You guys, living in a small house is great. I love almost everything about it including how much money it saves, how cosy my family feels and of course how easy it is to clean! BUT, small houses get messy real quick. Especially with little kids!
The thing is, cleaning is so not my bag. I kinda hate it. But waking up to a messy house sets me up for a bad day so I’ve developed a night time cleaning routine that I whip through in about 15 minutes before heading to bed at night. It has made all the difference to my mornings, allowing me to wake up and get started with a productive day.
Note: this doesn’t include vacuuming the floor. Which is a nightly ritual in our home. After dinner, we vacuum (the kids love to ‘help’) and then start the bedtime routine.
My night time cleaning ritual (adjust as required)
1. Spray with white vinegar and wipe down bench tops and table tops
White vinegar is the best cleaner there is. It can be used in so many ways, but I keep equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle for all my cleaning. I no longer buy any multi-purpose cleaners. It’s magic stuff – have a read of the other ways you can use white vinegar here.
2. Pick up any large items and put them in the inside trash
This is mainly so I don’t trip over them en route to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
3. Take the inside trash to the outside bins
Small house = smells spread fast. Trash is emptied daily.
4. Spray the basin in the bathroom
Our bathroom is on the wrong side of the house and gets almost no sun so it can get damp and yucky in there if I don’t clean regularly.
5. A quick wipe of the toilet seat (with 2 boys under 5 this is essential)
Need I say more? Also, the floor and walls around the toilet seat. Because boys.
6. Fold any stray clothes and leave them outside bedroom doors
There are always clothes all over the place which makes getting the kids dressed and ready for school and preschool in the morning very stressful. I now have their clothes in one large under-bed drawer, so each night I put the clothes outside the door and transfer them to their proper homes in the morning.
7. Put on a load of washing (to line-dry in the morning)
I don’t have an electric dryer! My laundry is tiny, it wouldn’t fit even if I wanted one. I have a rotary clothes line which I adore. Line drying for the win!
I usually run a load of washing last thing at night and crack open the lid if I wake during the night. I find that so long as I hang it on the clothesline first thing, there’s never a smell.
This night time cleaning routine is not my complete clean but it definitely helps me to feel more in control and less cluttered in our little house. Do you clean nightly? Anything else you’d add to this list?
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