The Cleaning Chart Revolution : Komae

Has anyone else noticed the cleaning chart posts swarming Facebook lately? With a quick google image search, you could send your mind down a crazy path of defeat in seconds. There are one-million ideas out there telling you how to streamline the cleaning process. But quite honestly, most of them make my head spin before I’ve even started. So I wanted to share my tips with you on how I keep a clean house without losing my marbles…

Get a cleaning lady.

Ok, I kid, I kid. That’s probably not in your budget. Nor is it in mine. If it is… go for it! I’ll be honest and say having someone help with household chores is at the top of my “wants” list. But it is also at the bottom of my needs list. So alas… here we are…

Anyway… a few years ago, I decided it was time to get into a routine to keep my house clean at all times. For one, it’s just nice to have a clean home. For two, the tidier my house, the tidier my brain. There is a direct correlation between how messy my house is and how stretched thin my emotions are. So keeping a clean house is something I do not for keeping up appearances, but for good mental health.

My first tip to you is to tidy up messes when they happen. The less lazy you are in the moment, the easier it will be to keep things clean. Sorry if this sounds a little bit like your momma talkin’ to your teenage self, but sometimes we need these simple reminders. ;) For example:

If you spill something, wipe it up.
Fill the dishwasher throughout the day instead of waiting until your sink is overflowing.
Put things away when you’re done using them. Stop leaving things just laying around!
If the trash is full, take it out.
If you’re done eating dinner, clear the table.

My second tip is to make a monday through friday cleaning chart. A simple cleaning chart. Simply make a list of the rooms in your house and divide them equally throughout the week. With everything getting attended to once a week, and following my first tip of cleaning up messes when they happen, there will be much less dirt to take care of. This will keep your commitment to cleaning at less than 30 minutes a day. Here’s an example for you:

Monday – Dust and vacuum the living room and dining room.
Tuesday – Clean the bathrooms.
Wednesday – Dust and vacuum the bedrooms.
Thursday – Clean the kitchen.
Friday – Dust and vacuum the basement and office.

The first week will be the hardest, as you likely have a lot of catching up to do. But, in five days you will have a house that is fully clean! I can say that I hardly feel like I spend any time cleaning since it is spread out a little bit each day. Yet, I get to reap the benefits as if I spent one whole day doing household chores. If you keep this up week after week, this is a super easy plan to have a clean house day in and day out.

I highly suggest adopting this idea as your own. Thirty minutes a day can easily be wasted away on so many things (Facebook, Instagram, and binge watching Hulu to name a few). If you instead spend 30 of those precious minutes on some basic cleaning routines, your house will thank you for it!

And one last tip: Tidying up a little bit before bed every night is sure to make you feel more refreshed in the morning. There’s nothing worse than waking up to yesterday’s messes.