How to clean your home when you’re short on time
Dreaming of a clean home? Busy families are skipping chores, letting mess pile up but it’s easier than you think to get back on top.
found plenty of Australians are guilty of putting off household chores, from avoiding the fridge clean to simply covering up a mess rather than dealing with it.
And when you’ve got school runs, after-school activities, work, dinner and everything else that comes with family life, it’s easy for cleaning to slide down the priority list.
Thankfully, you don’t need to spend your entire weekend scrubbing the house from top to bottom. A few simple habits can make a surprisingly big difference.
The cleaning jobs that are easy to put off
There are certain household jobs that seem to get pushed to tomorrow. The fridge gets a quick wipe rather than a proper clean, toys mysteriously migrate from bedrooms to the living room and that sticky patch on the kitchen floor becomes someone else’s problem.
Rather than trying to tackle everything at once, start with the areas your family uses most.
Try picking three daily non-negotiables, such as clearing the kitchen bench, putting toys away before bed and doing a quick floor clean after dinner. Once they become part of the routine, they take far less effort.
Make cleaning a family affair
If you’re the person who always ends up doing the cleaning, it might be time to share the load.
Even young children can help with simple jobs such as putting toys away, matching socks, wiping the table or carrying their clothes to the laundry. Older kids can take responsibility for their rooms, unpacking the dishwasher or helping with vacuuming.
It might not be done exactly the way you would do it, but getting everyone involved means you’re not carrying the entire household workload yourself. Plus, kids learn that keeping a home running is everyone’s responsibility.
Don’t forget the fridge
The fridge is one of those jobs that can easily disappear into the cleaning abyss.
Rather than waiting until it’s completely out of control, give it a quick reset once a week. Check use-by dates, throw out anything that’s past its best, wipe up spills and group similar foods together.
A good tip is to eep a small container or basket for foods that need to be eaten soon. It makes it easier to spot what needs using before it gets forgotten at the back of the fridge.
Take a look at your cleaning cupboard
Spring cleaning can also be a good time to rethink what you’re actually using around the house.
As interest in home detoxification and reducing unnecessary chemicals continues to grow, Euclove offers a timely plant-based take on the traditional spring clean, combining Australian eucalyptus with Ayurvedic ingredients across a complete range for the home.
For parents wanting to simplify their cleaning cupboard, choosing a few versatile products that can be used across different areas of the house can be an easy place to start.
Tackle one job, not the whole house
One of the easiest ways to make cleaning feel less overwhelming is to stop thinking about the entire house.
Instead, pick one job. Clean the bathroom, clear the kitchen bench, vacuum the living room, or sort the laundry pile.
Once it’s done, move on if you have the time and energy. If you don’t, that’s ok too.
You can even set a 10-minute timer and see how much you can get done. It’s much easier to convince yourself to clean for 10 minutes than to commit to an entire Saturday of spring cleaning.
Give yourself a few shortcuts
There’s no prize for making cleaning harder than it needs to be.
Keep cleaning products where you actually use them, rather than making yourself trek to the other end of the house. Keep a basket handy for collecting things that belong in other rooms, and deal with spills as they happen rather than letting them become tomorrow’s problem.
If there’s a household job you particularly hate, look for a shortcut. A robot vacuum can take care of regular floor cleaning, while a handheld vacuum makes quick clean-ups after meals and snack time much less of a chore.
Spring cleaning without the overwhelm
A clean home is lovely, but family life is messy. There will always be crumbs on the floor, washing waiting to be folded and toys appearing in places they definitely shouldn’t.
Rather than trying to achieve cleaning perfection, focus on small routines that make your home feel better to live in.
Get the kids involved, tackle one area at a time and use a few clever shortcuts where you can. Because sometimes the best spring-cleaning strategy is simply doing enough to get the house back to a point where everyone can relax and enjoy it.
