Happy Monday, friends! I hope your week starts off on the right foot! My kids headed back to school last week and I’ll be honest, I had mixed feelings. I’m ready to get back to a routine, but I’m also not ready. And let’d face it, those first few weeks back are always a bit of a struggle! I’ve loved our quiet and leisurely mornings and let’s be honest, I’ve enjoyed sleeping in! That being said, I am going into it with a positive attitude and trying to wake up early, meal prep, lunch prep and just prep, so that my days aren’t as frantic!
As we start a new year, I am always ready to make small changes within our family. While we aren’t perfect or completely clean/safer, I really try to make an effort to make our home as clean in as many aspects as possible. Here are six of my easy ways to make your home a cleaner one!
Six Easy Ways to Make Your Home Cleaner
Leave Shoes At The Door
1. Leave shoes at the door! This is a huge rule in our house, even the neighbor kids know to take off their kicks as they enter the house! We personally leave shoes in our laundry room drawers or by the back stairs! When I designed my laundry room, I made sure that every family member had a drawer for their shoes. I realize not everyone has a locker in their laundry room (this is where we enter our home 95% of the time), but you can also use baskets at the stairs or by the door(s).
This is a great way to keep shoes organized and to let your guests know that is what is expected when the enter your home. When you think about how many germs you pick up on your shoes on a daily basis, it is gross. Yes, I’m a germaphobe, but seriously, think of where all you walk each day- grocery stores, Target, gas stations, etc and if you wear your shoes into the home, you’re bringing all of those germs right in with you! It seriously grosses me out, so this simple rule to leave shoes at the door has really been a great way to help make our home a cleaner one.
Switch to Safer Products
2. Switch your family’s products to safer. We personally use a lot of Beautycounter in our home. This has been life changing for our family and I feel so confident about us switching 1.5 years ago. Now, don’t get me wrong, we still use other brands and products on a daily basis, but I do try to use safer products when and where we can and I’ve slowly incorporated more of them into our daily life. This is an easy and simple way to help make your home a cleaner one by using products with safer ingredients.
Our daily favorite Beautycounter products:
BODY BAR – these are in all of our showers! We love them!
BODY WASH – doubles as shaving cream for the legs!
CHARCOAL BAR – a great way to detox the skin a few times a week!
COUNTERMAN – Mr. Fancy loves this stuff!
HYDRATING BODY LOTION – We all love and use this daily!
COUNTERMATCH ADAPTIVE BODY MOISTURIZER – I love this stuff!!!
HAND CREAM – This is on my bedside table! I use it daily!
BODY BUTTER – My other favorite BC product! This stuff is amazing!!
SUGAR BODY SCRUB – I use this once a week to exfoliate my skin and get rid of the dry and dead pieces. This is key to do in the winter months! Follow with Body Butter!
3. Consider trying a more natural laundry detergent. We personally use SEVENTH GENERATION free & clear. I am allergic to a lot of things and detergent is a big issue for me. The fragrances, dyes, oh my! The free & clear works really well for me and I will grab the scented sometimes for Mr. Fancy and Teddy (they like fragrance! ha!) There are lots of great cleaner detergent options out there and I always feel like this is a really simple way to start the switch to safer. Here’s my question for you, do you subscribe to items on Amazon? I am trying it out this year and subscribing to all of our household staples- detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. We also use these DRYER SHEETS.
Eat Your Fruits, Vegetables and Vitamins
4. Eat more fruits and veggies and vitamins! We personally take JUICE PLUS CAPSULES each day. We’ve been taking them for a few years now and for the most part my kids love them, too. The CHEWABLES taste like fruit snacks! We love them! If you’re not into CHEWABLES, you can also grab them in CAPSULE FORM to swallow. I’m hoping to add the OMEGA BLEND CAPSULES to my diet this year, too. We also love the OLLY MIGHTY IMMUNITY GUMMIES (for kids) and these ELDERBERRY GUMMIES, especially during cold and flu season.
Go to Bed With a Clean Kitchen
5. Clean the kitchen every night! Waking up to a clean kitchen does wonders for your mental state. There are so many nights where I feel like I can’t face the kitchen, but I turn on some music and just get it done! I always feel so much better once its spic and span. We have a large island and while I love it, it can also become the catchall area. I clear papers, kids things, etc off of it nightly! I just know that I’ll wake up feeling way less stressed with a clean kitchen I thrive on organization and cleanliness, so for me, this is key to waking up and starting the day stress free!
Vacuum or Sweep Daily
6. Vacuum or sweep the floors nightly. I bought myself a ROBOT VACUUM a couple years ago and finally started using it this past year. I send it out every night after dinner. I also use my DYSON STICK VAC all day, everyday! I couldn’t live without these two products, especially with crumbs, dog hair, messy eaters, leaves and branches that George brings in. Did I mention dog hair?! Yes, vacuuming the floors nightly is key for me! I also vacuum my kitchen table-It is reclaimed wood and so many crumbs get into the crevices. I vacuum it at least a few times a week to keep the crumbs away. I couldn’t live without my dream team of vacuums and truthfully I am considering taking the plunge and ordering this ROBOT MOP as well!
So, there you have it! Six easy ways to make your home cleaner in all aspects! What are your tips and tricks? Anything I should add to my list? Have a great day! XO!
If you like this post check out my KITCHEN HERE and my LAUNDRY ROOM HERE.
I love your tips for a cleaner home! I’m one of those people without a “mudroom” but I’ve always wondered how you go about storing shoes in a mudroom type space. Do you clean out the baskets every week and place the shoes back in closets and each person brings out their shoes as needed when leaving the home? I want to go to a shoe free home so badly but we’d have to leave them in the garage and I just don’t know if I could make it work without a storage option in place.
Several years ago I switch from using dryer sheets to dryer balls. I love them! There seemed to be some static in the beginning, but I don’t notice any static anymore. Another change I made was to switch from using fabric softener to using a combination of baking soda and white vinegar in the washing machine (with the Seventh Generations laundry soap). I add a bit of baking soda on top of the clothes and put the vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser.