Four Steps to a Clean Home

By Arlyn Molina

“A clean environment not only helps your home truly shine; it helps reduce stress, anxiety and basically do better in all areas of your life. ”-Arlyn Molina

“Cleanliness is next to godliness” is something we often hear repeated over and over again. What does that even mean? Here is the Cliff notes version: it basically means that maintaining a clean home should be up there in par with spiritual devotion. A clean environment not only helps your home truly shine; it helps reduce stress, anxiety and basically do better in all areas of your life. Don’t believe me? Google it. Crazy right? Here are some practical ways to maintain a clean home.

1. Declutter (Duh!)

This is a no-brainer here. In order to KEEP a home clean, you have to start with a clean home. I recommend getting all your family members on board for this step. Go through each space and follow this rule: if it hasn’t been used in the past three months, let it go. Let’s be real here, chances are you will not be using that said item moving forward. I recently went through our garage and found an empty toolbox my husband had put aside for whenever he “needed to transport tools”. A year later, it sat collecting dust. I knew it had to find a new home after that. I spoke to my husband and respectfully reminded him of the time this item had taken up space and that it had not been used. He was okay with letting it go and now we have about three feet more of shelf space to use. YAY!

Once you have collected your items, you need to have a game plan. A garage sale would help you collect funds for the next step, or you can donate the items to families who will have better use for them. Whatever you do, simply get them out of the way. Once this important step is done, time to move along and make systems.

2. Make Systems (That Work)

Find something that works for you. This will be different for every family depending on your lifestyle and what items you have exactly. In my boys’ playroom, for example, we have bookshelves, cubby systems and bins. Their closet has shoe shelves doubling as storage for board games, which they thoroughly enjoy and collect. There are large baskets for balls galore and a large chest for their play costumes. There is a place for everything and everything is in its place (most of the time). Whatever space you are currently working on, I suggest checking Pinterest for ideas by typing “____name of space___ organization”.

Most bins can be purchased locally or online. I recommend measuring twice to ensure whatever you purchase fits in its intended space. Far too many people purchase items blindly only to have to return them afterward, which is more work than actually using a measuring tape in the first place.

（from: @athomeontheboulevard)

3. A Routine For Your Family

When steps one and two are done, it is time to move along. Please do your best to go through the process before proceeding. Trust me. You will thank yourself later for the time invested in, really… yourself. The easiest thing is now to maintain your systems. Clutter has been put away. There is a home for everything. Now keep it up. How? Here’s how: keep your home clean.

This doesn’t necessarily involve mopping, sweeping and dusting daily, although those things are important. This is more keeping it decluttered. Are there toys on the coffee table? Washed dishes on your countertops? Water bottles on your nightstand? Do your very best to address these before the new day starts. I once read, “Do something today that you will thank yourself for tomorrow,” and it absolutely changed my life. I LOVE walking into my open-concept home and seeing cleared countertops, pillows on my couches where they are supposed to go, and clean floors. We make it a point as a family to pick up the house and ready it for the next day every night.

4. Make it a Lifestyle

Cleanliness is a family decision. Our children have daily and weekly chores to address as do we adults. They might not always necessarily agree and have their own objections, but we personally believe that structure develops disciplined adults. If they see my husband and me cleaning without objecting and understand it is basically a part of growing up, it will become as normal as bathing and putting on their shoes.

If you notice your children are struggling with a part of their daily chores, simplify it for them. For instance, my boys had a hard time making their beds every morning. They sleep in a bunk bed, so all the extra sides really made it challenging for them to tuck in sheets. We invest in Beddy’s (zippered bedding) and the problem was solved. They now make their beds in under a few minutes feel a sense of pride for being able to take care of this simple task every morning.

Where there is a problem, there is a solution and sometimes it involves diving into our creativity to solve it. When it comes to designing homes for my clients, one of the ways their space transforms is when they see a clean, decluttered space, and they can finally breathe. You can accomplish this same feeling in your home following the steps above. They will take you a step closer to accomplishing the home of your dreams. Pinky promise.

*All Photographs Credit: Arlyn Molina

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