How to Keep a Clean Home
Our house gets messy fast. Between pet hair, baby toys, running a business, and full-time jobs - we have a lot on our plates and sometimes forget to run the dishwasher. Today we're going to talk about how we tackle cleaning our home and how you can use these tips along with WAND cleaning services to stay on top of the mess and clutter.
P.S. This blog post is sponsored by WAND but as per usual, all opinions are my own and I only work with companies I would recommend to my mom.
Daily Tidying
I don't have hours to clean every day. I work, my husband works, my husband goes to school, we have a baby, I have a small business - ain't nobody got time for dusting the mirrors. Doing a few small things every single day not only helps keep us from descending into chaos but it also makes it easier to clean on the weekends when we don't have a pile of dishes to do along with all the deep cleaning.
Daily tasks don't have to be big things. Making the beds, putting things away, loading dishes as you wait for the coffee to brew - all of these things take a couple of minutes, but when you do them through the week, it can save you a lot of stress.
Batching tasks is a wonderful thing. I like to wait until my baby is asleep and in bed to do the dinner dishes, start the dishwasher, run the dryer, and take out the trash or recycling. In the mornings, I unload the dishes while my coffee brews and feed the dog and cat while brushing my teeth or waiting for my hair curler to heat.
If you have time to stop and check your phone, you have time to tidy up your space.
Putting Things Back
Stop throwing clothes onto the bedroom floor. Just hang. them. up.
One of the simplest ways to keep your house tidy is to just put things back where they came from. If dirty dishes tend to pile up in the sink, rinse and load each dish and don't allow anything to be in the sink before you go to bed each night.
Just put things away and design your home to work for you. Rearrange, organize, and plan for the mess. If you find dirty clothes tend to gather in the bathroom, put a laundry hamper in the bathroom.
Deep clean ONE thing every week
The dishwasher, your pillows, the windows. Break it down throughout the year instead of trying to do it all in one weekend. Make a big o' list of all the things that need a deep clean in your home, and then add a scheduled day to do each of them. Even if you have 52 things to deep clean, that's one per week. More than likely you'll have way less than that, which means you'll be able to cycle through your list a couple of times per year.
If you like making lists and you now have 400 items on the list, consider batching similar tasks together (you can clean the window screens and wash all the window sills on the same day). Or better yet, consider outsourcing some of the more time-consuming stuff.
Outsourcing Tasks
We outsource car washes, repairs, haircuts, grocery shopping (praise the Lord for grocery pickup!) - why not outsource cleaning?
A lot of the time, I find myself running out of glass cleaner or only having clean cloths that leave white fuzzies all over our bathroom sink. Cutting back on my own household items and housekeepers that have the right tools for the job have not only saved us some time and money, but it's meant a cleaner home too.
Pricing and Value
I think the biggest issue people run into when it comes to hiring housekeepers, is that they think it's something only the rich can do or something that the average joe can't afford but that's just not the case anymore.
WAND cleaners set their own rates so the marketplace usually has rates to accommodate any income level but you can book services for as low as $10 per room. Plus you can use the code NORAC20 for $20 off your first booking.
"But, Nora", you ask "why pay someone to do something I can easily do myself??" What a wonderful question dear reader, let's talk about your time value.
If you get paid the equivalent of $25 an hour at your salary (or hourly) job and you take an hour to deep clean your bathroom, you're valuing that time as $25 for a shiny toilet seat. That may well worth it to not sit on, well you know, but why are you wasting an hour every weekend cleaning the bathroom? That's time that could be spent with your family, building a side hustle or just enjoying your day off, it's a $25 value that you can pay someone $10-$20 to do instead.
We also tend to think we do a better job cleaning than we do. If you can save time and have an actual professional cleaner do the job, your home will be cleaner longer.
The WAND app
It's as easy as ordering an Uber or Grub Hub. Those tasks that you dread can be done by someone else, even if you don't want to work it into your budget regularly, use it for the crazy times of life. If you have a busy weekend ahead, an upcoming party, you're expecting a baby, or getting ready to move - hiring a housekeeper for the day can seriously take some big tasks off your plate.
All cleaners in the app are well-vetted with background checks and identity checks. You get to pick your cleaner and schedule when they come - either right away or at a later date.
All the pricing is clear upfront and you can pay right within the app so you don't need to worry about cash or checks.
FAQ
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Average cost?
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Cleaners in the WAND app set their own rates. You can price shop and you can see reviews for each cleaner within the app. I’ve seen some as low at $10 per room and as much as $120 per room - it depends on your needs and the cleaner’s qualifications.
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How you get a key to the housekeeper?
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You decide! They can come while you're home, get a garage code, find a hide-away key, or be let in by your apartment offices. Whatever works for you!
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How to book a cleaner?
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You can use the WAND USA app or book online directly from their website.
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Minimalist Living
Less stuff = less to clean (it really is that simple).
At the end of the day, keeping your house clean requires getting it organized and simplified enough so that it's EASY to keep clean. You don't have to sell all your belongings and move into a tiny home, but minimizing your clutter will save you a whole lot of time spent maintaining stuff you don't actually want or need.
Living in a home with open space, clean surfaces and minimal clutter reduces stress. There are so many resources out there about decluttering and tidying up, but I want to link to the ones I think are the most effective. Everyone has their own methods of decluttering, pick the one that works for you.
More Ideas and resources:
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If you like to declutter all at once and need something intense to get you started the Marie Kondo Method is a good choice.
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If you want a decluttering method that you can do little-by-little and you’re intimidated by pulling everything out at once, check out the Mins Game.
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If you’re going to move soon or you’re looking for some serious commitment, the Packing Party method might work really well for you.
If you aren’t on board for minimalism but you like the idea of cutting back, the book Essentialism might be a great option. And, if you haven't already, check out this blog post about organizing, simplifying, and keeping only the essentials.
