Why Routines are Essential for a Clean and Organized Space

A home cleaning routine is crucial for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, routines reduce your everyday stress and anxiety when family and friends are visiting unplanned. Having a routine adds structure and order to your home and helps prevent your home from getting cluttered and disorganized. Routines provide a sense of accomplishment and help you to stay on track with your home.

Did you know that it is estimated that an adult person makes 35,000 decisions daily? Having that in mind it seems plausible that routines prevent procrastination. If your brain knows that you pick up the house for fifteen minutes every morning, then it is easier to maintain that habit than having to decide whether or not you should pick up the house in the morning. If it is a routine you’ll do it - believe me, it is like brushing your teeth - an automated process.

It is critical to developing a house cleaning routine so that you may have a timetable that works for you rather than against you. Developing habits such as a morning pick-up routine or a daily quick reset early on can help you maintain a clean home. Moreover, an uncluttered and organized space creates a comfortable atmosphere where you and your loved ones can spend quality time together and don’t have to worry about all the bits and pieces that are not in their place in your home.

How to build a cleaning routine

Creating a house cleaning schedule is simple; however, most people have difficulties staying on track. If you have ever tried to create a habit you might have experienced that repetition and motivation are the essences of creating new habits. There are different ways how you can create a house cleaning routine, for instance, you can establish a chart/cleaning schedule, or try different methods such as the Fly Lady Method. You have two options, either you use (apps on) your phone or use a journal/ notebook to write down daily/ weekly/ monthly or yearly to-do's.

Six Steps to create a House Cleaning List

Step 1:

When developing your house cleaning program, consider each area/ room of your house/ apartment separately. Write a list of all the requirements for each area so you don't overlook anything. I am using a method that is adapted to the FlyLady system.

My zones are:

Z1: Pantry/ Entrance/ Basement

Z2: Kitchen

Z3: Dining Area and Living Room/ Great Room

Z4: Bedroom(s)

Z5: Bathroom(s)/ Powder Room(s)

You can use my zones or create zones of your own since every house/ apartment has different rooms.

Step 2:

After that, you define which tasks need to be done on a daily/ weekly/ monthly, or annual basis. My daily routine including my zone cleaning schedule will follow shortly.

Step 3:

When you have determined all the parts that needed to be cleaned and categorized them in the necessity, you may start with a weekly schedule. The more you practice your cleaning process, the better it will become.

Step 4:

Define your goals and set priorities. We are all different; therefore our sense of what is clean varies. Is it important for you to vacuum clean every day? Do you have pets? (e.g. when having a cat you might want to clean out the litter box daily) etc.

Step 5:

Start small. If your goal is to pick up the house twice a day, start with once for two to three weeks, then add the second pick-up. Don’t overload yourself with all the things you want to achieve in the end. Keep in mind that creating a habit takes about 21 days.

Step 6:

Include other members of the home and define their daily to-do’s. You are turning on the dishwasher every night and your husband/ partner is the first one to wake up? Discuss the to do with him and figure out a way that works best for you and your family.

Conclusion

To sum up, having a schedule is essential for everyone. On the one hand, a cleaning routine enables you to incorporate the habit of cleaning, on the other hand, it allows you to establish a healthier mentality by having a clean house. All it takes is preparation and perhaps a checklist before you've designed the ideal house cleaning plan for your home.

I’ll soon share the cleaning schedule that helps me to maintain a clean home with you on this blog. In the meantime, you can check out my Instagram/ Pinterest account for more cleaning, decorating, and organizing inspiration.

Enjoy your home, retreat yourself after mastering your to-do’s, and don’t be too focused on having everything cleaned all the time. Because if we are being honest there isn’t such a thing as a picture-perfect sparkly home.