Does your home seem to get dirty almost instantly? It's so frustrating to spend hours getting your house looking spotless only for it to be messy again the following day.
Who is to blame for the seemingly unexplainable dirt that covers your home - The Dirt Fairies? We think not.
In fact, the answer is much more simple. There are eight, common everyday habits that bring dirt into your home. To avoid a build-up of grime and unecessary mess, it's important to avoid these mistakes.
Do you and your family have some of these bad habits? Read the list below to find out!
1. You don't remove or brush your shoes
First on our list of dirty habits is not removing your shoes when you enter your home. Not only should shoes be removed, but brushed before doing so. This means, if you later take your shoes up to your closet, no dirt will fall from them on the way.
In order to equip your house for the number of feet that come in and out each day, we recommend the following:
- Good quality, large doormats on the inside of all outside doors.
- A shoe rack or cabinet to store shoes in (this means you won't have to take them through the house to your wardrobe).
- Regularly vacuum the doormats to ensure the dirt doesn't transfer onto carpets.
2. You open the windows in windy weather
Whilst we appreciate the importance of fresh air in the home, there's a time and a place for that. If your house is in a more rural area, or if it's surrounded by shrubbery and tall trees, you want to avoid having the windows open when it's windy.
It's amazing how much debris falls from the trees outside, and if you leave your windows open, you could find sticky, sappy things coming into your home - needless to say, they're a nightmare to get up.
Save opening your windows for calm-weather days. If it's seriously stuffy inside and you simply must have some air on a windy day, open the vent on your windows or add mesh to them.
3. You never wipe down kitchen surfaces
Number three on our list is a big one. Many of us really neglect our kitchens. Whilst wiping down surfaces after preparing and eating might seem like something simple, it's amazing at home many people forgo it.
Just because you do a main clean once a week, it doesn't mean you should neglect the house completely in the meantime. Food and spillages left on counters can not only cause ants and a build-up of bacteria, but it will solidify and be much harder to clean later on.
Get everyone in the household into the habit of wiping down kitchen surfaces, the hob and the microwave after use and you'll be amazed what a difference it makes.
TOP TIP: There's no point wiping down a dirty surface with a dirty cloth! Soak your dishcloths in a diluted bleach solution or Zoflora every couple of days to keep them clean.
4. You don't clean food out periodically
Whilst we're in the kitchen, let's head on over to the fridge. Now, it's time for a bit of honesty - when was the last time you cleaned out your fridge?
The truth is, busy lives mean we spend more time stocking up our fridges without taking stock of what we actually already have inside. We have no idea about the lettuce we bought last week that's sat, suffocating in its own mouldy juices in the bottom drawer. We've also forgotten about the 5 potatoes we bought at the weekend, so we buy more, and the cycle continues.
This build-up of food can lead to quite the stink and quite the mess which is timely (and unpleasant) to clean up.
There's an easy way to avoid this - clean your fridge out periodically.
If you take stock of what you have in the fridge before you head to the shops, it'll prevent those disgusting, mouldy messes. This is also a good time to chuck out anything that's past its best - mouldy food causes other food around it to deteriorate faster.
5. You don't have or use a toilet brush & toilet cleaner
We know it can be hard to get everyone in the house using a toilet brush and cleaner, but there's no such thing as a Poop Fairy.
Make life as easy as possible for everyone by ensuring there's always a clean toilet brush by the side of the toilet, and also some toilet cleaner. Regularly remind everyone that this is the Number-Two Protocol - you could even put up a sign if necessary!
This will not only make the toilet a much more pleasant place to be, but it'll save you so much time cleaning filthy messes.
If you're guilty of this, you should probably find out if you can flush hair down the toilet, too.
6. You don't put your clothes away (neatly)
Sick of spending the weekend tidying closets? Busy weeks mean it's often tempting to shove everything in the wardrobe and tell yourself you'll 'deal with it later.'
Out of sight may be out of mind - for a while, at least - but a full wardrobe tidy up can take ages.
Luckily, there's an easy way around this.
Make a small change to your everyday habits, by putting your clothes away neatly and folded in their correct place. It will mean no more big wardrobe tidies are necessary, and it'll save you so much time in the long run.
Plus, tidy room, tidy mind!
