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zen habits: Keeping a stress-free, clean house

Saturday, December 9, 2006

Keeping a stress-free, clean house


Yesterday I cleaned my house a little, tidying up, cleaning the bathroom a little, cleaning the kitchen, and generally making the place look nice.

It is simply beautiful. There is a tremendous pleasure I get in being able to relax in a clean house.

Of course, with six kids, it never lasts long, but there are things I can do to keep it generally clean and tidy.

Here are the habits I will try to maintain to keep a stress-free house:

1. Never leave dishes in the sink. Or counter. Clean up any messes in the kitchen after I'm done. Wipe the counters, keep the sink clean.

2. Tidy the bathroom as I go. After I use the bathroom, clean the sink, the toilet, spray down the shower, real quick. It only takes a couple of minutes, and the joy of a clean bathroom is unmatched.

3. Pick up as I go. There are little things the kids leave around the house. I'll just pick them up throughout the day, or keep a basket for their stuff and just dump them in there, for them to put away later.

4. Never leave clothes out. I have a tendency to hang my once-used but still clean clothes in my bedroom, leaving them out to clutter the place up. No more. They either go in the dirty clothes, or they get hung in the closet.

5. Take the trash out every day. It's cleaner, and even if the trash isn't quite full, this is a good habit.

6. Tidy up before I leave the house. It's wonderful to come home to a clean house. Just pick up a little before I leave.

7. Make my bed in the morning. I'll do this either before or after I shower. I love a made bed.

8. Tidy up before I go to bed. Waking up to a dirty house is stressful. Waking up to a clean house is an incredible way to start the day.

9. Don't let clutter pile up. There's a place in the kitchen where we pile books and papers. That needs to go. Piles are stressful. I will clear this counter daily, along with the inbox we have for all incoming papers.

10. Get rid of the papers on the fridge. I can pretty much put all of that info on our calendar. They leave a very cluttered appearance.

11. Teach the kids to put their stuff away. By far the greatest source of stress and messiness. This will also be the most difficult task, and I don't know if it can ever be accomplished. But it's worth a try.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I came to your site via your comment on the Get Rich Slowly blog. Your site is awesome and I'm delighted to see someone else doing the "keeping a stress-free, clean house" routine. I too like a clean house and I don't mind doing the cleaning. I practice EVERYTHING that you say, except for making the beds (I make them on weekends), but maybe I'll find the inspiration to do them every day, why not? My house isn't spotless, but anyone can drop by any day and it's not messy or cluttered. Being clutter-free (i.e., no excessive ornaments on tables) makes cleaning a snap and it doesn't feel like a dreadful chore. I was commenting to my husband about the positive energy that flows in a house when it's clutter-free. He's promised to do his share (garage and basement) of decluttering in January. If you can write a post about that, it would be greatly appreciated!

Leo said...

tz ... thanks for the comment and sorry it took me so long to respond. I was kinda on vacation. Great comment, and I will get to a decluttering post soon! Thanks for the suggestion.