5 Tips for a Clean House (most of the time)

A clean house feels great but it can feel unattainable too. I love to take away the overwhelm when it comes to a clean house. I’m here to tell you that it’s not as difficult as it feels, but the secret to a clean house is consistency and a plan. If the thought of a ‘plan’ is enough for you to exit this blog post, stick with me because I have a plan ready for you. No guesswork, no trying to decide what area of your home needs to be cleaned, a proactive plan that works!

sponges / sink side tray

If you’re looking for the HOW to keep a clean house, these 5 tips are going to get you off and running and you can start today. These 5 tips are simple action items that if you do them daily, you’ll find that your home looks and feels clean most of the time.

5 Tips for a Clean House (most of the time)

The first thing that will keep your home clean is having a foundation of things that you do your best to do DAILY. There are 5 Daily Tasks in the Clean Mama Routine – these can happen in any order that works for you, I like to make beds and get a load of laundry started first thing in the morning and the other tasks take place throughout the day. The best thing is that they take just a couple minutes each to complete.

1. Make Beds – Do this first thing in the morning. Quickly pull up your comforter or quilt, smooth it out and place your pillows. If you have kids, teach them how to make their bed so you don’t have to.
2. Check Floors – Do a quick check of the floors at some point during the day. This is usually around a meal time in our house. If you see crumbs, dirt, pet hair, or anything else that needs to be picked up, pull out a broom or vacuum and do a quick sweep or vacuum.
3. Wipe Counters – Wipe counters includes the kitchen and a quick bathroom check/wipe every day (here’s my favorite DIY recipe for Stone Cleaning Spray), wipe kitchen table, the Nightly Sink Scrub routine – find it here). I keep a damp bar mop towel by the stove (on the counter) for wiping up little drips and spills as I cook. 
4. Do a Load of Laundry Daily – I know that this sounds like A LOT but it makes a huge difference in keeping the overwhelm and laundry piles away!  This post describes this more in depth if you’re interested.
5. Daily Declutter – Doing a little decluttering every single day is a habit that will transform your home. Start by dealing with the mail daily and add a quick declutter session in the evenings by setting a timer for as little as 5-10 minutes to put things away from the day.

As the foundation to the Clean Mama Routine, you’ll want to get these 5 Daily Tasks in place before moving on to the next step. Each day you will make the beds, check the floors, wipe the counters, tackle clutter, and do a load of laundry. If a routine is new for you, begin with one task and add as you go. Everyday a little something!

In addition to the 5 Daily Tasks, there are Weekly Tasks – these are tasks that are associated with the days of the week. If this feels like a lot, start with the Daily Tasks, add one a week. Don’t worry about perfection, you’re adding a new routine to your days and it will take time. Once you get those down, the Weekly Tasks just become part of your routine and make things so much easier because you no longer need to decide what the worst part of your house is to clean, you just do the Tasks for the day. It’s proactive, not reactive – the busier you are, the better it works.

Don’t worry, I have plenty of ways for you to try out the Clean Mama Routine and put these 5 tips in place in your home.

Here are all the ways you can follow along:

Just getting started and want to try it out? 

• The Start Here Page – this page details the Clean Mama Routine and has all sorts of links and tips for you to get started.
• Free Printable Homekeeping Calendar – Every month I share the a free calendar for the month with the Daily + Weekly Tasks. You can always find it on the free printables page or here.
• Instagram – I share the Clean Mama Routine DAILY here – it’s free and is a great way to get motivated to do the Routine and hop off social media. Turn on notifications so you don’t miss a reminder.
• Cozi + Clean Mama App – prefer an app format?  I have a collab with Cozi – it’s free!

The Daily Tasks and Weekly Tasks are working for you and you want to go to the next level and start the Rotating Tasks and the Monthly Focus:

• Printable Kits – Guide to a Clean Home and Guide to a Flexible Routine both DETAIL the Clean Mama Routine. They’re full of checklists and tips and tricks to get started. The Guide to a Flexible Routine also has a checklist for each day of the week too!
• Homekeeping Society – This is my monthly (or annual subscription) that provides the full Clean Mama Routine plus community, accountability, and support.
• Homekeeping Planner – The Homekeeping Planner incorporates the Clean Mama Routine in a beautiful, professionally printed and spiral bound planner designed to simplify your life and be your ONLY planner.

I hope that this post inspires you to try adding the 5 Daily Tasks into your days – I know the difference they have made in thousands and thousands of homes. I hope you try it in yours!

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