In a few short days most schools will begin to close for the winter holidays, and while school children around the country unite in glee and great anticipation, parents are a little less enthusiastic. If the thought of busy little bodies zooming messily through the house or slothful teens is leaving you cold, this article is for you – tips to keep your house tidy and hygienically clean while also maintaining your sanity.
1. Just Relax
Did you notice that we’re talking about keeping your house tidy not perfect or spotless? So the first thing you need to do is relax. Your kids need a break and if you’re lucky enough to be home with them for some of the time, you need the break too, so relax your expectations around hygiene cleaning and know that good enough is the new perfect.
2. Be Ready
Have the right equipment at hand and easily accessible. Your children might be on holiday, but that doesn’t absolve them of all responsibility – if someone makes a mess it’s their duty to clean it up, so have everything they may need (broom, dust pan, wet cloth, floor cloth, and cleaning solution) at hand so that they know where everything is when accidents happen and they will happen, we all know that.
3. Maintain Routine
If you normally have a night time routine during the school week, maintain it now – have everyone pack away their toys and books at the end of the day and tidy up the living room so that you don’t wake up to an overly messy house; and unstack the dishwasher so that it’s ready for the next morning’s breakfast dishes, nothing screams ‘messy!’ more than used bowls and plates strewn across surfaces.
4. Take Turns
Even if you have someone coming in regularly to help you with your cleaning, it’s important to enlist your child’s help in keeping the house tidy and clean. Let everyone have a turn to sort, wash and fold laundry, vacuum the house and tidy the kitchen – it teaches the importance of teamwork and goes a long way to raising a mature, responsible and well-rounded adult.
5. Declutter & Donate
Holidays are the perfect time to sort through your belongings. Spend a morning having your family go through old clothes, books and toys; decide what to keep and what to donate. Studies show that physical clutter can also lead to mental clutter, so if you want to restore calm in your home and mind, decluttering is a great place to start.
But remember, if by the end of the holiday you weren’t able to hold it together and your home starts looking like a bomb site in desperate need of spring cleaning , call QClean – they deal with pre and post occupation cleaning and all forms of intensive hygiene cleaning on a regular basis, so they’ll be able to restore your home to its former glory in next to no time.
Until then, happy holidays.
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