The Secrets Of People With Super Clean Homes

People often attribute super clean homes to master home-keepers who are inventive, resourceful, and possess great aesthetic taste. The truth is that maintaining a clean home has less to do with born talent and more to do with learned habitual practices. Knowing how to have a well-kept home is an acquired skill that can be honed and sharpened over time. The more practice you have, the more natural the instinct will come to you. Of course, it helps if you have a rare type of comical personalities like Monica from Friends, who takes pure pleasure in home cleaning and immaculate organisation. Not all of us are wired that way but it’s not all hopeless for the rest of us out there. Even if you are content with your philosophy of “organised structured chaos”, we can assure you that some of these easy hacks will come to be useful to you in one area or another.  

We will divulge some of the best-kept secrets of people with super clean homes that you can learn a trick or two from to keep your home consistently sparkly clean! You’ll be able to save yourself a great deal of time and work if you can learn to develop the following habits.  

They Make Cleaning A Mandatory Part Of Their Day 

Cleaning is an obligatory ritual, not optional. People who have disastrous homes only clean when their place becomes borderline inhabitable. Just like how people who are fit make working out a mandatory part of their day and cannot find peace unless they do so, super home-cleaners operate in a similar way. 

They Balance “Tidy” And “Clean” with Harmony

Super-cleaners understand the difference between tidy and clean. The two are not mutually exclusive. You can be tidy and dirty, or clean and messy. Maybe you do put all your clothes and dishes away neatly, but you are dirty in the sense that you don’t actually properly wipe down the dishes and countertops. Maybe everything in your hope is spotless because you are a germaphobe, but your home can still be cluttered because you haven’t learned to tidy things away in an organised way.

People with super clean homes know that being tidy and being clean go hand in hand. You cannot have a clean home without learning the skills of both.  

They Prioritize Function Over Form 

There are a ton of homes that are decorated beautifully and have great aesthetic appeal, but somehow it’s a diamond in the rough. A great deal of decor and furniture are great in the way they look but have little to no function.  

What would help create a cleaner and tidier home? A coffee table with built-in drawers or a coffee table that is nothing more than a glorified tray with legs? As tempting as it is to buy beautifully designed furniture, you should also think about whether it is also functional and serves the purpose of making your place a better home. However, you don’t have to sacrifice aesthetics for functionality, you can be conscious about your decorating habits and still have a place that feels like a luxury home.

When in doubt, follow this simple rule of “Function Over Form”. Always go with function. 

They Don’t Sulk About It 

The biggest reason people don’t clean their homes until it gets to be too much all boils down to procrastination. When you so adamantly don’t want to do something, you will naturally find ways to keep yourself from accomplishing the task at hand until it’s too late.  

They Make It Fun 

The majority of us don’t really enjoy cleaning, but complaining through the process only serves to prolong the pain so why not try to make it fun for yourself? It is so important to have fun while you are working. The idea of work-life separation is no longer the solution, instead, we should opt for work-life integration. Fun can come in so many ways depending on what you find passion in doing. Why not put on your favourite beats and dance away with your chores? Or next time you need to declutter your home, put on an audiobook or podcast. Not only can you kill two birds with one stone by multitasking, but your perception of time will also pass by much quicker and more pleasurable. 

They Make Their Beds Every Morning 

Making the bed upon waking up is a very much underrated habit that more people should practice daily. By making your bed in the morning, you set the tone for how the rest of your day will unfold. If you wake up a slob, chances are you will be less inspired to practice good habits that lead to a more productive day ahead of you. Your bed is the focal point of your bedroom; the place where you begin and end your day, so it’s important to keep this area looking clean. Nobody wants to live in a pigsty of a bedroom.  

They Allocate A Place For Everything 

People with great organisational skills never leave things lying around. They are skilled artists at categorizing and allocating a place for everything. When you have a designated place for every object in your home, it’s much easier to keep tidy. If you make a habit out of tossing things wherever and whenever you feel like it, how will you ever find anything? People attribute their problems to absent-mindedness and clumsiness, but you can unlearn these bad habits simply by replacing them with positive ones - like putting things away in their rightful place.  

They Think Before They Buy 

Are you an impulsive shopper? Do you like to buy everything in sight without giving it a second thought? Do you like to buy things but never get around to using them? Is your home consistently filled to the brim with stuff? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it’s time to have a shopaholic's intervention! 

Shopping is great but if it starts to impede on your life and become unmanageable, it’s time to reel it in.  

They Never Let Things Pile Up 

No matter what the scenario is, super clean people never let their homes get piled up with stuff. If there’s package delivery, they will tend to it right away instead of letting it sit in the hallway for days. If there’s garbage to be taken out, they will do so right away. If there’s clean laundry sitting on the bed, they will hang and fold the clothes back in the closet. Everything is done right away and made a priority. The more you procrastinate, the tougher your job will be to clean at a later time. Instead of leaving everything till the last minute and doing it all in one go, why not allot 30 minutes each day to take care of your ever-building to-do list? The list of chores that you have will never stop growing, so learn to tackle it in the most efficient and productive way possible. 

