Some days I feel like I’m between a rock and a hard place. I really don’t enjoy cleaning, however I love a clean home for so many reasons. Unfortunately, a cleaning service is most definitely not in our budget {plus I would feel like I would have to clean my house before they came} so I have had to force myself to create routines that help to keep my home tidy.
We have been in the midst of a remodeling project, converting two smaller closets into a walk in pantry. This closet will sit right in the middle of our house between our kitchen and living room. Therefore, the renovations have put a damper in the cleanliness of our main living space in our home. In the past few weeks, I’ve noticed my stress levels have been elevated, my temper short, and my mood poor. It’s also been an unsafe environment for my 9 month old and 4 year old to play on the floor. {And don’t worry, we’ve been diligent about keeping safe areas for them to play!}
While cleaning may not be the most fun pastime, it definitely has its benefits. Maybe cluttered and dirty counters stress you out, like they do me. Maybe it’s grimy bathrooms that make you crazy. Or possibly it’s crumbs on your floor that you can’t stand. If you don’t like cleaning, but enjoy a clean home, I think these benefits will help you to get up and get moving!
1. Easier to Practice Hospitality
Tom and I often joke that the quickest way to get our house clean is to invite people over! However, it can be very overwhelming and stressful to invite people over to a messy home. And let’s not even get into when people drop by unexpectedly! I’ve been there and it’s not fun to try to hide the mess or clutter.
By keeping up with a regular cleaning routine, you can confidently invite people into your home.
2. Creates a Healthier Environment for Your Family
Tom (my husband) and Caleb (my 4 year old) both have pretty significant allergies. When dust begins to accumulate I will often start to notice it by how much they are sneezing before I actually see the build up on the furniture!
Regular maintenance of your home can really reduce health problems for you and your family. Changing the air filter regularly can help to alleviate the amount of dust in your home. If you have pets (like we do), cleaning can become even more important to the health of your family. We have a goldendoodle who has a LOT of hair. Keeping the dog hair under control is a chore in itself!
However, the benefits of keeping my family healthy make the chore of cleaning my home worth all the time and effort!
3. Saves Valuable Time
Have you ever left your dirty dishes from dinner on the counter overnight only to wake up to have to scrub and scrub the caked on food the next morning? Yeah, me too! It’s not fun!
Cleaning the rest of your house is very similar. The soap scum in your bathtub, the grime on your floors, and the dust on your furniture will all come off much easier if dealt with earlier rather than later. If you keep up with regular maintenance and follow a cleaning routine, you will save yourself a lot of time scrubbing to get the built on grime and gunk off.
4. Save Money
By keeping your home clean, you will have less maintenance and repairs over time. Your furnace and air conditioning system will have to work harder when you forget to change your air filter. Your refrigerator’s life span will diminish if you don’t keep up with regular maintenance. Your dryer can overheat if you don’t clean out the vent regularly. All of these things can be prevented if you keep up with regular cleaning.
If you consider the high cost of repairing or replacing some of the larger items in your home, keeping up with regular cleaning seems much easier! You can save a lot of money by keeping a clean home.
5. Helps with Productivity
I don’t know about you, but I have a really hard time getting anything done when I look around and see a messy house. Trying to cook in a messy kitchen is stressful. Attempting to relax in a messy bedroom just causes anxiety. Enjoying a long, hot shower in a dirty bathroom is near impossible.
However, the flip side to that is that a clean, tidy, and orderly home makes you want to accomplish tasks and enjoy your home. Keeping a clean home can make you more productive.
6. Reduces Stress
Maybe it’s just me, but when I look around at a messy house my stress levels begin to rise and eventually the anxiety takes over. This is not good for me and it’s not good for my family.
As a mom, I know my mood can very easily affect the moods of my children and husband. When I have a messy house, I know I begin to stress. I feel overwhelmed and have a hard time concentrating on anything else besides cleaning the mess in front of me.
I’ve found that by keeping up with regular cleaning, my stress levels are lower, I’m able to enjoy my home and my family more, and I think my family is much happier as well. If keeping a clean home helps me to enjoy my family and life more, I’m all in.
Here’s a Recap
There are many benefits of keeping a clean home including:
- Ease of practicing hospitality
- Creating a healthy environment for your family
- Saves time
- Save money
- Increases productivity
- Reduces stress
While it may seem easier to just skip the cleaning all together, keeping up with regular maintenance will really help you and your family in so many ways.
Keeping a clean home saves my sanity. I grew up in a messy home and always told myself I would do better when I was the one in charge. I have lived up to that so far, but the truth is, I love having a clean and organized home.
I agree, Holly! I love a clean home, just not always the act of cleaning. 🙂 That’s so great that you have been able to make that habit and keep it up!