Why Cleaning Keeps Your Home Organized

This article is about the “3rd S” of the Japanese Workplace Organization Method (5S System) which is SWEEP  also known as Cleaning. It’s probably safe to assume that everyone of us know the what, when, how, why and who of the cleaning process meaning we all know the different aspects of cleaning and its importance. However in spite of all our cleaning knowledge, it is one of the easiest things to overlook or neglect, especially when our lives get busy.  The “SWEEP a.k.a. Cleaning” stage is about dusting, mopping, sweeping, putting things in order and wiping down surfaces. This definitely does not sound exciting and is really not fun to do but cleaning is very important to keep your home organized.

Health Benefits of Home Cleaning

Below are just a few health benefits of why home cleaning is so important and why you should not hesitate to include it in your regular routine.

• Enhances Your Self Discipline – Cleaning your house in a consistent and regular manner will lead you to create a new habit. Having a regular schedule will help you to stay focused and motivated in accomplishing things that need to be done.
• Reduce the Chances of Getting Sick – Daily sweeping and dusting will eliminate dust that is a common cause for asthma, colds, and some types of allergies.
• Reduce the Chance of a Fall Incident – If your house is full of clutter, it can be a dangerous place just like in the regular workplace. It can definitely be a cause for you or your loved ones to fall or slip.
• Improve Your Mental Health and Mood – House cleaning is a good way to get exercise because you will have a lot of movement such as lifting, sweeping and dusting flat surfaces plus the bending and stretching to put things in order.  During these movements, your body releases chemicals that make you feel relaxed and therefore it can improve your mood.  When you enter into the relaxation mode, it prevents your body from triggering a bad response to stress which leads to reducing your risk of depression.

Why Cleaning Keeps Your Home Organized

The obvious reason why you clean is to make your house look neat and tidy. However, cleaning is beyond a neat and tidy appearance, it actually helps you to keep your Home Organized. Why? Because when you’re cleaning you will have the opportunity to take the following steps that are necessary to maintain an organized home:

• Decluttering – Cleaning will require you to pick up things around the house and to put them into their designated location. While you are doing that, you can re-examine the item, to check if it still deserves its designated space in your house using the following questions:
  • Is the Item still in good shape?
  • Is it still functioning?
  • Does it still have a use for you?

If your answer is NO, then you know that it is time for you to let go of that particular item. By doing this, you will able to free up space and prevent accumulation of unnecessary things inside your house.

• Putting Things In Order – When you clean you’re more likely to put things where they belong and to put everything in its place. For example, while you are cleaning your living room and you see an item that belongs to your bedroom, you are more likely to put that particular item back in your bedroom. I hope you do that! Please do not hesitate to put things back in their  designated place. If you just started your organizing journey, you should actually force yourself to do this. This is the key step to improve your self discipline toward keeping your house in order.

A Strong determination and strong commitment on your end will be needed to keep your organizing journey a success!

• Helping you to Spot Future Problem Quickly – While cleaning, you will notice if there is something missing, things that need to be fixed or you may spot something that may cause a potential problem.  A small drop of water from a leaking faucet or a small drip from a pipe is very noticeable when your house is clean and free from clutter. Early water leak detection can save you from facing a major plumbing problem in the future and definitely save you from spending a lot of money.

Tricks and Tips to Keep You Motivated to Clean Your House Regularly

• Make Your Bed Every Morning – There is powerful psychology behind making your bed every morning. It is a good starting point to get you moving because you immediately cross it out as the first task of the day on your to-do list.  You feel like you have accomplished something and it gets you ready to do more because seeing at an instant the fruit of your labor will motivate you to cross everything out on your to-do list.

• Clean Your Kitchen After Every Use and Before You Go To Bed – Waking up to a messy kitchen, a sink full of dirty dishes and not being able to distinguish food from trash on your countertop will make you feel exhausted.  It will seem like you have already done a lot of work and leave you feeling like you don’t want to do anything. This is definitely something you need to avoid, therefore, it is important keep your kitchen clean. The kitchen has the ability to set the mood on how to start the day for both you and your loved ones. To prevent this from happening, you need to make sure that you allot time to clean your kitchen and put the following things in order after every use especially before you go to bed.
  • Kitchen sink is empty and clean.
  • Trash bin is empty or at least not overflowing.
  • Remove everything that does not belong to the kitchen.
  • Free up your counter space as much as possible so your meal preparation the following day is easier.
  • Clean the flood and wipe over the kitchen appliances such as stove and refrigerator.

By doing all of these on a regular basis, you will find that cleaning your kitchen is not difficult at all. Why? When you keep the kitchen clean at all times the only cleaning you will need to do is the occasional scrub and wipe.