They Prepare For The Next Day 

Have you ever woken up late for work and rushed out of the house frantically, leaving a trail of annihilation in your wake? Have you ever been so pressed for time that you fling all your clothes out of your closet while looking for the right outfit to wear?  

When you are frantic and in a rush, it’s natural to create a mess. However, if you plan and prepare beforehand, everything is already set in place for you. Your day is already in motion. Prepping takes time, but it’s an underlying characteristic that all successful people have. Always be prepared and never leave things until the last minute. What can be done now should not be pushed until tomorrow.  

A simple guide to follow each day is this: 

   • Lay out your clothes for the following day

   • Pack your bags beforehand

   • Prepare your food for the next meal or meals

   • Pre-set the coffeemaker (if you are a coffee drinker)

   • Double check your schedule for tomorrow

   • Write down a to-do list as a reminder for all the tasks you need to finish 

They Never Leave Home Without A Speed Clean 

Messy people always say, “I’ll do it later” or “I’ll do it when I come back”. More often than not, later never happens. Later becomes never.  

Clean people, on the other hand, never leave home without a round of speed cleaning.If the closet is a mess after getting ready, they will put everything away before leaving the house. It can be as simple as putting your toothbrush back in the holder or tidying up your workspace, but these little habits make a huge difference.  

They Do A Little Bit Of Laundry Everyday 

Laundry day should be every day. Leaving dirty laundry of epic proportions until “laundry day” will make your life hell. It’s like trying to cram for an exam until the night before you are set to sit through it.  

They Put Away Their Clothes After Each Use 

It’s easy to toss your dirty clothes in the nearest corner after a long day out, but falling prey to this bad habit will only make you lazier and sloppier over time. It’s human nature to want to take the easy route but making a mental note to steer yourself down the right path can save you time and energy spent on cleaning up the mess in the long run. All it takes is a couple of minutes to either dump your dirty clothes into the laundry basket or hang them back up in your closet. You will thank yourself later for setting aside just a teeny bit of extra time to collect all the clothes in your home and put them back where they rightfully belong.  

They Clear Out All Surfaces 

Unless it serves an aesthetic purpose, nothing is ever left out on tables, counters, or any surface areas. The more stuff you have to stand around, the quicker dust and grime will build up. When you have a clear surface, it makes for a much easier time cleaning also. Don’t make your job harder than it already is. 

They Take Care Of Dirty Dishes Right Away 

Leaving dirty dishes in the sink is one of the worst habits that you can have. People who are clean make a practice out of cleaning as they cook and right after they are finished eating. Leaving dirty dishes in the sink overnight is not only unhygienic but will make you less motivated to wake up in the morning knowing that there’s a pile of stinky night-old mess waiting for you to scrub up. There’s nothing worse than walking into a dirty kitchen when all you want to do is brew yourself a fresh cup of coffee to start your day off right. 

Always dry your sink after cleaning to remove any spots and debris build-up. This will keep your kitchen looking nice and clean at all times. Upon waking up, always put away dishes in the drying rack to create more space. Never let dishes pile up on the kitchen counter, not even clean ones.  

They Declutter On A Regular Basis 

Super clean homeowners are always decluttering and getting rid of excess baggage. You will never find a hoarder with a clean home because owning so much extra stuff takes up space that could be used for better purposes. Know where to draw the line between being sentimental and being a hoarder. Get rid of things that you don’t need and never use. Nobody needs ten cutting boards at home, or a drawer full of useless junk.

They Make Very Good Hosts 

It’s embarrassing to invite people to a dirty home. Even if you don’t mind, the guests will probably never want to step foot back into your home.  

They Follow The “Shoes Off” Rule 

It’s frightening the number of bacteria that you tread into the home by wearing shoes around the house. Shoes are for walking outside of the house, not around the home or on the bed. You would be surprised how many people don’t think twice before putting their dirty shoes on furniture. Not only is it dirty and gross, but you can also really get sick from the bacteria and germs that are brought into your home.  

Always follow a no-shoes policy in the home. If you hate walking around bare feet, invest in some slippers that are reserved for the home only.  

They Are Always Prepared And Well-Stocked 

Preparation is key. By having a fully stocked supply of cleaning products, you will be more inclined to clean up any messes that accumulate in day-to-day life.  

They Understand It’s Okay To Get Help 

Some people can afford full-time housekeepers to maintain their home at a certain standard of cleanliness. Even so, housekeepers need to be taught the manner in which you like to have your home kept and this takes good delegation on the part of the homeowner. You also don’t need a luxury estate to have a housekeeper. However, if you cannot afford full-time help, don’t fret. Set aside a budget to hire part-time cleaners to deep cleanse your home on a bi-weekly or monthly basis.