Do you think your home is clean enough? When we first bought our home, I wanted to keep it so clean that it would always look new. Well, after seven years, I have given up trying to keep my house spotless and instead work towards keeping my house “Guest-Ready” by using these 10 daily cleaning tips.
My goal now is for my house to be “clean enough” so that if unexpected guests stopped by, I wouldn’t feel embarrassed about clutter or dirt.
Is Your Home Guest-Ready? 10 Daily Cleaning Tips
Here are 10 simple daily cleaning tips that I follow to keep my house free from CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome).
Make your bed each morning
Have each family member make theirs as well. A bedroom appears to be much cleaner when the bed is made, and you can feel like you have accomplished something early in the day.
Clean the Shower
After showering, spray the door or liner with a daily shower cleaner, then squeegee the door. This will help keep the bathroom looking cleaner, longer.
Wipe the Bathroom sinks
Keep cleaning cloths and cleaners near each sink and give them a quick wipe. Wiping the sinks daily will eliminate any buildup and will help the room look much cleaner. Touch up the mirrors if needed.
Clean toilet seat and rim
If you have small children, a good practice is to wipe the toilet rim and the seat daily and clean the floor around the toilet, if needed.
**Click here (or the image below) to download a FREE editable weekly cleaning checklist. This checklist will help you stay on top of your weekly cleaning duties and can also be used as a chore chart!
Remove shoes
Take your shoes off when you enter your home. Doing so will help to keep your floors and carpets clean and discourage tracking germs and pollutants into your home. Put a basket or a bench with shoe storage near the door or in the coat closet to keep shoes in order. Once the basket or shoe storage becomes full, have everyone take their shoes to their room and start with a clean slate. Keep everyday shoes accessible in case you need to leave the house quickly.
Straighten up rooms
Fluff sofa pillows and fold the throw blankets. This small act can make a room appear neat and tidy.
Load the dishwasher
After meals, have each family member scrape their plates and put their dishes directly into the dishwasher, not in the sink. Everyone in your household that is over the age of 6 should be able to follow this rule. It shouldn’t be up to one person to clear the table and load the dishwasher. Everyone should help out to keep the household running smoothly.
Clear the kitchen table
After meals, have someone wipe down the kitchen table with a moist cloth. This will allow the table to remain clean and clear for art projects, games, and homework. A clean and clutter-free table translates into a clean kitchen.
Have a quick pick-up
Before the kids go to bed, set a timer for 15 minutes, and have everyone put the items back in their proper place. Having less to pick up when the kids go to bed will allow you more time to relax at the end of the day.
Run the dishwasher
Before bed, wipe down the kitchen counters, sink, and stovetop, and run the dishwasher. You’ll love waking up and starting your day with a clean kitchen.
There you have it! If you follow these 10 daily tips, your house will look and feel much cleaner and will always be “Guest-Ready.”
Take a good look at the list again and see if there are chores that can be delegated to other family members. You are not the only person responsible for keeping your house neat and tidy. In our house, everyone has specific jobs to do, and I believe we feel closer because we are all working towards a common goal.
So, is your home clean enough? If the answer is “yes,” what are your daily tips for keeping your house free from CHAOS? I’d love to know! 🙂
Be sure to download your free weekly cleaning schedule and follow SimpLeigh Organized on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for more cleaning tips and hacks!
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Great tips! Makes me feel better about the state of my home, knowing it doesn’t have to be spotless. 🙂 I try to stay on top of clutter and crumbs, and have my kids clean one mess before starting another. I also assign them age-appropriate chores which reduces the amount of housework I need to do, if only a little bit. I need to be better about dusting and mopping, but at least my house is usually “clean enough”!
Visiting from Social Butterfly Sunday #45 🙂
Hi Marisa, Great job staying on top of things to keep your home “clean enough”! Thanks so much for stopping by! :)~Leigh
Great cleaning tips, Leigh! I never thought to squeegee the shower door afterwards; that is an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing with #SocialButterflySunday! Hope to see you link up again this week 🙂
Hi Kelly, Yes, using a squeegee definitely helps to keep the shower doors cleaner, longer. Thanks for commenting! 🙂
These are some great tips and I think it does help to do a little bit daily. I need to get better about that. Thank you for linking up with Small Victories Link up.
