More Sightings of Housekeeping of the Casual Kind
Hello, my Flamazing Friends! I have recently noticed (after much procrastination) that I have avoided the topic of housekeeping. I haven’t avoided housekeeping in the true sense, but like cooking, it is one of those things that I have a love/hate relationship with. Don’t get me wrong, I love a clean house and there are things about cleaning that I truly look forward to. For example: a tall glass of something cold, some popcorn, and watching a movie. Working on a craft is another thing I look forward to after housecleaning. While I hate the task, what I do love is the sense of comfort I get when things are clean.
Now I haven’t really come up with hacks for cleaning, and I am not one that functions on a schedule. As I stated before the schedule oftentimes might make one room more neglected than another. I clean as I see a need. It is important that things are clean for the health and safety of those that live in our homes even if it is just us. Whether you rent or own it is so important to maintain a certain level of cleanliness. It’s ok sometimes though to let a few things slide if for some reason you can’t get to it all but there are some things you can not ever let slide too long they are areas my husband calls “biohazards.” Over the years I have learned a few things, mostly from my father who was an Army officer and a food inspector and pest control, etc. with MEDDAC/VET SVCS. Other things I picked up from my mom and I want to share them here.
Picture-perfect is not a lifestyle, but it is fine to expect certain days to maintain that picture-perfect style. I read somewhere that the original open houses were not for high school graduation, but rather one day out of the week for a few hours where you opened your house for friends to just drop in. Different people could drop in and you would have this group that enjoyed laughter, snacks, and conversation. A day like that should be set aside in your week even if you aren’t going to have people over, but treat yourself like you would treat your guest. Just remember that we can not attain Hollywood picture perfect all of the time. There are some (like my grandmother) that could, but we are not all June Cleavers.
Clutter happens, and whatever your style, it will creep up on you. There are some minor things you can do to minimize clutter. Some people follow a minimalist approach to decor, while others like their collections. The clutter I am referencing includes shoes, keys, mail, your desk, kitchen sink, bathroom, and bedroom. It’s important to create a method to contain the clutter. For example, wash the dishes you use for cooking as you cook. Wash dishes right after you eat. Make it a rule, for example, that there will be no fun outing if dishes are in the sink. If you have a dishwasher, load it. Other things like finding one place to keep your keys, your wallet, or your purse. Remember Peg Bracken’s term “Zones of Clutter” which is found here (Housekeeping of the Casual Kind)
Do not expect an influencer’s lifestyle to fit you! You know what I mean. You watch a video and follow someone and soon start purchasing storage things that you find do not fit you. That’s ok though because some of those things can be repurposed for something else or given to a friend. But start small. Look at images, look at your fridge for example and look at what you keep in there. Using that draw out something simple and buy a few things at a time. If you keep a small budget, it’s easier to figure out what works and what doesn’t without breaking the bank. Just because one person uses X to organize doesn’t mean it fits your style. It doesn’t make you wrong, it makes you like what you like.
Make a cleaning list, some places have templates made up, while others have developed different lists like what to clean daily, weekly, and monthly. Those are good but I am talking about the steps to cleaning like “Before any cleaning gets done, declutter.” Don’t worry about organizing projects until you clean everything. Work in the room top-down and clockwise. Along with the cleaning list of what to clean, you need a list of what supplies will be needed, and either the night before look for them or if you’re lucky they will be in the dedicated spaces. I’m rarely that lucky, and it’s a red letter day if I know where the broom and dustpan are. Hunting for supplies or running out to the store can make any casual housekeeper toss in the towel (hopefully into the laundry basket unless it’s clean then don’t make more work for yourself).
Pick a Playlist, and put away the phone Music has an effect in making us dance while we clean, it can make a task go faster. We start cleaning to the beat. Putting away the phone and letting the messages wait allows you to control your time. Anything that takes away your time can ruin the flow and not only prolong the tasks at hand, but it robs you of your will to continue because it seems like the task won’t end. Emergencies should be the only thing that robs that time.
Do it in small increments. If you are the only one cleaning, pick a group of tasks to do all at once and can give you a sense of accomplishment in between times of taking care of kids, pets, or otherwise hectic schedules. It can be dusting all the rooms, washing windows, or running a vacuum over all of the carpets and rugs if you have them.
Employ older children to assist. It won’t hurt older children to learn how to care for things around the house other than their bedrooms. You can assign someone to fold laundry when it needs folding or to declutter a room. They should learn to take care of what I call the “common areas.” After all, they live in those areas too!
Buy a book with complete household hints on cleaning. I own about five. My favorite is a huge volume that tells me what different types of brooms are used for etc. From organizing a linen closet to a kitchen pantry, books can help you take notes and learn something that you can take notes on. I suggest books because a video, Pinterest, or other articles online can cause a rabbit hole of distractions and you end up no wiser three hours later than when you first had a question regarding different types of mops. This is not an endorsement, but my favorite encyclopedia is Martha Stewarts’s “Homekeeping Handbook”, and Peg Bracken’s “I Hate to Housekeep.” There may be others out there. Find some that you can quickly reference where you won’t get lost in the time sink of the internet. Keep a notebook nearby your books to take notes.
Internet before I make the internet out to be evil, it isn’t entirely. Find a few sites and videos from housekeeping experts for additional hints. Like about 2 or 3 that are professionals, or fun, or a lot like you that you know you can learn from. I like to listen to or watch. I like to watch videos while I am peeling onions or cooking something and I can not manage to read. The Internet is not all bad as long as you control it and do not let it control you.
Remove all biohazards. Biohazards are those things that can harm others’ well-being. So if you can’t get to the nitty gritty of cleaning, put all food away, wash all dishes, take out the garbage, make sure all food and crumbs on the floor are thrown away, wipe down the sinks, door knobs, light switches, and toilets with a cleaning wipe whether it is homemade or store-bought. Clean up spills and wipe down the fridge and stovetop. Wipe out the microwave and insist others do too. Clean the coffee pot regularly. This last thing is not a biohazard, but a safety hazard, keep stairs clear of brick a brack.
It’s not perfect, and I am sure you have some tricks you have learned over the years. Add a comment below including your hints. Ironically, I am a casual housekeeper that would love to have a Hollywood clean home, but I know better! So, I have learned to step away from my expectations and concentrate on setting realistic goals for myself and my household. At the end of the day, I want people to be able to say of me that I knew how to make others comfortable. Remember, this is a journey. Find your Groove. Make the moves your own.
