Do you sometimes struggle to keep a tidy home? Don’t worry. You aren’t alone.
It may seem that in times like these, keeping your house clean and organized has a relatively unimportant priority. But it’s important to keep things sanitary, and being in a clean and well-organized space can help greatly with feelings of depression — and being ‘stuck in the house’ when the house doesn’t feel like a home.
Now, we understand that keeping a whole house tidy can seem like a ton of work, especially if you’re trying to do it all at once! But, with a little bit of planning and organization, this challenging task can be made much simpler. And yes, YOU can do it!
Keep reading for our top five tips to help your house sparkle every day.
Keeping a Tidy Home: Our Top 5 Tips
Having a clean house can positively impact your physical and mental health. So, while it will require a bit of effort every day, it’s well worth your while!
1. Clean as You Go
Don’t wait for messes and clutter to build up. Instead, clean and put away items right after you use them. This is especially important for areas like your kitchen and bathroom, which can become hotspots for germs in your house.
High-traffic areas like entryways and laundry rooms can also get out of control quickly. Putting up clothes and everyday items as soon as you’re done with them will keep these problem areas looking perfect.
During this time of COVID-19, it’s important to recognize that sanitizing is ‘different’ from traditional cleaning — and that the effective steps are simple, but must be prompt and consistent. So have the ‘right’ EPA List N sanitizers ready to hand, know how to use them, and then use them right away … on hands, and on surfaces you contact (including your telephone, your keys, your cards, and other things you breathe on or touch)
2. Everything in Its Place
You’ll find it much easier to keep your home tidy and organized if you start with clean habits. Creating a “home” for each and every thing you own will prevent you from just moving clutter from one room to the next… or ‘putting off organizing’ until it seems an overwhelming task.
Plus, having a system of organization in place will help if you want to delegate housework. This is ideal when you want to assign your kids chores, or you decide you want to hire a professional house cleaner to do the things you don’t want to do, or feel you can’t.
Professional anti-viral sanitation services, for example, can bring peace of mind as well as best chances for health even should outbreaks of COVID-19 spread to your area. When you know just how and when to use these services, they can be valuable, particularly when they can be delegated ‘around’ much of the everyday cleaning you can do yourself — or pre-organize to be ‘done’ to your satisfaction when they arrive.
3. Stick to a Schedule
Dedicating just a few minutes of time to cleaning every day will keep you from spending hours at a time catching up on scrubbing and scouring over the weekend.
Start by choosing a part of your day that you can devote regularly to cleaning — a time when you can clean quickly and without disturbance or distraction. This might be first thing in the morning, right when you get off work, or just after dinnertime. Making it a habit to decide on short, achievable tasks, and then completing them fully at a particular time, builds both the discipline and the sense of achievement that are valuable in assuring a clean lifestyle.
This will also give you a clear idea when, for any reason, you can’t maintain tidiness entirely by yourself or with good discipline. Then you can ask for help only when and as you might need it … then go right back to maintaining on schedule.
4. Focus on the Big Picture
It’s easy to get caught up in the details. But, when it comes to tidy housecleaning, you’ll want to keep the big picture in mind. No point in deep cleaning a countertop if you’re just going to stack piles of household clutter right back on top of it!
Walk into a few different rooms in your house, and notice how you feel in each space. If your eye is drawn to piles of clutter or you start experiencing stress, you know the area needs some attention. When you can, figure out a plan to get each of these spaces tidy, and then ‘work that plan’ — put clutter away, make decisions to keep or throw, reorganize as necessary — for each space, to get the ‘whole’ of your living space lined out and right. Then you can be more comfortable keeping it that way.
5. Know When to Hire Help
If you’ve let a few areas go too long without a good deep cleaning, it might be time to call in some professionals. Don’t worry; the right maid service will be happy to help!
Start by assessing the situation. If you think it’s going to take you more than a few hours to tackle your household clutter and mess … or you keep finding you don’t have the time to quite ever finish getting things right … you’re probably in over your head.
There’s nothing to be embarrassed about! Even if your home is spotless, hiring an expert for a deep cleaning once or twice a year will help get your living spaces to feel warm, inviting, and totally hygienic … after which you’ll find it easier to work to keep them that way.
Get Started Today
Now that you’ve got some basic information on maintaining a tidy home, you’re ready to think about tackling those ‘problem areas’.
Use this article as a checklist and make a resolution to put a few healthy habits in place, and you’ll find it easier to keep the house spotless later on. And, if you think it’s time to call for backup, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Wondering how much it will cost to get a professional cleaning ? Contact us for a discussion and free estimate today!
