Hacks to Keeping Your Home Spotless Clean When You Don’t Have Time for Chores

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When you started working from home, you probably thought you’d have the time to clean your house more often. But instead, you became even busier, with the kids homeschooling and needing a bit of your involvement too. Now, you’re barely cooking meals, much less vacuuming the furniture.

The guilt nags at you, especially every time you hear news of more people getting infected by COVID-19. The virus, after all, can live even on surfaces for days – what if your kitchen counters already have it?

If you or your spouse regularly run errands, your chances of bringing the virus home are high. Not just the COVID-19 virus, but any disease-causing ones. Thankfully, you don’t have to deep-clean every single day to keep dirt, bacteria, and viruses at bay. With these hacks, your abode will stay clean and safe, no matter how busy (or lazy) you are:

  1. Line Your Pots, Pans, and Food Containers

Every person in charge of the kitchen will agree that washing pots, pans, and greasy food containers is the most bothersome task. But you can actually avoid doing that by using plastic wraps or aluminum foils as a lining. Before cooking, especially frying or baking meat, line your cookware with aluminum foil or parchment paper (if baking), and just peel it off when you’re done. And to avoid dealing with greasy food containers, put the food in a plastic wrap before encasing it in the container.

  1. Stock Up onDisinfecting Wipes

Instead of using cleaning rags,opt for disinfectant wipes, which is a lifesaver these days. Use it to wipe your countertops, dining table, desks, smartphone screens, and other things and surfaces you often touch. That includes doorknobs and cabinet pulls. The wipes will surely kill germs better than a cleaning rag that hasn’t been washed in ages.

  1. Wear Fluffy Slippers

Aside from keeping your feet warm and snug during the winter, fluffy slippers will also dust your floors and catch stay hairs. Pretty genius!

  1. Make a List of Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Tasks

If you’re confused about what chores should you prioritize, you can refer to an infographic on how often should you clean everything in your home. The everyday tasks include making the bed, washing the dishes, wiping down shower walls, sweeping kitchen floors, and wiping bathroom surfaces. The weekly tasks are mopping, changing bedding, dusting furniture, vacuuming the floors, and cleaning the appliances, to name a few. And lastly, the monthly tasks include vacuuming vents, dusting the blinds, cleaning your dishwasher, and more.

By using the infographic as a reference, you can make a realistic cleaning schedule. However, you can also apply hacks to some chores to speed them up. For example, instead of using a duster to dust your blinds, consider a damp dryer sheet. It picks up dirt and dust better and leaves your blinds slick to keep the pesky dust particles from returning.

Here’s another helpful hack: If cleaning the microwave feels like an eternity to you, just pour two cups of water and 1/2 cup of vinegar into a bowl. Pop it in the microwave under the highest setting for three minutes. The heated mixture will eliminate the odor in your microwave so that all you need to do is wipe it.

  1. Check For Molds

Aside from viruses, molds may also cause respiratory issues. In a home, they often grow and multiply in damp areas and corners, like the spaces underneath the sinks, toilets, and in your basement or attic. Your ceiling may also harbor molds due to roof leaks.

So if you haven’t checked for molds in a while, spare a weekend and inspect these areas in your house:

  • Under the sink
  • Inside the toothbrush holder
  • In your filing cabinet
  • On toys (if you have toddlers to chew on their toys)
  • Appliance seals and drip pans
  • On or under the floor mats
  • Carpets and upholstery
  • Beneath the wallpaper and drywall
  • Plumbing and ductwork
  • Around boilers or water heaters
  • Ceiling tiles
  • Dishes
  • Potted plants
  • Your car

You can get rid of small mold colonies by using anti-mold cleaning products, but large colonies are impossible to tackle by yourself. If you suspect that your walls, ceiling tiles, and ductwork have been infested by molds, call a reliable mold remediation expert right away. This is a task you should never set aside no matter how busy you are!

  1. Involve Your Whole Family

Sometimes, the reason people don’t have the energy to clean the house is that they feel alone. If you can relate, your situation doesn’t have to stay that way. Involve your whole family and make housekeeping a form of bonding. Assign chores to each member of your family, and give little rewards for your kids if you have to, like extra desserts or TV time.

Cleaning may be a strenuous task, but it keeps you healthy and safe in your abode. This year, try to make it your resolution to influence your whole family into loving housekeeping.

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