Do you ever wake-up in the morning, look around and realize that your house is a complete mess? Don’t worry it happens to every parent at some point and identifying the problem is the first step towards finding a solution. Cleaner homes are healthier homes, both mentally and physically. The health benefits tend to be more obvious since regular cleaning eliminates the dust, germs and allergens that wear us down and make us sick. However, do not underestimate the difference that a clean home can make when it comes to your mood, anxiety levels and mental health. Clutter has been linked to higher levels of stress and anxiety and is also proven to lower productivity.
We probably do not have to convince you that a cleaner home is a happier home. Unfortunately, with hectic schedules and messy kids and pets, keeping the house clean is usually easier said than done. Whenever someone we know is struggling to keep their home clean, we suggest creating a cleaning schedule for the entire family. A schedule creates accountability and when properly enforced can go a long way towards limiting procrastination. Scheduling your cleaning also allows you to space out the most time-consuming tasks while having a schedule makes it much easier to involve the entire family so that one member of the household isn’t stuck doing all of the cleaning.
If cleaning schedules are new to you, check out this step by step guide to quickly creating a cleaning schedule from our friends at All Set.
- List All of Your Cleaning Projects: Before you can divide and conquer, your family needs to know what they are dividing. Quickly list out any cleaning tasks that needs to be done on a monthly or more frequent basis and determine the frequency of the task and how long it should take to complete.
- Breakdown the List as a Family: Sure, it’s probably faster to split up the list of responsibilities on your own but your family will be more engaged if they feel like they are part of the process. Maybe you will learn that your significant other doesn’t mind cleaning the bathroom or that one of your children hates folding laundry. Remember that tougher tasks can always rotate from month to month or week to week in order to avoid unfairness. Going through the schedule together gives you an opportunity to tailor the list to everyone’s preferences while simultaneously allowing everyone in the family to feel like their voices have been heard.
- Build the Schedule and Communicate Expectations: With the tasks divided, it’s important to create a cleaning schedule that is achievable and to make sure that the entire family understands what is expected of them.
- Build Cleaning Time into your Routines: One of the top ways to kick-start your family’s cleaning habit is to designate times for everyone to clean as a group. It’s a lot harder to clean the bathroom when everyone else is playing a game. By setting aside an hour one night a week, the family should be able to tackle almost all of the cleaning together.
- Have Some Fun: Cleaning will always be a chore but that doesn’t mean you can’t make things a little more fun. If you are cleaning together try throwing on some music that the whole family enjoys. Or offer prizes to fastest cleaners. Prizes don’t have to be gifts, they can be the right to pick the next family movie or rights to shotgun in the car for a week. The more fun you make it, the more likely everyone is to do their part.
Not only is setting up a cleaning schedule easy but it’s also a great opportunity to come together as a family. There are a ton of resources on the internet concerning how often individual areas of the house should be cleaned (including All Set’s) so designing the calendar is really the easy part. The tough part is balancing the right mixture of enjoyment and accountability with your family. When done correctly, your house stays cleaner, your family stays healthier and everyone has more free time to spend together. Of course, if you want to eliminate cleaning from your to-do list altogether and could use a Boston house cleaning service or a San Francisco Housekeeper, try booking a Professional with All Set.
Special promotion for 247 Moms readers in the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Boston: Get $60* cleaning credit when you sign up using promo code SAVE60!
*New customers receive $60 service credit added to their All Set account to be used across their first 4 jobs ($15 off per job). Credit cannot be combined with other offers or promotions. Limit one per household. Limited time only. Expired 11/30/2017.
Disclaimer: I have teamed up with All Set in support of this campaign. We received compensation for participation in this campaign. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.