your best cleaning tips

stellabelle

I'm on vacation this week (staycation!) and I've been cleaning like a madwoman. I've been spending HOURS in each room -- wiping down walls with wet rags, etc.

I'm getting frustrated because I wanted to have the whole house clean by the end of the week and I still have the kitchen, living room, hall, and laundry room to go...

What are your best cleaning tips and tricks? (I can't afford to hire someone... and we are getting the carpets cleaned so I haven't been too terribly focused on the floors.)

As they say, thanks in advance!

KatieKim0815

This blog has been a huge saver for me: https://organizedhomemaking.blogspot.com/

Beyond that things that help me:

-Go to each room gather the laundry and take it to the laundry room (I then use the stove timer to time all the loads throughout the day).

-I keep Lysol disposable wipes under each sink so that I can wipe while I am there and toss.

-I am a convert. My kitchen used to be a disaster but now I wipe it down every night before bed and put the d/w on so I come down to a clean sink in the morning. 

stellabelle

Thanks for replying! I wish I'd been a better housekeeper all along, but I will definitely be keeping up with it from here on out.

For now, I am trying to feel okay with spending several hours in each room. So far, I've completed each room before moving on to the next, and it DOES feel like a fantastic accomplishment when I can look inside a room and see and feel the CLEAN.

Still working in the bathroom! I think the kitchen is next, but I may not get to it until tomorrow... I guess that is okay, though.

I still have 8 weeks!

KatieKim0815

You're doing great! Breaking it in to bite-sized manageble pieces is the way!!! GL!

TiaTia

Do you have an iphone?  Before DD was born, I was pretty religious about an app called clean freak.  It's pretty much an itzbeen type of program, but for household chores.  Since DD...all that is out the window, and whatever seems to look the worst gets attention first and my new motto is "well, it's better than before. good 'nuff"

woollypetals

I agree with pp on the wiping counters down every-night and loading the dishwasher. It is so much nicer than having to wake up to a sink full of dishes.

I also used to do our laundry once a week, but have switched recently to doing it almost everyday, whenever I have a load of like colors. It makes it seem less daunting. 

I would say the other thing that I tend to do is one thing at a time. i.e. vaccumm the whole house, then dust the whole house. It seems to go faster for me than completely cleaning one room and then moving to the next. Although I usually do the bathrooms all at once. 

Hope this helps!