7. You don't vacuum enough
Everyone has their own preference when it comes to cleaning. Some people prefer to do a little every day, whilst others opt for one big clean a week.
Whatever works for you, there's one thing all of us should be doing every couple of days - vacuuming. The problem with dirt build-up is that it starts small, but it spreads very quickly. Drop a few crumbs on the floor, or bring a few leaves in on your shoes, and your socks will soon pick these up and transfer them to other rooms - before you know it, there's a trail of muck around your home.
The answer?
A light-weight, easy-to-use vacuum. It'll be ideal for targetting small areas and getting the job done FAST. We recommend a wireless vacuum for ease - it makes this job less of a chore, and you can be done in just a couple of minutes.
It might seem like an investment now, but we promise it'll pay off in the long run. Plus, these wireless vacuums are so much fun that you might even find the kids wanting to get involved.
8. You don't swill the sink after use
Last on our list is not swilling the sink down after use. This job takes just 15 seconds, but it seriously slashes cleaning time.
Hard build-ups of food, toothpaste and soap can be tricky to remove - just a quick swirl of the sink after use will remove all substances.
Get into the habit or swilling your kitchen and bathroom sinks with water after use to keep them looking clean for longer.
What daily habits do you do to keep your home cleaner for longer? Let us know in the comments below!
Author Jean Fitz The hand help vacuum cleaner is a brilliant addition for small spillages and the stairs too! two helpfull things I do, which you may like to share are. I have a list of the contents of my freezer, draw by draw. Use one is the flixon pens that you can rub out and rub out the , say, two. Chicken breasts as you use them. When you get home from shopping add the newly bought frozen items , under the correct draw. Make a weekly dinner list . The day before shopping day, using your freezer list making sure you use the "oldest" foods up first and also don't buy, say a third pizza. Then do the remainder of your shopping list around the weekly dinner list you've created. Last thing about the flixon various colour rub out pens. My diary would be illegible- why - how many times does that dinner date get rescheduld hospital appointments rearranged, sports competitions rearranged. Rub them out re-enter on correct day, hey presto neat easy to read tidy diary or calendar I rarely have to throw food away. I enjoy your articles.
Hi Jean, Thanks so much for your kind comment - we're so glad you enjoy our blog posts! I really like the freezer drawer tip - I bet that helps to keep things nice and organised. Erasable pens are also a great idea - why didn't we think of that?! Thanks for sharing :)
Buy a No Chemicals cloth for your bathroom and every day when you have cleaned your teeth and made yourself look sensational wipe round the washbasin and splashback (use the cloth wet or dry) and polish the taps. Hey presto it is clean and shining and is the first thing you see when you open the door.
Great idea, Gwen!
It's a wonderful thing to keep on top of dirt from everywhere as you suggest light weight Hoover it's a great thing light easy to handle item . My gran loves it at 9 years old and will do her own room for her mum with my Hoover . Great work .thankyou
Thanks for sharing!
Yes it is easy for a house to get dirty quickly - especially when you have two cocker spaniels living with you! As for your tips ,I clean the kitchen worktops about 4 times a day ,and vacuum every day;we absolutely have to ! Wooden paintwork is the thing I find most difficult to keep clean,it always needs cleaning down.
They're worth the mess, though!
I clean kitchen worktops, sinks, baths , toilet seats every day and also scrub toilet bowls each day , a few times a week I put bleach down plug holes to stop smells coming up from them , my laminate floor downstairs is done every couple of days I brush the stair carpet as it gets dust out better and bedrooms are hoovered average 2-3 times a week. Once a week I clean down sides of baths, toilets and wipe down towel rail and bathroom furniture I usually give kitchen cupboards a good clean 1-2 times a week, then wipe up spills when needed , cooker top and microwave cleaned over each time it’s used , there are times when I don’t feel like doing much especially on bad days but when I flare up but at least doing as much as possible the mess doesn’t build up so much , the worst is trying to get family members to tidy up after themselves
That sounds great!
I'm pleased to say I'm not guilty of any of these bad habits; and I have a spreadsheet listing all the freezer and cupboard contents, so I know exactly what I have in. I'm also careful to use food items in rotation - oldest first; so no bendy-veg in my fridge!
You sound super organised!
Always wipe the cooker hob after every use, it stops a build up of greasy burnt on dirt that is very hard to get rid of later.
Very true!