Sure, you could pick one of the traditional New Year's resolutions, like losing weight or going back to school, but if you are still trying to decide, we have an idea that could help you this year, and for years to come! Let this be your year of organization! We’ll help you with this resolution by sharing our easy-to-follow cleaning plan that will keep things tidy, neat, and organized all year long. When you implement our proven strategies, you can kick off the new year with a sparkling, organized home and keep it that way.
Keeping a clean home benefits the whole family because everyone enjoys living in a healthier environment. Your family can help keep this resolution, too. Getting the household clean and organized is achieved more efficiently when it’s a team effort. One of the best cleaning tips for the new year is to learn how to make house cleaning more fun, for everyone! Whether you create a family cleanup game or incentivize family members with cleaning achievement rewards, the extra hands can make all the difference and keep your cleaning on track throughout the year.
New Year's Cleaning Resolutions Begin With Decluttering
If you follow Molly Maid's blog, you’re probably not surprised that decluttering is number one on our list of cleaning tips for the new year! Remember, having less to clean means less work for everyone. It also means not having to move things around every time you clean, and a less hectic environment. The days after Christmas, before the New Year officially kicks in, is the perfect time to begin purging your clutter. Depending on the amount of clutter you have, decluttering your home may take some time, so be patient and follow our proven declutter plan to make things more manageable.
When it comes to purging, nothing is off-limits. So, since you'll be purging clothes, shoes, and other attire during the decluttering phase, this is a good time to analyze your closet situation. You can buy closet organizers, bins, or research other closet storage solutions that can help you stay organized all year. Labeling shelves in kids' closets and maximizing space with handy shoe organizers are just a few of the many ways to manage your closet storage.
If visualizing new storage solutions while staring at an empty, perhaps dirty closet doesn’t come easy, reach out to a friend or seek advice from a storage solution professional. But before you add any additional storage, vacuum or sweep the floor, and dust any surfaces in your closet, so you’re starting with a clean slate. Once you’ve cleaned the area, check out our tips on closet organization for inspiration and practical storage solutions. Whether it comes to fruition or not, it’s a good practice to make a list of all the things you need to create the ideal closet, then get to work! Even if you don’t achieve your ultimate goal, you’ll likely still be in a better position than where you started.
Give Your Home a Thorough New Year's Cleaning
Decluttering can make housekeeping much more manageable throughout the year, so kick things off with a clean slate to start the New Year. Unless you went overboard while decluttering, there are plenty of items in your home that need cleaning. Along with the usual suspects like floors, windows, and furniture, include those often-missed areas that never seem to make the cleaning list.
Before learning how to get more organized, give your home a good cleaning. We make it easy to keep track of all the areas in your home you should clean and even give you cleaning tips for the New Year with our Annual Home Cleaning Checklist PDF (291kb). So grab your cleaning supplies and follow our proven cleaning plan that covers every room of the house and you’ll have the freshest, cleanest start to the New Year yet.
Plan a Cleaning Schedule
Want to learn how to get organized for the new year? Start by making a cleaning schedule and a customized cleaning list for your home. The cleaning schedule can be broken down into daily, weekly, monthly, and even quarterly sections, depending on your schedule and the best frequency for your cleaning needs. As a general rule, scheduling one or two cleaning tasks daily is a proactive approach that helps make general housekeeping more manageable by minimizing weekend cleaning marathons.
Create a Comprehensive Cleaning List
Before you can create a workable cleaning schedule, you'll need to know what to clean and how often. Make a list of all the cleaning chores you'll tackle throughout the year, and estimate how often they’ll need to be done and how long each task should take. This compilation of tasks will help ensure you don't forget anything once you start cleaning your home.
Map Out A Cleaning Schedule That Fits Your Lifestyle
Now that you've compiled the ultimate cleaning checklist tailor-made for your home, it's time to determine your cleaning style. Are you proactive, which means you don’t mind cleaning up a little each day? Or do you enjoy breaking out all the cleaning supplies every Saturday and knocking out the whole thing with one hardcore cleaning session? Maybe you’re at work all day and have little time for routine cleaning. Whatever your cleaning style is, creating a schedule that fits your style will make sticking to it much easier. Here are a few cleaning schedule formats to help you get started.
Quick Daily Cleaning
If you simply can't stand a dusty, cluttered home, or you or someone in your family has allergies, then daily cleaning may be the foundation for your cleaning schedule. Just keep in mind that not everything in your home requires daily cleaning, but there are routine cleaning chores you'll want to handle ASAP. The advantage of daily cleaning is that you can reduce the time and effort it takes to do a more thorough cleaning of your home. To make the most of daily cleaning time, it helps to learn how to clean certain rooms in your house efficiently. Check out our guide for cleaning your bedroom fast to get started.
Weekly Cleaning Blocks
A weekly cleaning plan works best when combined with a daily and monthly schedule. Weekly cleaning blocks are typically one-hour windows where you work on specific cleaning tasks on your list. If you don't finish a particular cleaning job in one day, just pick up where you left off the following day. As you complete each item on your list, check it off and move along to the next one. At the end of the week, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much you've accomplished.
One Room or One Cleaning Chore
Although this cleaning strategy involves daily cleaning, you won't be sprucing up your home from end to end. Instead, you will assign one room or one cleaning task to each day of the week, like bathrooms on Monday or vacuuming on Wednesday. Keep in mind that the rooms and chores with designated cleaning days can't be too small, or you'll end up doing a big cleaning on Saturdays again!
Learning how to get more organized and make house cleaning manageable is a New Year's resolution worth keeping. Whether you do it yourself or let us tackle the dirty work, Molly Maid is here to help make keeping your house clean easier. Call us today and request a free estimate online to see what we can do for your home.