I love the tip about setting a timer for kid clean-up before bed. Going to start that tonight!
Hi Erin! I really hope the timer works for you. Anything to get those kiddos motivated! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
It is great to be organized and to know your daily cleaning tasks. I always have a cleaning schedule for each day and I know exactly what I need to do! Greetings
Hi Samantha, I’m glad you found a system that works for you! Thanks for stopping by and commenting! 🙂
So many people start off listing to make your bed daily. But bedrooms aren’t accessed very much, except for getting dressed in the morning or going to bed at night. I’m curious to see why that is so important to people. To be “Guest Ready” I focus on the open common areas and bathroom (not master bath) because no one else but us sees the bedrooms heh.
Good point, Julie! I guess we are conditioned to make the bed every day. It definitely helps jump start my day. Also, if your bedrooms and bathrooms are on another level, you wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning those areas to keep your home guest ready. Those tips would apply mostly to those living in condos, apartments, or one level homes. Thanks for your comment!
I love and appreciate this post so much that I’ve nominated you for the Field of Flowers Award!
This post touches my heart as a special needs mom – who just doesn’t know where to start at times!
click the link for details:
http://advocacyautismspecialneeds.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/dreaming-of-flowers/
Thank you for the nomination! It’s very satisfying to learn that this post was helpful to you and to others that will read it.
Thank you again!
Pingback: Dreaming of Flowers | Love, Support, Educate, Advocate, Accept...
Thank you for following my blog Your blog is very informative and professional. I’m following it for tips.
Pingback: 10 Daily Tips to Keep Your Home “Clean Enough” | Domestic Mission: Household Organization
Reblogged this on Domestic Mission: Household Organization and commented:
My goal is to be more organized, especially around the house. I have incorporated Leigh’s advice into my daily routine for the past several weeks and for the small amount of time that it takes, it makes a huge difference in the appearance of my apartment.
I’m glad my posts were able to help you! Let’s me know all this typing is not in vain. Thanks again for passing this on to your readers. 🙂
Reblogged this on Personal Coordinator LLC and commented:
Here are some great ideas to get you motivated…
not sure when I stopped making my bed daily, but i really should get back to doing that. I also like #7 quite a bit; having everyone put their plates directly into the dishwasher (what a time saver). Can’t wait for my little people to turn 6 🙂
I see you have run into Flylady principle 🙂 I used to be an avid reader on her site a long time ago, and there are so many useful lessons. Nice short-list though.. exactly what we (read me) need 🙂 great reminder to “get on with it”, because my house now have somewhat deteriorated on the “Guest ready” level….
Thanks for letting me know where I saw that phrase. Now I can give credit where credit is due. Trust me, we ALL fall off the wagon, we just have to get up and get right back on! Thanks so much for your comment. 🙂
YEPP, I’ve definitely fallen of the wagon, your post was exactly the swift kick in the butt that I needed 🙂 thanks for posting it 🙂
Thank you, this is EXACTLY what I needed! For the longest time I always felt really awful about letting people come into my house because I assumed everyone else’s was beyond reproach…until I saw things like sinks piled high with dishes in murky water, ceiling fans with dirt and dust caked inches deep – and it made me realize that I’m actually doing a pretty good job! But this list is perfect for tackling those things that I always make more of a to-do about than is necessary. I especially love the idea of the rag near all the sinks – will definitely do that! 🙂
Great! I’m glad you found the post useful. Believe me, we all have areas that we would like to hide behind closed doors, but if we do our best to keep up with this short list, we won’t have to be embarrassed by unexpected company. Thanks for commenting!
Reblogged this on The Pretty Canary.
Thanks so much! (blush, blush)
Don’t worry about it!
Great list! Taking off shoes when you enter a house is a way of life in Minnesota 🙂
That’s great! One less thing to worry about!