Life with Helen Johnson

Do you work full time? Do you struggle to keep your home clean because life demands keep getting in the way? I fully understand, I’ve been there myself and it left me feeling so frustrated and unhappy in my home. Our homes should be places of peace and calm, and a place where we feel comfortable hosting. However for many of us cleaning the bathroom, doing the laundry or organising our pantry are the last things on our to do list. So how do we look after our home whilst balancing everything else in our busy life? In this blog I will share 6 tips to help you have the clean home you desire. And might I add this is coming from someone who has not always been tidy! These tips allow me to actually enjoy looking after my home.

TIP #1 – KEEP YOUR HOME SIMPLE AND CLUTTER FREE

Cleaning takes twice as long when you have to move items from surfaces to be able to clean. In my home all our surfaces are kept as empty as possible. We have candles, coasters and a few photo frames – but this doesn’t prolong the cleaning time. You obviously want a home that feels like you, and maybe you are someone who likes to have ornaments, blankets, multiple cushions etc. but what I would suggest is asking yourself ‘can I remove some of these items to make cleaning easier for me?’. You might agree with me that tidying is way more tedious than cleaning. So make your life a lot more simple, by keeping your home simple.

TIP # 2 – HAVE DESIGNATED PLACES FOR YOUR BELONGINGS

We all have STUFF! It could be bills, gift wrapping, books, games, baking equipment – the list goes on! We should be able to have a tidy home without giving away all of our possessions. However in order to do this you need to have designated places for those items. Here are a few examples of my designated places:

• We keep our laundry basket, cleaning products, vacuum and spare bedding in our boiler cupboard.
• We store all our games in a wardrobe in the spare bedroom
• We have all our first aid under the kitchen sink
• We store all cables and charges in a drawer in our bedroom

And one crucial tip is when you use an item remember to put it back in it’s designated place once you’ve finished using it. It’s something our parents used to tell us as kids, but for some reason it’s so easy as an adult to leave things lying around – and this time you’ve not got a mum or dad to put the item away!

TIP #3 – DO SMALL TASKS DAILY

Have you ever avoided cleaning a certain room in the house, and then months later when you eventually get round to cleaning the room it feels like a mountain? I’ve been there. In our old house our pantry was a nightmare to keep organised and I would just give up and let it get messy. Every six months I’d feel so frustrated I’d give in and clean it. This small space would take me hours to organise. When we moved into our current home I made a decision I didn’t want to live like that anymore. I now do small tasks on a daily basis that make our home stay clean and tidy. Here are some examples:

• Wipe down the kitchen surfaces and the hob after you’ve cooked
• Have a flannel on hand in your bathroom to wipe down any water marks or toothpaste spills
• Use a dustpan and brush to sweep up any crumbs from cooking/baking
• Put used cookware straight in the dishwasher (out of sight, out of mind)
• Put the laundry on a timer before bed so you’ve got clean laundry when you wake up

It’s these small tasks that in the moment only take a few minutes that allow your home to consistently stay clean and fresh.

TIP #4 – BUY GADGETS THAT MAKE CLEANING EASIER

When we moved into our new home we purchased several gadgets/items that make keeping a home clean so much more simple. Here are some examples:

• Vileda mop & bucket – this made cleaning my floors so much easier! I hated cleaning the floors, I was always left with a ridiculously wet mop and it would always get mouldy and smelly. Vileda is great as you can remove the mop head and machine wash it – so it’s always fresh and ready to use.
• Cordless battery powered vacuum – there are so many brands out there, and most of them will do the job. This has made life so much easier for me, especially cleaning the stairs, as we have many of them in our home!
• Dehumidifier – we love the brand Meaco. We’ve had our dehumidifier for years and it still does a wonderful job. We use ours for drying our clothes, especially in the winter. This means you keep your home damp/mould free, whilst having clean dry laundry in 24 hours, sometimes sooner if the weather is warmer.

There are just a few examples, but it’s important to occasionally splurge on items which are good quality that will make your life easier.

TIP #5 – HAVE A MONTHLY “SPRING CLEAN” SESSION

You may only have one hour every week to clean your home, and if you’re following the above tips hopefully this will be enough time to make your home look clean and tidy. However it is important to give your home a deeper more thorough clean every now and again, plus there will be tasks like organising your pantry which will take more time. I try to implement a monthly spring clean session. I usually will spend a few hours properly cleaning the home. I clean the skirting boards, flip our mattress, clean inside our kitchen cupboards and so much more. It’s these irritating jobs that during a busy working week you just don’t have time to accomplish. The reason why I value this spring clean session is because it means every part of my home is kept clean, not just the visible areas, but the hidden spaces that overtime will accumulate so much dirt and grime if not attended to.

TIP #6 – HAVE A WEEKLY CHORE ROTA

I know a chore rota sounds so boring, but we organise every other part of our life, so why not our home? I would recommend starting with a list of everything that needs doing on a weekly basis, this could include cleaning, vacuuming, cooking, emptying the bins, gardening, laundry etc. If you live in a home with other people YOU SHOULD divide and conquer. I know that each week I’ll do laundry on X days of the week, I know I’ll spend an hour on Wednesday cleaning the house, I know what days I’m baking bread, doing batch cooking etc. Now hear me out, sometimes our schedules need to change. I have weeks where I don’t clean or make bread because it’s a stressful week at work and I just don’t have the time. On those weeks I try to tidy up as I go along so the place still looks tidy. Having a weekly chore rota isn’t to add another thing on your to do list, it’s to give you room in your week to create the home you really want and need.

BONUS TIP: have a WHY behind cleaning your home. My husband and I love to host and we always have at least one person visiting our home each week. I want our home to be peaceful and relaxing for us, but also for our guests. This is my WHY, this motivates me to work hard to look after my home even when I’m busy. What is your WHY?