Ideas shared from a personal perspective of a hard-working parent:
If you’re a busy person like me, you don’t have time to spend your entire day cleaning. Rather, you hope to be quick and efficient so that you can spend more time with people who count! Here are five tips dedicated to making cleaning easier. I dare you to test them out to discover more time for what you love!
Quick cleaning tips:
- Let it sit! Often, when people are cleaning, they seek to be fast. Like me, they push to rush the process. Note this simple fact, some products require time to be effective. When we squirt them on and immediately wipe them off, they don’t have a chance to work their magic. As a result, we end up having to put a lot of elbow grease into cleaning. Or we feel annoyed believing that the products don’t work well – when in fact we simply didn’t follow directions! Think about it –if we are trying to get a grease stain out of an item of clothing, we put stain remover on it. And what do we do? We let it sit to fight the stain before throwing the clothing item into the washing machine. Oven cleaners are examples of products that also take time to work. We spray the inside of the oven and let the cleaner sit as recommended by the manufacturer, so the product can do the work for us before we wipe it off. When using household cleaners, be sure to follow all directions printed on cleaning products and don’t rush the process to gain optimal results.
- Reduce scrubbing time! How many times have you tried to scrub stubborn stains off things? If you’re like me, it’s daily! The other day I noticed orange marks on the inside of the refrigerator, likely the result of discoloration from plastic food packaging. I readied a clean soapy sponge and began scrubbing. The stain would not budge. Then, I remembered I had a Magic Eraser sponge, designed to combat grease, dirt, and other messes. Upon using it, the marks immediately came off without requiring any muscle power. A Magic Eraser is a versatile product that can perform a variety of tasks, from removing scuff marks on baseboards and walls to cleaning the edges of your shoes. And they can be cut into quarters with scissors if you only need to use a small portion. The bottom line, aim to use products that not only save you cleaning time and energy, but also choose those which are effective and multipurpose to render their value.
- Don’t let stuff build up. So many times, we create chaos in our homes. For example, we may stack mail on the counter, scatter shoes in the hallway, and leave dirty dishes piled in the sink. This creates a roadblock to cleaning. It increases the amount of time we must spend getting our houses in order. Know that we are not helpless. We can train ourselves to automatically put things away in a dedicated spot so that they are not in the way when it comes time to clean. For example, junk mail should be immediately discarded, and valuable mail placed in a dedicated basket or mail bin. And we are not alone in this. Families should get involved in maintaining the household. Kids are also not helpless. They should be taught to neatly put their shoes in a bin, rather than leave them out where people can trip on them. Likewise, kids can be expected to put dirty dishes into the dishwasher so that they don’t pile up in the sink. By making a mental effort to put things away immediately after use, cleaning time will speed up immensely!
- Cook one dish meals! This one’s a no-brainer when I’m looking to save time in the kitchen. There are many delicious meals that can be prepared in one pot or on one baking sheet, thereby reducing cooking and cleaning time in the kitchen. For example, one may roast chicken, potatoes, and carrots together on a large baking dish. Simply dress foods with your favorite seasoning(s) and pop them into the oven until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. This easy-to-follow “Roast Chicken with Potatoes and Vegetables” recipe as shared by Foodnetwork.com serves as a great example. Slow cookers are also amazing kitchen tools. You simply place ingredients into the cooker, cover it, and turn it on. While it works its magic, you can get on with other cleaning (or hopefully more fun) projects. Then, Voila! When it beeps, it’s done. For ultra-lazy folks like me, use discardable slow cooker liners so that there ultimately is no messy clean up at all! Cooking one dish meals is a lifesaver when short on cleaning time.
- Don’t let gunk build up. One of the best tips to achieve a sparkly home is to clean regularly to prevent the buildup of hard to remove stains, mold, mildew and more! For example, after showering, one may regularly remove hard water stains (white mineral deposits that accumulate on surfaces touched by hard water) using equal parts of water and white vinegar. Simply spritz the 50/50 mixture onto dirty shower surfaces and wait 15 minutes before easily wiping clean. Note that stains can also build up on shower heads. They should also be cleansed frequently as well. One may use a vinegar solution or even a toothbrush to flush out mineral deposits hiding in crevices. Do note that before using any products – make sure they are safe for your shower and fixtures. For example, brass or copper appliances likely require special cleaners rather than homemade solutions. Regardless of what you use, gentle daily care can prevent buildups of gunk that are dreadful to clean. So, whenever possible, don’t let the gunky stuff build up!
Don’t particularly enjoy cleaning?
Me either! If you’re like me, you’ll want to put these tips to work to enjoy more free time for fun!
Check out more tips…
We hope you enjoyed these five quick and easy cleaning tips! They include letting products sit to work for you, reducing scrubbing time by using genius cleaning tools, promptly putting things away to save on housework time and getting the family to help, cooking one dish or one pot meals to save time in the kitchen, and cleaning showers and other such spaces more frequently to avoid gunky buildups that are gross! Be proactive to make cleaning a breeze! For more cleaning tips, click here to read our related article entitled, “Cleaning shortcuts.”
