Working families can have a hard time keeping up with their chores at home, especially if both parents work. Trying to multitask by holding down a regular job, raising the kids and taking care of the messes that pile up around the house can leave anyone stressed out and feeling hopeless.
The good news is that many families have figured out a way to work and keep the house looking nice. It may take some time and will probably be difficult at first, but if you stick to a few guidelines, your house can be as clean as you want it to be. Here are some things to think about when you want to keep your house up to your standards.
Figure Out What’s Acceptable
The first thing you need to do is to figure out exactly what constitutes a mess for you. Five different families will have five different ideas of what messy and clean is, so think about what you can and can’t live with and start from there.
Start with a list of things that are totally unacceptable to you. These can be general things that you don’t like, such as food left out anywhere, or they can be highly specific, such as no clothes laying on the floor or no shoes in the house. These will be the things that you need to focus on first, and then you can work you way down the list to the things that, if you can’t get to them right away, aren’t that big of a deal to you.
When you make the list, don’t forget to think about what it takes to keep up with the tasks. If you try to do too much in the beginning, you may get frustrated and throw out the list altogether.
Make a Schedule
Just like you have a daily schedule when you go to work — stopping here for coffee or gas, taking the correct roads — you need to have a daily schedule for cleaning chores. Making cleaning a habit as soon as possible is your best chance at sticking with it.
Write down all of the little things that need to be done each day to keep the house clean. This includes things like cleaning the dishes and picking up after yourself. This will prevent small messes from becoming larger and difficult to deal with. You can also do things like wiping down sinks and bathtubs after each use: not scrubbing them with cleaning, but just making sure that nothing builds up, like toothpaste or soap rings.
Then, make a list of the chores that can be done once a week, such as vacuuming, dusting and cleaning the windows and mirrors. Breaking the tasks down into daily and weekly chores will allow you to manage them much better.
Delegate
If you have a husband, wife or children, get them in on the cleaning as well. Everyone who is part of the family needs to do their part to keep the house clean. This will help you fight the mess and keep you from becoming stressed out.
You can make it a rule that whoever gets home first does any dishes that may have been left in the sink, or must pick up any clothes that are laying around and put them in the hamper. Younger children can do easy chores like making sure all of the shoes are in their proper place and picking up any toys they have used throughout the day.
You will know what each family member is capable of, so delegate the tasks to them to help make keeping up with the cleaning easier.
Get Professional Help
Sometimes, all of the stress of working can be too much and you just want to sit down when you get home. Or perhaps you’ve tried and you just can’t keep up. If this is the case, you can always hire professional cleaners to help you.
Most cleaning services can come to your house once, twice, or even four times a month, depending on your needs. These companies have window washers and carpet cleaners that can help out every once in awhile, or they can send people to vacuum your house and scrub your bathrooms on a more regular basis. These services can help reduce your stress and make it so you come home to a clean house every day.
Don’t let the stress of working and keeping a clean house get to you. Remember these guidelines and you can have a clean house in no time.
About the Author
Grant Parkyn is the founder and director of I Clean Carpets & Windows in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1993 the company provides a range of cleaning services that include carpet cleaning and flood restoration for both domestic and commercial clients.