Here’s the truth: I’m not a naturally clean or organized person.
Like, I’m not a dirty person, but I don’t impulsively tidy things up. A little clutter doesn’t bother me, and I long as my house looks picked up, I am ok with it. However, this is an issue because my husband is very VERY tidy and organized. Which is actually a great thing, except that cleaning the house is primarily my job, and sometimes we disagree on what “clean” actually means.
It took a little while for me to make cleaning near the top of my priority list. When we first got married, I was in college, then pregnant soon after. My husband, bless him, did the majority of the cooking and cleaning for the first year or more of our marriage, because pregnancy pains and then postpartum were no joke. However, when I became physically able to take care of the house, I didn’t understand that I needed to take initiative and figure out how to keep the house clean. It wasn’t sustainable for my husband to continue housekeeping since he worked anyway.
It took a lot of time, trial and effort, and grace from my husband to figure out how to keep the house clean. I’m not going to lie, it was difficult at first because I would feel like I would spend hours cleaning, but the house still didn’t feel clean. Some of it was of course due to a certain toddler whose pastimes include making messes wherever I just cleaned. However, I can’t deny that some of it was just apathy on my part. There were days I had time to clean, but didn’t feel like going the extra mile to pick up the little crumbs in the corners or wipe of the counters because it didn’t bother me (even though it definitely bugged my husband haha)
I finally got to the point where we realized we had to figure out some systems that worked. I needed to step up my cleaning game but the issue continued that my husband’s definition of clean and mine were TOTALLY DIFFERENT. Many nights he would come home and I would be like look how much cleaning I did today, and while he acknowledged my effort, the house still wasn’t clean to him, and he would silently do the last few jobs, pick up the floors, etc. to get it there.
At first I was discouraged. I felt like I put A TON of effort into cleaning, only for it to be “not good enough”. However, after implementing some adjustments, I figured out some systems that helped me keep the house clean WITHOUT spending hours cleaning and without getting frustrated and with a result that we were both happy with.
Here are some practical ways I keep the house clean as a disorganized person:
Know What Your End Goal Is
Take some time to decide what you (and anyone you live with) define as clean. What do you want the house to look like after you’ve done your cleaning for the day? Does it mean you just do a light pick up and make sure the place looks somewhat tidy? Maybe that dishes are at least in the sink not scattered, and the floors are cleared. Or perhaps “clean” means the floors and counters are completely clear and wiped/vacuumed/mopped, the dishes in the dishwasher, started, everything put back in its place. Have an end goal that you’re working towards that is reasonable for you and/or your family to accomplish. I know some families that have an absolutely spotless home even though they have young kids. I don’t think that’s possible for me, but I do think I can raise the standard a little bit beyond what it is now.
Simple Routines
This is the key right here. What finally worked for me was having a full cleaning routine for the day, and an actual time that it’s supposed to get done. Here is a sample of my cleaning routine and why I put each task where it is. Your routine may look completely different, but it helps to have somewhere to start, and customize as needed. I use the Clean Mama daily routine which includes the following daily tasks:
- Make Beds
- Laundry
- Check floors
- Wipe counters
- Clutter
This routine is SO very simple but that’s what makes it doable. Not a lot of thinking, and you know what you need to accomplish during the day. You can take this idea and customize it to your needs. For example, I do cleaning under the sofas instead of dusting. I don’t have a ton of furniture that needs dusting, so I don’t need to dedicate that chore to a whole day. Also, while the routine recommends doing a full load of laundry from start to finish every day, we don’t have a lot of laundry, so I will wash and dry on one day, then fold and put away the next day, etc.
Here is a breakdown of how I divide my daily chores throughout the day:
Morning
- Make the Bed
- Unload dishwasher
- Throw in a load of laundry
- Clean up after breakfast
The hardest part of keeping the house clean was the absolute mess that would happen after every meal thanks to my lively 14 month old. Before implementing a routine, I wouldn’t pick up after every meal, because I was like, why bother? I’ll just clean it all at the end of the day. The result was food being left on the floor which the baby would find and make an even bigger mess of which of course made things worse. Now, I do a post-meal clean up that usually takes 5-10 mins max but saves me a lot of time in the long run.
Post-Meal Clean
- Put food back in the fridge
- Put dishes in the sink (or dishwasher if I am being extra on top of things)
- Sweep up the food thrown by the toddler
- Wipe food prep area
Afternoon
Timing is everything here. What used to happen was I would clean thoroughly towards the beginning of the day, but by the time my husband came home, toys would be back out and food was on the floor. And you can probably guess I was not about to clean everything all over again, because, hello, I already did once today. SO, now I time my decluttering to right before he comes home. It only takes me about a half an hour. I’ll pop on a podcast and grind out the following items:
- Pick up floors completely- toys back in the bin, random items that the baby got get returned
- Run the roomba
- Clear all surfaces and wipe counters
- Mop
Evening
Since I do my best to have the place pretty picked up before dinner, all we have to do in the evening is pick up from dinner and get the dishes going. My husband and I cook an equal amount of times each during the week, and we both help clean up afterward. Whatever it takes to get The Walking Dead on sooner, amiright?? My evening clean up includes:
- Put away dinner ingredients/leftovers
- Put dishes in the dishwasher
- Start the dishwasher
- Wipe down the counter and dining table
- Sweep up the food the baby threw hahahaha
There you have it! Again, this is just a sample of my own routine. Take the basic principles and make them work for you. Know exactly what you want the house to look like after you clean. List out the tasks you need to do, and create mini routines throughout the day to avoid feeling like you are constantly cleaning.