I am a neat freak, and I always repeat I thoroughly enjoy an obsessively tidy and clean home. Perfect folded ironed and colour coordinated wardrobe and everything in its place.
Before having kids, everyone would tell me to wait and see when children come that I would have to ‘relax’ on being house-proud and my obsession with a tidy house and clean home would evaporate into thin air.
Although keeping your standards can be challenging with a toddler, it isn’t impossible!
Here are some top tips that I found really helpful for keeping my home clean and tidy while running my business Malée and with very limited to no childcare.
TIDY AND CLEAN AS YOU GO ALONG
An oldie but a goodie, I make it a habit to clean each space/area before I leave it. That way, I am cleaning and tidying in little chunks of time throughout the day as opposed to one big and possibly overwhelming clean at the end of the day or several times a week.
A CORDLESS AND PORTABLE VACUUM CLEANER
A great way to keep your floors clean is to get a cordless vacuum cleaner.
CLEAN FLOORS: NO OUTDOOR SHOES INDOORS POLICY
Taking off your streetwear shoes when you arrive home makes a huge difference in helping to keep your floors clean.
DECLUTTER OFTEN
I declutter often; dedicating some time to get rid of things that I don’t use anymore creates space and helps me see what I do have and can use.
STEAM CLEANERS
I have tiled floors and a toddler. Need I say more? Steam cleaners are the solution to many of my problems.
DO LAUNDRY ON A DAILY BASIS
I remember when I was young and electricity had peak and off-peak times. Long gone are those tariffs and non-energy efficient washing machines and tumble dryers.
I find a combination of doing the following:
- Picking the right temperature for the wash (90% of energy used for washing clothes is in the heating of the water to the right temperature).
- Planning washing loads so you are doing more full loads than not.
GET HELP
Get everyone at home involved including the kids. You’ll be surprised that doing laundry together can be fun and a good way to catch up and bond.
DO A 20-MINUTE CLEAN UP AT THE END OF THE DAY
Before heading to bed, a great habit is to set aside 15-20 minutes for you to put away dishes, tidy up and get the house ready for the next morning.
PUT DISHES AWAY
Doing the dishes, loading or unloading the dishwasher can be a chore if you let it pile up. I find getting into the habit of hand washing dishes as you go along during the day a great way to prevent this, or loading the dishwasher immediately throughout the day and then turning it on when it is full helpful. Another great tip to save energy.
MAKE THE BED
Blame boarding school for this, but I cannot and will never leave my room in the morning to start the day without making my bed 99.999% of the time.
After waking, I am in the habit of making my bed before I make a move to do anything else for the day. I open the windows, duvet cover off, straighten the bed sheet, fluff pillows and then it is time to dress the bed again.
PRIORITIZE
It’s tempting to try and do most things in the day, but it’s a great habit to prioritize the things that matter most and set a weekly routine for the larger tasks. For example, I batch cook meals on Thursdays and clean the oven right after. With doing a little every day the otherwise time-consuming tasks are never one big job.
HAVE CLEANING SUPPLIES IN KEY SPACES
A real-life saver: I keep cleaning supplies in key spaces around the house to allow me to keep on top of things. In the bathrooms, under the kitchen sink. That way I can do a little clean every day. A squeegee I have found to be invaluable for the shower as it’s a great, eco-friendly and no streaks way of cleaning the shower glass, preventing limescale buildup.
SHOP SOME OF MY FAVOURITES
