>>Hire some help. If you love having the house at it’s cleanest but end up sacrificing time with family and friends in order to see it that way, don’t hesitate to find a good maid service to give you a hand. Good maid teams take time to target the places that need cleaning the most, like your kitchen, bathroom, and carpets. It’s a big help when you’re time crunched.
>>Prevent as much mess as possible. From using a door mat to catch dirt to putting down wax paper on your kitchen prep area, many messes can be prevented in a simple step. If you’re constantly vacuuming crumbs out of the carpet, make a rule to only eat in the kitchen and dining room. If the kids leave crumbled play-doh or broken crayons in the floor, give them a craft area, and then teach them to clean up after themselves.
>>Get the whole family involved. Splitting up a task between even just a few people can make it go much, much faster. Ask your spouse for help and find easy chores for your children to help with. Encourage them to make it fun by listening to music or playing cleaning games, and teach them to be proud of the work they do so they’ll continue to do it.
>>Prioritize and multitask. Wipe down the counters before you sweep so you don’t put more crumbs on the floor you just swept. Clean out the refrigerator before you take out the trash. Run the dishwasher at the same time you’re cleaning the sink—by combining things that work well together or multitasking when you can, you finish two tasks instead of one.
You are worth the time you take to relax and socialize, so don’t let cleaning become your whole life.
