Three Super Easy Tips That Significantly Reduce Time Spent Cleaning

Housework, if you want it done right, takes up a lot of time. Many of the tasks you do are repetitive and can be reduced in the time it takes to do them with some really simply tactics, that do not cost a lot of money. They may seem like simple tasks, but in the long run, the time you save once you have implemented their use will make them gems of ideas that you will pass along to your friends and family.

One: If you find yourself constantly running back and forth to the washing machine, once to load and put in detergent, then coming back to put in fabric softener, and going back yet a third time to unload the laundry from the washer and place it in the dryer, than you know it is hard to get involved in another chore for fear you will forget one of the aforementioned tasks. The simply less than $2.00 purchase of a Downey Ball can save you from being a slave to the clothing. Simply load your clothes, put in your detergent as usual, and then put a cap full of Downey, or other liquid fabric softener of choice, into the Downey ball, toss it in with the wash, and you will not have to return to the machine until it is time to unload. The ball will do the intermittent work, unloading the softener during the rinse cycle.

Two: Dusting takes up a ton of time because you have to dust everything daily or every other day to keep up with it. Luckily, I have a trick that will save you dusting time galore. Take a dryer sheet (I use Bounce, but I am guessing other dryer sheets will work just as well) and lightly mist it with water from a spray bottle. Wipe the dryer sheet across the surface of any plastic or acrylic surface, you will find that not only are you removing the immediate dust, but you are creating a dust repellant of sorts as well, and you can go several days without having to dust those items again. I use this trick on the ceiling fans too, even though they are not made of plastic or acrylic, and it works great. Dust tends to accumulate on them rather quickly, but is hard to get at (depending on the height of your ceilings), so if this trick works on them, you are saving yourself a good deal of cleaning time in the future.

Three: A plastic box can work miracles for you. Buy a plastic box for each ‘busy’ room of the home and place it in a designated spot where everyone in the home knows where it is, and what it is for. You can buy decorative boxes, clear boxes, colored boxes, or whatever your tastes are. Or you can get pretty wicker baskets. The point is, get a container and put in the room, and deem it the place where items go that need to be put away or moved to another room. Ask your family members to not only get in the habit of putting items in there that need to be moved to their own space, to reduce clutter significantly, but also to get in the habit of grabbing a thing or two as they go from room to room, and putting them away. This is an easy process that is not daunting for anyone in the home, from smallest to oldest, and it can really aid a great deal in getting the family involved in household chores, and saving you precious time.

These three tips, while simple and inexpensive, are certain to save you a lot of time on those mundane cleaning chores that seemingly never end. Try them out, I think you will be glad that you did.