The secret to keeping a "clean" house

Another Friday re-run! This post was originally published on July 25, 2008.

I am often told, "Your house always seems so clean..." but I never really know how to respond to that because I don't spend much time cleaning. Really, I'm not neurotic. I'm not one of THOSE moms. I don't bleach my tubs daily or take a toothbrush to my tile grout or steam clean my drapes. I don't have that kind of time or energy.

But I think the main point of this post is the reason my house appears clean. (To re-cap, it basically suggests that you clean as you go. The whole post is a short read and is worth your time!) Yes, I like a clean tidy house, but I don't like to clean, that's why I do things quickly to get them over with. I like the result, not the process. Believe me, I have piles of junk just like everyone else. Some of my piles just happened to be tucked away in drawers dedicated to piles of junk that need to be put away!

I posted about "the other side" of this issue a few months back (click here to peek at it) and on that day, I remember being furious with myself that I had lived among a pigsty for a week that was easily cleaned up one afternoon when the kids overslept from their nap by 30 minutes. I worked against the clock, knowing they'd wake up any minute, and everything was neat and back where it belonged in less than an hour.

It's all about priorities. For some, fresh flowers from the garden on the counter are a priority. Not for me. For others, finishing touches at dinner like a dollop of whipped cream or a sprinkle of fresh basil leaves make all the difference. That's not me, either. I even know people who iron their pillow cases. Not in a million years. As it is, I don't even iron my cloth napkins for fancy dinner parties.

I'm all about simplicity and efficiency. Lately, I've developed a "touch it once" rule. If I take time to read an email (or snail mail, for that matter), I do my best to "touch it" once. Read it and either file it, respond or delete it immediately. As it is, my emails pile up like crazy, I don't need to be reading and re-reading the same emails repeatedly. And the mail that Mike brings home after work gets sorted within minutes. Coupons are put with coupons (even if they need to sorted and put in proper envelopes later), magazines have a home, junk mail is put in the recycle bin, bills go in a pile to be brought upstairs to the office. Done. Things that make it to the abyss of the junk pile usually aren't seen for a month or two, so if it's important, needs to be paid or is going to expire, it needs to be handled right away.

One tip that I love is that I have baskets for stray toys in a few key places. The play room has open bins that the kids can toss their toys when they're picking up, both kids' rooms have a basket, and there's one in the family room. This is a huge time saver and makes each room FEEL clean because the smaller items are all containerized in a nice(ish) basket. Before I added a few baskets to the house, there were constantly toys sprinkled in the most random places. Now, if I see one lying on the floor, I throw it in a basket.

I hope something I've said will inspire you to simplify and declutter something this weekend. Don't we all need a little simplicity in our lives???