A Clean-as-You-Go Guide for the Whole House

It can be tempting to slack off with the scrubbing, and turn a blind eye to the dust bunnies. But it doesn’t take long for the home to slip into a state of dirty disarray.

The clean-as-you-go approach is the best way to keep things tidy all the time, without too much effort. Here's how to keep the whole house clean, with one tip for each room of the house.

Bedroom: Make Your Bed Daily

It’s a simple but important rule: make the bed every morning. An unmade bed creates a sense of disorder and chaos that can set the tone for your whole day.

A tidy bed is like a healthy breakfast — it helps you start your day right. When you incorporate this golden rule into your morning routine, it becomes so habitual that you hardly even notice you're doing it.

And when you reach the end of a long, hard day of work, nothing is more comforting than having a neat and cozy bed to crawl into.

Bathroom: No Moisture, No Mildew

The bathroom is where we clean and groom ourselves so we should keep it as hygienic and spotless as possible.

Stubborn mold and tile grout is a common bathroom cleaning challenge - once it sets in, it can be hard to remove. But if you adopt the clean-as-you-go approach, hopefully, your bathroom will never reach that point of no return.

Good ventilation is the best way to prevent unwanted dampness. Don’t just rely on your ceiling fan to do all of the work – open the bathroom window whenever possible. And keep a squeegee handy to rid your shower of excess moisture after each use.

Kitchen: Clean While You Cook

Cooking is fun, but it can be a messy business. After a session in the kitchen, there is nothing worse than having to face a pile of dirty dishes.

But you can take the dread out of dishwashing with the clean-as-you-go approach. As you prepare your ingredients for cooking, rinse any knives, chopping boards and utensils that you use along the way. Rather than letting them stack up in the sink, load everything straight into the dishwasher.

You will keep your countertops clear, which ultimately makes cooking more enjoyable. And once dinner is served, your work will be done, so you can simply relax.

Laundry: Sort It Out

The best way to minimize your laundry burden is to sort your dirty clothes and linens throughout the week. Set up separate laundry hampers: one for your towels and sheets; one for your whites; one for your delicates, etc.

Before tossing your dirty laundry into the appropriate hamper, look for serious marks or stains. Don’t let ugly stains get a grip on your clothes - apply stain remover straight away, at the scene of the grime.

Get into the habit of sorting and preparing your dirty laundry as you go, and you will save lots of time and stress.

Living Room: Everything in Its Place

After a hard day at school or work, it’s nice to sink into the couch and indulge in some reading or TV. We all like to make ourselves comfortable in the living room. Because it's the highest traffic part of the home, it tends to accumulate the most clutter. But there is a way around that.

The clean-as-you-go approach will work wonders in your living room if you incorporate smart storage solutions into your interior design. Set up your living room so that everything has its own home.

Install a shoe cabinet for discarded shoes and boots, a letter rack for daily mail, a dish for remote controls, a magazine rack for your subscriptions, and coat hooks for unused jackets, bags, and hats. When everything has a designated place, chaotic clutter will become a distant memory.