How to Clean Your Home When You Are Really Busy

This post was sponsored by P&G as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review.

I’ve never been the best at keeping a clean home, but when I started working full time I realized I needed to figure something out – and fast. I reached out to my own mom, and some other mom friends to see how they did it, and slowly but surely we have found a routine that works for us.

In an ideal world I would be able to devote more time and have a perfectly clean home all the time, but I’m not sure I know anyone who lives in an ideal world. Here are some tips and tricks that work for my keeping my home clean when I’m really busy. (Which is like 99.9% of the time.)

1. Start with Doing 15 Minute Clean Ups Every Day. I do this after I drop the kids off at daycare/school and right before I start work. Luckily my office is at home so I can do that, but if you work outside the home you might adjust this to when you first wake up or right before bedtime. I tend to be all over the place when I clean, which is actually perfect for the 15-minute pick up. The goal is to eliminate the clutter. I walk from room to room with a laundry basket and then put the stuff back where it goes. I’ve even started adding an additional 10 minutes before I go to bed to do things like starting the dishwasher.
2. Buy Your Cleaning Supplies in Bulk. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really have time to be running out of stuff on a regular basis, so buying P&G Household Needs products in bulk at Costco really works well for my busy schedule. I pick up items like Gain Original laundry detergent,  toilet paper, Bounty Advanced paper towels, trash bags, and Cascade Complete Action Pacs. That way I am never out of what I need to keep the house clean. Plus these are brands I know and trust. It’s the little details in P&G Household Needs products that make them different from other brands, and when you are busy you really want your product to get the job done right the first time.

3. Use the 1 Minute Rule. This one is simple, but it really goes a long way. If you see something that needs to be done and you know it’s going to take less than 1 minute – do it right away. Examples are picking up dirty clothes, bringing in everything from the car on a daily basis, or sorting the mail instead of throwing it in a pile. This one is great because everyone in the house can do it to pitch in.
4. Do at Least ONE Load of Laundry Every Day. With two boys (well three if you count my husband) I swear I never stop doing Laundry. This one is a simple way to keep up with housework. I do the wash in the morning, pull it at lunch for the dryer, and then fold it while the kids are eating dinner so I can get it put away prior to them sleeping. If I run out of time, I use part of my 15 minutes to get it put away the next morning. I know some people aren’t a fan of leaving the wash to sit at all, but with my Gain Original laundry detergent I have never had any issues.
   
5. Pick Cleaning Days. This one was the hardest for me to get into the habit of, but once we started it has really helped to keep the place nice and clean. Some of my friends do once a week, but I have found that doing it twice a week is better for us. I set a timer and everyone in the home pitches in with tasks to get it cleaned up and looking great. Cleaning twice a week also means that if life gets so crazy that you can’t do one day, it won’t be too bad in 3-4 more days when you have your next cleaning day.
6. Teach Kids to Clean up their Own Messes. Now that my boys are getting a little older they are starting to take responsibility for their spills and accidents. I love having Bounty paper towels on hand because they really do clean up a big mess with just a little bit of paper, and I don’t have to worry about the kids’ accidentally grabbing mommy’s nice towels to clean up the paint they spilled in their playroom.
7. Pay Someone To Help You. You don’t need to do it all the time, but if life gets really crazy (and it always seems to do that when you have family or friends coming to stay with you), consider hiring someone to help you get your house clean. This is also a good option if you have gotten really behind on the housework and just need to get back to a good base. You could also pay your kids to help get bigger projects accomplished. I’m sure your kids are just like mine and always eyeing the newest toy in Target, this offers them a chance to earn some cash, and helps you get things done.
8. Let Go Of The Ideal World. Like I said above, in an ideal world my home would be ready to entertain guests no matter when they knocked at my door. This is not realistic for me. It might be perfect right after a good clean, but when life gets really busy the people who really matter to you won’t care if your house isn’t “Ideal.” The simple fact is no one person can do it all, but what we can do is prioritize what’s important. For me that’s always going to be Family, Marriage, and Work. That is more than enough to keep any one person busy, so instead I just do what I can when I can do it. And you know what happened? I am a lot happier and a lot less stressed out.

Hopefully these tips will help you to find balance and help to clean your home when you are really busy.

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Emily

Emily is a wife & mom living in Las Vegas. The owner and writer at Our Knight Life, Emily loves sharing her two adorable boys and journey through motherhood. Emily has run four half marathons to date and is always training for her next big race. She also enjoys creating healthy recipes for her family and sharing family friendly product reviews.

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