Keeping My House Clean - A Guy's Perspective

The state of a house (how clean it is) speaks volume about its inhabitants, and for guys, this can sometimes not speak so kindly.  As I've grown from a bachelor to a family man I've had to evolve on my cleaning habits, and this means making some fundamental changes to my day-to-day life.

And this is an important point to make, cleaning is a daily thing, but domestic cleaning might not be something that we are very keen on following. Nevertheless, cleaning the house should be a routine that is easy. For most people (guys in particular), they dread cleaning because they at times end up doing it twice or spending twice as much time as they had initially planned. Here is where hiring a domestic cleaning company to do the cleanings chores may come in handy. I've used them in the past, and flirted with this idea even recently, but I've decided to take care of it myself.

This may sound pathetic, but I actually had to do some research and found that you can find some excellent guides on Youtube and other sites on the web. This one for example:
Knowing where to start is very important. Most cleaning experts know that the best place to begin is any that requires the most cleaning and hygiene. As such, the kitchen is often the first place, followed by the bathrooms, the bedrooms, and then the living rooms.

 • For the kitchen – cleaning will start with ensuring there are no dirty dishes. The next step is to clean the skin and wipe down the countertops and the stove using a sponge or cloth and an appropriate all-purpose cleaner. The floors will be the next issues that will need a bit of sweeping and mopping to ensure they are spotlessly clean. Once everything is clean, all the kitchen towels can be washed and hung to dry then folded and stored appropriately.

 • For the bathroom – cleaning will start will organizing the room putting everything in it right place. The next step will be to wipe the skin, scrub and wipe the bathtub, or scrub and wipe the shower glass or curtains. The toilet will be next in line; swoosh the bowl with a brush, flush the toilet, and then wipe it from the rim to the seat. You can then work on the mirrors and walls to wipe any splatters before you proceed to apply a shower mist on the shower curtains or glass.

 • For the bedroom – start with making the bed then fold and hang the clothes and put them away. Pick up all dirty clothes and take them to the laundry room and then open the windows before doing a bit vacuuming.

Don't let this be your room.

• For the living room – start with picking up any items laying around and then dust, vacuum, and tidy up the sofa. You can then concentrate on cleaning the floor and rugs, which will need a bit of sweeping and vacuuming. Once you have handled the dirt, you can shift focus to the tables and cabinets to wipe off any dust and get rid of prints and unwanted spots.

Voila!  There you have it.  For me it takes about 2-3 hours if I'm not rushing, and I do this once a week.  If I split up the tasks with my wife, it goes even quicker.  I've never been a big fan of cleaning, but making it a process that's more akin to a project task list, and less akin to "chores", makes it easier for me.