20-30 minutes to clean a bathroom but naturally it depends on how dirty they are and how many bathrooms and toilets you have in your home. I only have one bathroom and one toilet in my home, so what I will do is clean the bathroom and toilet once a week on the weekend. But if you have more than one bathroom in the home, you could clean one bathroom and one toilet on Monday then do the other one on Tuesday. It’s just an example, you can pick any days of the week.
Floors
Now moving on to vacuuming and mopping. I’ll be honest – I don’t do vacuuming and mopping every day. I usually do them once every 2 or 3 days depending on how much mess my kids make. Usually I will sweep up those little crumbs they drop on the floor to keep my floor clean. And I usually do the dusting (windowsills and furniture) just before I start vacuuming. It will usually take me around 30 minutes maximum because my home is quite small. And again, I usually do these not on the same day I clean my bathroom and toilet. Apart from days where I have the time or simply because I’m in the mood of doing all of them at once.
Kitchen
What about the kitchen? Kitchens are generally viewed as difficult to clean.
Some parts of the kitchen can be a challenge to clean, especially the rangehood. But it doesn’t need to be cleaned every day, not even once a week. You could just clean it thoroughly every once a month or two. Every other day you could just simply wipe outside of it and wipe the stove top and the bench right after you are done with cooking, same with the dining table right after eating to keep them looking clean every day.
One thing that makes our kitchen look dirty sometimes is the dreaded dirty dishes, especially when they pile up in the sink. So, to avoid that, I always make sure I wash the cooking utensils, plates, bowls, or cups that I or my kids used straight after, no exception. It takes roughly 2-5 minutes if you did it right after as none of the food sticks to the items you’re washing. Or if you really can’t be bothered, you could always put them into the dishwasher (if you’ve got one of course) and let the dishwasher runs while you’re asleep at night and wake up to clean dishes in the morning. Don’t forget to unstack the dishwasher though!
The Smaller Things
Now let’s move on to small things that we could do to keep our place looking tidy. Let me start with my kids’ toys. Yes, just like all other children, my kids usually take every single toy out of the toybox and leave them laying around on the floor. Some of you fellow parents probably have experienced stepping on a piece of Lego by accident. Ouch! Yes, it is very unpleasant. In fact, it is downright painful!
To avoid a buildup of messy toys laying around I will nicely ask my kids to put them back in the toybox when they’re done with them, or just put away the ones they don’t want to play with anymore. I know kids are unpredictable. Sometimes they even refuse to do so. So, when that happens, I will encourage them to do it by actually doing it together with them or by giving them treat when they’re done their job. I would not recommend going overboard on the treats, but rewarding positive behaviour definitely has its merits when done in a balanced way.
And then comes making the bed(s). Making the bed is one of the quickest tasks but one of the highest impact. It takes approximately 5 minutes maximum and you can do it in the morning when you get up in the morning straight away, with the exception being when you have to change the sheets which can be done once per week.
Above – Example of a bedroom cleaned by Sher, an exceptional member of the Maid to Clean team
Laundry
What about laundry? Most people do their laundry once a week. In my opinion it is quite practical if you are single or a couple with no kids. As a single mother of two kids, doing laundry once a week isn’t the best choice. By doing so, I would let my dirty laundry build up and it would take all day to do it which is exactly what we are trying to avoid. Instead, I will do my laundry every 2 or 3 days and put them away when they’re dry.
Something I’ve learnt that’s really importing in keeping my home looking clean and tidy is to always keep all the big surfaces like the kitchen bench, table, floor or just any large surface clear. Be sure to put things back where they belong after using them to keep your home looking its best.
See? It really doesn’t take long to keep your home clean and tidy. You only need to spare 30-40 minutes a day because who has hours or all day? We’re all busy. And if 30-40 minutes a day is still too much, simply jump over to our booking page and we’ll sort it out for you 😊