Getting your house clean depends on two things. The first is the ability to get things picked up, that’s the clutter part. Once it’s removed, the real cleaning can begin. However, cleaning and clutter removal go hand in hand. The more junk you have, the more you dirt you have and the more you have to clean. So, let’s talk about how to tackle the clutter so you can get your house really, truly clean.
Defining clean
Clean means that a room or item has been wiped, dusted, scrubbed, swept or mopped. It means the room or item is free of dirt, dust, or debris. So, in the case of a room, clean means magazines are neatly stacked, toys and other items are put away, papers are gone, and that the room is in a “straightened” state and it has been cleaned (dusted, swept, wiped clean).
You can’t have clutter and clean
To have an honestly clean home, it does need to be decluttered. The problem when it comes to clutter is that clutter builds on itself; it’s a universal law that stuff will continue to come into the house. The piles of paper get deeper, the knick knack collection grows larger, and the pile of toys grows to mega proportions.
Yes, you're fighting the tide, but if you don’t you will drown under it if you don’t work at it on a daily basis. So, a plan for handling clutter must be made. Without handling the clutter, you’ll never be satisfied that your house is clean – and you can never properly clean it because there will be too much stuff in the way.
Clutter causes a number of problems
You must address clutter because it causes a number of problems. Here are just a few:
You will be unable to really clean the house. With clutter in your way, you’ll clean at the house, but you won’t really get it clean. Clutter attracts dust and dirt, making you have to clean more – and more often.
Your house will smell. Cluttered homes often smell musty. That’s because excess dust traps smell.
Your house will make you anxious. When you can’t see any clear space or have no place to put things, or room to walk, you’ll get frustrated and annoyed. Is that any way to feel in your home?
You'll feel overwhelmed. Having a cluttered, dirty home will leave you feeling hopeless and embarrassed.
The house will cost you money. Because you can’t find things, you’ll re-buy items you already have simply because you can’t find them.
Clutter will keep you from enjoying your home. With all you have to contend with today, don’t you really want a home you enjoy? A clutter-free, clean home is just what you need – and deserve.
De-cluttering Steps to Help You Clean
Before you can clean, you have to straighten. Instead of re-stacking the magazines into that same old three foot tall stack, why not recycle them instead?
Knick-knack attack. Get those tchotchskies under control. Confine your husband’s cap collection to the closet, corral your porcelain bunny collection to a cabinet with glass shelves and doors. Get rid of the teeny-weenie knick knacks.
Clear off tops of counters and tables. The worse offender? The bathroom. Get some shelves, install an old fashioned medicine cabinet with a door, or use baskets under the sink of everyday items and then put them away.
Designated kiddy zones. Confine toys to one corner of one room for your child to play with. Try to keep toys to one area of one room of the house. And, no, your child does not have to have toys in every room of the house.
Keep up the decluttering
Your house didn’t get this way in a day, and it will take more than a day to get it where you want. Even if your home isn’t a Zen experience of unclutteredness (and if you have kids, it never will be), you can at least keep it from getting worse. Because if you don’t keep at it, the clutter will surely overwhelm you. That’s why the steady approach is the best approach.
For more information on clutter and cleaning
Everydayclean.com Calender by Kathryn Weber. This calendar helps you stay on top of clutter removal and cleaning. More than just routine cleaning, the Everydayclean.com calendar helps you keep up with intense cleaning, such as the garage, spring and fall cleaning chores, even when to get the furnace and chimney cleaned. BUY HERE.
Can’t bring yourself to throw things out? Try freecycling. This is a movement to give other people in your area the stuff you don’t want. CHECK IT OUT HERE.
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Kathryn Weber is the publisher of the Everydayclean.com Calender -- the calendar that helps you end the power struggle with your house. Keeping a clean home is about knowing what to clean when. Virtually everything that needs to be cleaned is on this calendar in a year-round cleaning schedule that helps you keep your house clean easier and faster. Click here for more information.
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