• Keep Your Dining Table Clear At All Times – Your dining table is as important as your kitchen because this is where you and your loved ones eat.  There is something about being together and sharing a meal with your loved ones  that money can never buy. Therefore, it’s important that your dining table be free from clutter and clean before bringing your food to the table. Clutter and untidy things can have a negative effect on your emotions. So, make sure to take every chance you get to create a good dining experience with your family by keeping your dining table and surroundings clean.
• Keep Your Dirty Clothes Inside the Laundry Basket, Do Your Laundry Regularly and Fold Right Away – When you procrastinate with the task of doing your laundry and dirty clothes pile up, it will give you more excuse not do it. Why? The more dirty clothes you have the more time you will spend in your laundry room. This will most likely overwhelm you which makes it more difficult to commit yourself to do what needs to be done.
• Clear All Flat Surfaces At All Times – Clutter is a common cause for you and your loved ones to fall or slip and if this does happen, it can result in a serious incident or it could ruin your day. A ruined day can mean a lot of things but one is the lose of desire to accomplish tasks on your to-do list, which is definitely a NO! NO!
• Clean Your Bathroom Regularly – You deserve a clean and nice smelling bathroom.  A clean bathroom will definitely boost your self pride.

Remember, cleaning should be done on a regular basis. Cleaning is not a task that you can just set aside and do only when you have time or feel like doing it. It is a task that you should intentionally set a time for.

Cleaning Tools and Supplies Must Haves

Nowadays, there are a lot of cleaning supplies that you can buy that will definitely make your cleaning task easier to accomplish. Below are the products that I personally use and that are my personal favorites. These help to make my cleaning job easier and faster. I’m personally not a fan of cleaning so every time there are great tools and supplies that will make my cleaning easier, I am all in.

Microfiber Cleaning Cloth – Great for cleaning mirrors, windows and flat surfaces along with cleaning solution.

Swiffer Dusters Heavy Duty Extender Starter Kit – Makes dusting of hard to reach areas such as ceiling fans, bookcases and light fixtures easier.

Rejuvenate Click N Clean Multi-Surface Spray Mop System– This product works great. It makes my floor mopping easier and faster without compromising cleanliness.

Cobweb Duster – This is a great tool to have if you want to keep your ceiling free from cobweb with ease.

Vacuum Cleaner – This is a must have if you have a carpet floor. I also use it to clean the filter of my hand held vacuum.

Cordless Vacuum Cleaner  – I am thankful that I have this. I use this to vacuum the crumbs, to pick up my falling hair on the floor, clean up our doormats, vacuum my microfiber pads (before I put them in the washer) and vacuum our stair runner. It really is a MUST HAVE!

All-Purpose Shower Squeegee – If you have a glass shower wall or door and if you want to keep it looking clean, then you need to have this.  I use the squeegee after every shower. It sounds like it’s too much work but it’s really not.

Silicone Bristles Bathroom Cleaning Bowl Brush Kit – Bristles are made of silicone which make the brush easy to clean. Stains have no place to hide because it dries out fast.

Clorox Clean-Up Bleach Cleaner – If you want to remove shower floor stains without scrubbing it and to keep the bathroom sink from clogging (aside from preventing your long hair from it) then, this is the product that you need. It works all the time without a miss!

Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Bleach –  It’s a great cleaning solution to clean and disinfect your toilet bowl.

Multi Surface Antibacterial Cleaner–  I use this to clean the TV screen, wood furniture and glass or ceramic decor.

Multi-Surface Cleaner and Disinfectant Spray – This is great for cleaning bathrooms, kitchen countertops and the back splash.

Scrub Free Soap Scum Remover Shower Glass Door Cleaner – Their SCRUB FREE marketing really works. I just spray it on our bathroom tile wall and glass door, leave for a few minutes then  spray it with water and voila, I have a clean bathroom. Glass and Window Cleaner – A must have product if you want your glass and window sparkling clean.

BAR KEEPERS FRIEND Powdered Cleanser – This is a must have when you have a quartz kitchen countertop. Why? Since quartz countertops stain easily, this product removes the stains literally like magic!

Magic Eraser –  We bought a fixer upper house and I did not realize how hard it is to clean a very dirty window. The dirt was literally embedded in window tracks and window frames.  Thankfully,   the magic eraser made my difficult job much easier.  It was a really big help.

More Home Organization Ideas

How To Make A Whole-House Cleaning Schedule That Is Easy To Follow (Free Downloadable Checklist)

Eliminate Food Waste While Keeping A Well Stocked Pantry

Size Of Pantry Container Matters

Small Pantry Organization: From Unorganized Mess To Organized Bliss