Few of us want a messy, dirty home, but sometimes it can be difficult to know where and how to begin cleaning it up. If your home is beginning to look unsightly, cluttered and grimy, here are a few questions that you can ask yourself to help you prioritise the cleaning tasks:
Ask yourself how much time you have available to devote to cleaning:
If you simply need to do a quick clean up before your guests arrive, then an hour may be enough, but for a home that requires a deeper clean, you may need to devote at least a few hours to the task. It’s important that you acknowledge how much time you have, so that you don’t get disheartened or frustrated if you can’t finish all the cleaning tasks.
A lot will depend upon your schedule, how big your home is, the extent of the mess and whether you have anyone available to help you. Planning the cleaning will go a long way towards helping you achieve your goals and will make you more efficient.
Of course, if you hire a professional cleaner then time is irrelevant, since they can spend as much time as is required completing all the tasks, while you simply go about your day.
Where should you begin?
It can be hard – especially if your home is very untidy and dirty – to know where to begin, and often our levels of motivation can be very low. It might sound a little silly but popping a pair of shoes on can help you feel as if you’re getting ready to do something and get you in the right frame of mind. Your brain will be tricked into thinking that you’re ready for action and will respond accordingly. Make sure the shoes are clean, however, or you’ll be adding to your list of cleaning chores!
Focusing on the dirtiest and/or most important areas of your home first, is always a good strategy. If there are dirty dishes in the sink, fingerprints all over the mirrors and ominous stains in your toilet, then get these done first before moving on to other areas that don’t pose a potential health risk or look unsightly. You’ll feel as if you’ve achieved something by cleaning the dirtiest places first, and depending on how much time you have, you could tackle the larger tasks another day. That said, delaying tactics are not usually helpful, so try to get as much cleaning done as you can, before your energy levels sag and you begin to get tired.
You could also try cleaning one room at a time, which can help the tasks seem a little less overwhelming.
Finally, if you don’t have the time to clean and your home is in a bad state, it could be a lot easier to use a professional cleaning company, who will get the job done efficiently and without causing you any inconvenience whatsoever.
