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5 Working Mom Cleaning Hacks to Keep Your House Looking Great Even If You Work Fulltime
There is no doubt that working full time and trying to manage a house is a constant struggle.
Many moms can feel completely overwhelmed when trying to do both, but there are five cleaning hacks or strategies that a working mom can use to keep the house clean and still have free time even after a full time job.
These strategies require a bit of thought and planning, but once they are started you will be amazed at how effectively they can work to save you time and reduce cleaning stress.
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1. Priority Cleaning
This starts with an all important question...
What really needs to stay clean all the time?
There are many different rooms in the house, some which are used multiple times a day and some that may be only used once in a blue moon.
It only stands to reason that rooms that are used more regularly will require more cleaning, whereas rooms that are used less frequently should require less cleaning time.
Make a list of the rooms in your home - then rate them according to how much use they get.
It is also important to consider rooms that are of particular importance.
For example, you may want the bathrooms and kitchen to be clean regularly, but may be more flexible on the family room or the dining room or even the kids' bedrooms.
Once you know the top rooms of use, you can move on to next hack.
2. Develop and Write A Cleaning Schedule
From the list of rooms, look at how often you should reasonably have to clean those rooms, and what actually needs to be done.
For example, in high use rooms such as the bathroom, the tub, sink and toilet may need daily cleaning or alternate daily cleaning, but the floor may only need washing once a week.
List the room, list the chores, and also add the cleaning frequency. Take the time to actually write out the list, without a written blueprint it will be hard to decide what actually needs to be done, plus it will be harder to explain it to others.
3. Delegate
The cleaning tasks can now be divided among the residents of the house.
This may be a new activity for some, but it is essential.
Start by discussing the written cleaning schedule and asking the other members of the house what they would feel comfortable doing.
With kids an allowance or payment system often works wonders, but it is important to keep it positive, not negative, you don't need to have to start nagging family to get them to help if they just have a select few chores.
4. Evaluate
After the first week take a look at the house and at your written cleaning plan. If there are changes needed - make them, but avoid taking on more chores yourself.
You need to be realistic in your cleaning expectations and avoid cleaning areas that don't need to be cleaned while neglecting areas that have lots of use or high visibility.
Also remember that you do work full time and unexpected guests can be understanding of a little livable mess and clutter in your home. But if you use these hacks you can steer them away from these areas.
5. Stick With the Plan.
Avoid deciding to just scrap the plan and clean the whole house one evening after work. Not only does this undermine what you are trying to do, but it also may send a message to your family that you don't think they can do the job.
Remember that rewards and praise for a house that looks great is positive for the whole family, plus it is an event that you can look forward too.
Finally there are house cleaning services in most communities that can come in on a weekly basis and give your house that deep cleaning that you really want. Consider one of these services if you simply just don't have the time or energy to work full time and keep the house.
