I am frequently asked, “Melissa, after all of these years cleaning stuff, how do you still hate cleaning?” It’s indeed simple; it’s just not gotten any better on me! I can’t. I can do it efficiently and quickly, so I won’t need much time cleaning whenever necessary! With this in mind, I’d like to share some professional cleaning tips to help improve your cleaning (and make some efficiencies) so that you can spend less time cleaning and more time doing what you enjoy!
Tie Cleaning Chores to Other Tasks
A professor in my class always told us, “Guys, you cannot do two things well at once.” And while I agree with him on serious work when it comes to cleaning, I believe that he’s completely wrong. I am always looking for strategies to slip in small cleaning while doing other tasks so that I can complete more with less effort. For example, I prefer to empty or load my dishwasher when making hot water for tea. When I place a pot in the oven to heat and clean up any mess I’ve left behind while cooking meals. Think about ways you can make it possible to double up on the same task to accomplish two tasks simultaneously!
Dishwasher Efficiency
If you own a dishwasher in your home, it is easier to load it! This means that you should load it correctly to be more efficient. The most important thing is to put everything similar to it, for example, all your forks within one area of your cutlery basket and all your cups placed on the same rack. When emptying your basket, it’s efficient to take things one piece at a given time and then put them aside. It’s the small things like this that build up and will make a difference in time. We’ve created an instructional video about properly loading dishwashers if you want something to do.
Garbage Bag Storage
We recently received a brand-new garbage disposal at the C.M.S. headquarters. Pretty exciting. Not! It was, however, an essential thing for Chad and me since our previous one was a huge PITA! When we got this trash can, we decided to leave a few bags on the bottom to allow us to empty and change out the trash a bit easier. Wow! What a great idea! It’s not just speeding things up and improving efficiency, but Chad is the guy who dumps the trash but doesn’t replace the bag — well, now he doesn’t have other excuses!
Do Less Laundry
To avoid needing to wash your clothes more often and prolong the longevity of your clothes, I have a small suggestion for you! If all you have to do is refresh your clothes after washing, spray them with some D.I.Y. fabric refresher, and then throw them into the dryer using the Air/Fluff Only cycle. It should run for around 10-15 minutes. And if you own wool dryer balls and some vital oils, throw the items in, too! Infuse some life into your clothes by refreshing them as well… You’ve made it easier to wash!
Practice Makes Perfect
A routine or system that does the same thing over time will eventually make you more efficient. It’s a fact that repeating the same task repeatedly will make you more efficient in your work. If you don’t have a plan of action and do something different each time, it will take you longer to finish it. Therefore, you should create the system or procedure you follow for cleaning and then do it every time, making minor adjustments whenever necessary to increase efficiency. You’ll get better at this job as time goes on.
Don’t Clean All The Stuff
Simple right? Remember that you don’t need to keep everything clean constantly! Many people are compelled to tidy everything when they sweep. It’s an overwhelming take, es much time, and maybe excessive. Instead, think about the M.I.A.’s (most crucial areas) and concentrate on those areas. If you can focus on the tasks that must be completed, you’ll discover that cleaning becomes less overwhelming, and you won’t have to spend as much time working on it. Watch this video for an example of things you might find yourself cleaning more often.
The Dishwasher: Not Just For Dishes!
If you own a dishwasher, you must understand how to put it to perform! Your dishwasher can do many more things than dishes! It can wash items like cap caps for baseballs (with bill-like plastic), plastic toys, footwear, shoes, tools, vent covers, switch plates… and the list is endless! It’s enough to say you can wash many dishes in the dishwasher. So, as long as it can withstand just a bit of heat, if it’s safe to use it, why wouldn’t you?