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Cleaning: It’s a Dirty Word

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March 9, 2012
Be Organized
15 Comments

Cleaning can be fun. Hooray!

OK, no it can’t – it’s boring. It’s the opposite of rad and frankly, it’s downright blah.

Do you find it overwhelms you? That you put it off for a few days or a week and then look around your house and feel swamped by the mess. Are you ever so busy with life that your house gets ignored. Then one day you realise you’re squinting at your bathroom mirror to find a gap in the smeary mirror or you can write your name in the dust on your TV cabinet or you have so much washing you are forced to wear your bikini bottoms because you have no knickers! Or is that just my house? How embarrassing!

Here’e a few tips to keep your cleaning under control:

- Recently, I worked out it was easier if I set myself a daily task. If I break the cleaning up over the week, it’s not so tedious. It also means that when we do our weekly or fortnightly house tidy there isn’t really much to do. I’m not the best at keeping to it, but I try to do at least one thing a day – wash the bathroom floor, dust the lounge room, tidy our room, vacuum the office or clean the sheets. One thing a day doesn’t take a long, ten things in one day does!

Clean sheets are the best: Photo: treverhoehne.com via Pinterest

- Put the washing machine on every morning, if you need to. Don’t let it pile up. Same goes for dry washing. Put it away as soon as it dries. If this bores you, like it does me, then get a big basket to put all the clean clothes in and then dedicate some time each week to sort it out all at once. I put my favourite music on, close the door, escape the kids and sing. I actually look forward to it now. Sad, but true!

- Draw up a chore chart for everyone in the house. If you spread the work out among you it’s not as bad. Of course, you also have to relax your ideas of how certain jobs are done and let people do them their own way. There’s no use delegating tasks if you’re then going to use all your energy nagging everyone. I haven’t quite mastered that last point yet.

Daily chores can be delegated. Photo: hgtv.com via Pinterest

- If you can afford it, then get a cleaner in once a fortnight to help with the big jobs and take some of the stress out of the daily routine. Think of things that need extra attention like cleaning your oven or shower screen and ask them to do those tasks.

- Relax your cleaning expectations. Sometimes when you’re under the pump you just need to think: “Is it really that important that my house is sparkling clean?”. Do what makes you comfortable and then spend your extra time doing something that you love like looking at the Men Who Make Us Swoon gallery!

Do you find it hard to keep up with the cleaning at your house? Do you sometimes wonder how its gets so darn dirty? 

Do you have any good cleaning tips to take away some of the daily grind? 

Have a fab day,

Bianca x

Main Photo: Baileys Home and Garden

  • http://www.kirrilywhatman.com/ Kirrily

    Yes good tips, B. Surprisingly, I realised I began to look forward to mopping the floors all because of a new floor cleaner/anti-fleas recipe I found online and made on the stove with lemons, cloves, apple cider vinegar and teatree oil! It’s potent. And it does such a good job and smells so good that I found myself unnecessarily mopping the floors weekly for a while there… Best and cheapest floor cleaner I’ve ever had.

    So perhaps a change in cleaning product will get some of us excited? Maybe? Or am I just weird? (highly possible)

    • Kitzkatz

       My daughter has been plagued with mold problems after living in a share house that was not particularly clean when they moved in after the Brisbane floods last year.  Since moving she is still cleaning mold from her leather belts, shoes, handbags and boots.
      I would love to get the recipe for this cleaner if you wouldn’t mind posting the link
      cheers

      • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Bianca @ JustB

        Maybe I should post about alternative home-made cleaning products? Great idea! Bianca x

        • http://www.kirrilywhatman.com/ Kirrily

          Vinegar is great for mold. Once you clean it off, spray on vinegar/water solution and apparently it prevents it coming back – good to use after a shower, etc.

          • http://www.kirrilywhatman.com/ Kirrily

            oh p.s. you can add your fave essential oil to the mix so you don’t smell the vinegar!

          • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Bianca @ JustB

            I would just want to eat chips all of the time!!

      • http://www.kirrilywhatman.com/ Kirrily

        Please see above! I posted the recipe.

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Bianca @ JustB

      Love it if you could let me know the link so I can do a post about it. Thanks xx

      • http://www.kirrilywhatman.com/ Kirrily

        It’s in the comments now, Bianca – might have to put it with a warning to your readers: The stuff can really make your eyes water while you’re making it ;-)  I love it a lot, hope they get some joy from it too (I really loathe using commercial chemical cleaners and have been at a loss as to some really good ones, but slowly building up an arsenal – this is a stand-out for me so far). Cheers!

  • Ruth

    Hi Kirrily,
    I  would love to know the recipe for the floor cleaner/anti fleas.
    Cheers
    Ruth

    • http://www.kirrilywhatman.com/ Kirrily

      Sure! I’ve been meaning to post this on my blog (and will do sometime…).

      Flea spray / Floor cleaner recipe:

      1. In big bowl of water (3-4 cups), put some lemon rinds and bring to boil – I use at least 3 lemons’ worth – then switch off stove.
      2. Add 4-6 cloves and 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar.
      3. If you wish, add some essential oil like lavender, tea tree, neem oil, eucalyptus, etc. (tea tree is antiseptic, I have been using this to sanitize the floors at same time)
      4. Let the mixture steep, covered, overnight.
      5. Strain and put in spray bottle for use.

      Play with quantities for your floors, but I’ve been adding a dash to very warm water for the floorboards and tiles. I also use it as a bench cleaner and even as a spray on toner for the dog after a bath!

      • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Bianca @ JustB

        Thanks so much x

  • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Pip @ JustB

    I love this post. I do. We really need to find ways to put a positive spin on must-do stuff. I think you have totally done that! Thank YOU, Bianca!

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Bianca @ JustB

      Thanks Pip x

  • Nanette

    Cleaning can be fun, if I find that chaos is reigning in any part of my life I find nothing more invigorating than a day of housework, weird some may say. I love that I can plug in my iPod and search for my “daggy” playlist and get started, vacuuming whilst busting some truly daggy dance moves, mopping, dusting the list goes and don’t get me started about the amazing feeling of a gorgeous smelling freshly cleaned house ( well at least until the rest of the family comes home).