Ever walk into a friend’s home and immediately notice how clean it is? They don’t have a housekeeper, so how do they do it? And how do they keep it that way? To get answers, I surveyed friends with the cleanest-of-clean homes and asked them for tips.
They Keep High-Touch Surfaces Germ-Free
There’s no denying that wet wipes make disinfecting surfaces easy (and satisfying). Keep a container handy, and use wet wipes once a week (or daily during flu season) for attacks on light switches, remote controls, drawer pulls, banisters and doorknobs.
They Own a Broom They Love
A daily sweep of the home collects and keeps the dirt at bay, and if you have furry pets or are a family who wears shoes indoors, any efforts to clean the floors can make a huge difference in the cleanliness of your home. Regular brooms may be fine, but buying my 24″ microfiber dry mop was a life-changing experience. Its width makes it easy to wipe down the floors in our entire hallway in one swift back and forth, and it articulates easily to reach under beds and around dining room chairs.
If They Clean Anything Before Bedtime, It’s the Kitchen Counters
There’s nothing quite like waking up to a clean kitchen in the morning. Load the dishwasher, scrub down the sink, and make sure the countertops themselves get a complete wipe down so they’re free of grease, germs and crumbs.
Their Dedication to Mail Organization Will Make You Jealous
Make it a goal to spend 30 seconds with that stack of mail every day. Immediately recycle or shred anything you don’t need — and don’t feel bad about getting rid off any non-subscription catalogs that don’t warrant your time. If you have extra time, make a call to take your address off their mailing list. Get in the habit of using an app on your smartphone to scan and digitally organize important items so you have less paper trail — and then shred any of those personal items to minimize the amount of paper you’re storing at home.
They Invest in the Laundry Process
If you can install a laundry shoot in your home that drops clothes right beside your washer and dryer, do it (you’re living the dream). If not, consider investing in a laundry basket that you love. The perfect laundry basket will double as a decorative accent that — dare I say — you’ll engage with more, keeping the dirty clothes from piling up on the floor. Here are 10 laundry baskets to jump-start your inspiration.