Eeewww, yuck, you say. I hate cleaning as it is and now you tell me to make a date to clean?

Yes, because that is the easy way to do it. If you do a thorough bathroom cleaning every Wednesday, for example, then it will get done every week and it will not be so bad.

If you leave your cleaning the bathroom chore until you can "get around to it," until it really needs it, or until you cannot stand it anymore, then you will have a much worse job on your hands, and you are far more likely to put it off the next time it needs to be done because it was so yucky.

If you set up a schedule, you are more likely to remember to do the cleaning, the rooms will stay cleaner, you will feel less harrassed about it all, and your home will be a nicer place for you to relax in.

It is a good idea to break up the major cleaning chores; don't schedule everything for the same day.
If you plan to do all your cleaning on one day, say Saturday, then something is likely to come up that prevents you from taking care of it on Saturday and you will be back at square one with a dirty house and a whole week to wait until your next "cleaning day."

Instead, make Tuesday your bathroom cleaning day, Wednesday your living room cleaning day, Thursday your kitchen cleaning day, Friday your bedroom cleaning, laundry collection, and sorting day, etc. This way, if you miss the bathroom cleaning-day because of a school conference or staying late at work you can catch up the next day. It is only 5 to 30 minutes of cleaning you missed, not the whole house.

Now, when I say that Thursday is kitchen cleaning, I do not mean that you let the dishes and countertops, etc. go all the rest of the week. I am talking about the one day a week that you do a thorough job of cleaning- cleaning the stove, refrigerator, microwave, floor, etc. Naturally, if any area in your house needs cleaning or straightening during the rest of the week you would take care of it: wipe up spills, and so forth.

Think about it next time you start to clean: how much time do you waste gathering up what you need to use? Notice how easy it is to avoid getting started when the supplies you need are not right there?

We recently moved from a small, cramped, old house into a nice, new, spacious home. That's great, except that I now have three bathrooms to keep clean, instead of one and a half.

In order to clean the easy way I have a set of the same cleaning products in each of my three bathrooms.

I bought cleaning supplies at Costco (where you can buy multiples of everything) and I stocked each of my bathrooms with a container of sanitizing wipes, a roll of paper towels, a bottle of toilet bowl cleaner, a can of air freshener, a sponge, a toilet brush, a scrub brush, etc.

Believe it or not, this makes it much easier to keep the bathroom clean. I don't spend any time running up or downstairs to get the cleaning stuff I need, or waiting till the storage bathroom is free so I can retrieve my one and only cleaning kit, then lugging it around to do each bathroom.

Make sure that you have a broom and a dustpan and whisk broom, too, on each floor where you will need them. Our home has four levels, so I try to keep one of what I will need on each floor where I will need it.

Do the same for your kitchen, living room, and bedrooms. It is so much easier to dust and polish my bedroom furniture now that I keep furniture polish and dust cloths in my bedroom.

Do spot cleaning when you are in a room. I am trying to explain this to the other members of my family, and I have actually had some success.

When you are in the bathroom already and you have just used the sink, grab a paper towel (from the roll you placed in the bathroom,) and wipe off the entire counter, especially around the sink, when you are through washing up. Quick and easy, but it makes a big difference.

A second paper towel, dampened just with clear water, can be used on your mirror once a day to keep it shining clean and free of those toothpaste and soap spatters. You do not need window cleaner; just clean water will do the job.

You can do the same sort of thing in any room. When you are done with a meal clear everything off the table immediately and wipe it off or dust and polish it. This takes a very brief time, but has a great effect. Your room looks so much better, the table is ready and available for use, and you will find that you feel better, too.

Make your bed first thing when you get up. This is a great way to start the day. Coming out of the shower into a bedroom with a neatly made bed will give you a good feeling, like you are organized and capable.

I know it sounds silly, but it really works. Don't knock it until you have tried it. Try this for one week: make your bed first thing when you get up every day, and see what a difference it makes in how you view yourself.

As I mentioned above, clear the table right after a meal. Put your dishes in the dishwasher immediately as you clear off the table.

It takes more steps and more work to clear dishes off the table, then stack the dirty stuff all over the kitchen, and then to make another trip to scrape the plates and finally put them in the dishwasher later.

Make it one step: take the dishes from the table past the garbage can for scraping, then into the empty dishwasher, add soap and get it running right away.

Get those pots and pans washed immediately, too. It really doesn't help to let them sit around. (I have tried this, and I found that they were still in need of washing when I looked in on them the next morning.)

Things tend to be easier to clean when they are cleaned immediately. Stains will set into fabric, carpet, whatever, when they are left there, and everybody knows what damage spilled liquid can do when it is left on most any surface. It is much easier to avoid leaving glasses of water sitting around, than to clean up the mess that results from a spill.

We have cats, and dogs, and kids, so we have learned the hard way not to leave anything liquid in an open container (like a glass) when it is unattended. Our cats sometimes find it more amusing to drink water after they knock the glass of water over on its side.

This may be the most important point: The less you have in any given space, the easier it is to keep your belongings and your surroundings clean, neat, and attractive. The more we try to jam into a room the harder it becomes to keep those items and the room clean.

From a purely practical standpoint it is more difficult to vacuum when you cannot fit the vacuum head between the pieces of furniture or maneuver it easily around items of furniture and lamps.

It is more difficult to dust and polish wood furniture when it is covered with stuff. The same is true for your dresser, your bathroom counter, your kitchen, your dining table, your desk, etc.

It is even difficult to see the items you own when there are too many of them in one room. A single beautiful item displayed in a medium space can have much more impact than 20 beautiful things jammed into that same space.

Reducing the amount of things cluttering up your home can bring more benefits than just making your house look better. You will find that it is easier to keep it clean and beautiful, and it may actually make you feel more serene and calm.

You, too, can have a clean and neat home. Find out how you can remove clutter from your home and life with this excellent guide to fast decluttering.