Are you looking for a cleaning service to help you keep up with your household?
You have lots of choices, so how do you know which one to choose?
Doing a housekeeping interview helps you determine if a cleaning company has the services and qualifications you want.
You’re trusting the cleaners to come into your home, so you want to do your research. Not only do you want to ensure your home gets clean, but you also want to know you can trust the people who enter your home.
If you have an interview scheduled with a cleaning service, ask these 11 questions to get the information you need.
1. What Credentials and Insurance Do You Have?
Research the background of the company before hiring them. Ensure they have plenty of experience.
Cleaning companies also need insurance to cover liability. This covers financial losses if damage happens in your home.
Ask if the company has workers’ compensation insurance if they have employees on staff. If a cleaner gets injured in your home, the workers’ compensation coverage pays for those injuries.
2. What Type of Cleaning Products Do You Use?
If the cleaning service provides the cleaning supplies, find out what type of products they use. You want a company that uses safe, quality products.
If you have a specific type of cleaner you want the service to use, ask if they’re willing to use the products you provide.
3. Is It One Person or a Team?
Determine how many people will be in your home to clean. Some services might send a single person. Others have a team of cleaners.
The number of cleaners can affect the price. It can also affect the cleaning time. The company may charge more for two cleaners, but those two people can get the cleaning done much faster, so it could save money.
Find out if you can expect the same cleaners each time or if it could change. Many large cleaning services have a lot of people on staff, so you may not always see the same people in your home.
4. How Do You Vet Your Employees?
You’re letting strangers into your home, possibly when you’re not there. You want to know the cleaning service hires trustworthy employees.
Find out if the company uses employees or contractors. Companies have more control over employees and often use more rigorous criteria for hiring employees. Determine if they run background checks on the employees before hiring them.
It’s also a good idea to ask about the training process. This gives you confidence in the cleaners’ ability to perform the services well without damaging your property.
5. What’s Your Availability?
Quality cleaning services will have a lot of clients. Make sure the service has the availability to fit you into their schedule.
Determine how often you want the cleaning service to come to your home. This way you can compare your needs with the company’s availability.
Consider the time of day when the cleaning service is available. Make sure it’s compatible with your schedule and preferences.
6. What’s Your Payment Policy?
Understanding the pay structure and payment policy is important to avoid surprises.
Find out how the company charges for its services. Some might charge a flat fee while others might charge a per-hour rate. It can also vary depending on how many cleaners they send.
Understand when you’re expected to pay and what type of payment methods the service accepts. An independent house cleaner might not accept credit cards, for example.
7. What Services Are Included?
Cleaning companies usually have standard packages for cleaning. Ask about the packages and what’s included with standard cleaning services.
It helps to know what you’re looking for before the interview. If you know that you want beds made, bathrooms cleaned, and clutter picked up, you can ask if the company provides those services.
8. Do You Offer Extra Services?
Sometimes you might want extra cleaning services. Perhaps you’re hosting a family holiday and you want your oven and refrigerator professionally cleaned. Or maybe you want the cleaning service to come after you host for a thorough cleanup.
Think about the extra cleaning services you might want in the future. Determine if those services are available from the company. It’s easier to have one cleaning company handle all of your needs instead of hiring someone else for specialty cleaning.
9. What Happens If Something Gets Damaged?
Hiring a reputable company reduces the risk of damage, but accidents can happen. An employee might use the wrong type of cleaner on your marble, or they might knock over one of your belongings and break it.
Ask the company how they handle those situations. You want a company that’ll take responsibility for accidents if they happen.
10. What Happens If I Need to Cancel?
Things come up and sometimes you may need to change your cleaning schedule or cancel the service. Find out what happens if you need to cancel or want to end your service with the company.
Some companies require you to notify them a certain amount of time in advance. If the company charges a fee for cancellations, find out how much it is and when the fee applies.
11. Do You Have References?
Even if you don’t find any red flags during the interview, it’s a good idea to ask for references from current or former clients. This lets you get a different perspective instead of only relying on what the company wants you to hear.
If the cleaner doesn’t have references or doesn’t want to give you any, it could be a sign that you should stay away.
If you receive a list of references, give each one a call to see what they think of the company. Ask if there were any problems and how they were resolved. Determine if the person would hire the company again or would recommend them to someone else.
Conduct a Housekeeping Interview
A housekeeping interview is the best way to find a cleaning service that fits your needs. Doing your research helps you find a company that does the job well.
If you’re looking for a Memphis-area housekeeper, contact us to see if our services are a good fit for your needs.
