Keeping a stress-free, clean house

TZ Says:

December 19th, 2006, 15:35 pm

I came to your site via your comment on the Get Rich Slowly blog. Your site is awesome and I’m delighted to see someone else doing the “keeping a stress-free, clean house” routine. I too like a clean house and I don’t mind doing the cleaning. I practice EVERYTHING that you say, except for making the beds (I make them on weekends), but maybe I’ll find the inspiration to do them every day, why not? My house isn’t spotless, but anyone can drop by any day and it’s not messy or cluttered. Being clutter-free (i.e., no excessive ornaments on tables) makes cleaning a snap and it doesn’t feel like a dreadful chore. I was commenting to my husband about the positive energy that flows in a house when it’s clutter-free. He’s promised to do his share (garage and basement) of decluttering in January. If you can write a post about that, it would be greatly appreciated!

Leo Babauta Says:

January 9th, 2007, 23:55 pm

tz … thanks for the comment and sorry it took me so long to respond. I was kinda on vacation. Great comment, and I will get to a decluttering post soon! Thanks for the suggestion.

Arne Jenssen Says:

May 18th, 2007, 6:07 am

Thanks for many nice tips.

Although a made bed looks nice, it is healthier to keep it unmade. Leaving a bed unmade during the day can remove moisture from the sheets and mattress so the mites will dehydrate and eventually die.

For more details see the article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4181629.stm

J.B. Says:

June 1st, 2007, 19:51 pm

Hi Leo,
Just curious about “clean as you go” … did you by any chance run across Flylady.net? This sounds a lot like her philosophy, especially the kitchen sink and bathroom strategies.
I kind of do this in the kitchen, I could do better, but I have a real block about the daily bathroom cleaning. And no, my bathroom is not clean, so you’d think I’d try it!

Leo Says:

June 2nd, 2007, 7:47 am

Hi J.B. … actually, as I’ve said elsewhere on this site, I’m a big fan of the Fly Lady! She’s an inspiration to me. I was into simplifying and routines long before I found her site, but she’s got a lot of great implementation ideas and she’s extremely inspirational. I’ve linked to her once or twice and have meant to do an article on the site.

Peter Says:

July 29th, 2007, 4:35 am

H Leo,

great suggestions, but can you give us more detail about your cleaning the bathroom habit? I can’t imagine cleaning the toilet everytime I use it (several times a day) or scrubbing the bathroom sink after washing my hands (loads of times a day).

Leo Says:

July 29th, 2007, 16:52 pm

Hi Peter … excellent question. I should have clarified this.

I think it makes sense to do these things once a day (perhaps in the morning, when you get ready) and then other times in the day if the sink or toilet look dirty. So on most days, you might just do one quick cleaning, but there may be other days when you do it twice, for example.

Hope that helps! Of course, it really depends on your needs, so feel free to experiment.

China Katsui Says:

August 29th, 2007, 10:05 am

Thank you Leo for all your tips!!

I’ve been trying to sell them to my man, but he wouldn’t buy them.Therefore I’ve become laid back on the tidy dept.Living in Spain that’s quite odd,it’s almost an obsesive culture for cleaning and tiding up.

Surprisingly he’s send me this article,blog…few days ago!!!

I realize now, that it’s more effective when someone else tells him, and the timing is good for him to digest it!

Genesis Says:

December 18th, 2007, 22:33 pm

Well, I´m impressed. If you can keep your place tidy with six kids, you´d think I could manage with just two . . . one of whom is not yet walking, but is very good at throwing stuff on the floor.

I really enjoy your blog, though I only recently started reading it. It´s going to take me forever to read through the archives! (especially if I stop to clean).

Crystal Says:

January 9th, 2008, 18:47 pm

Hi Leo:

I just wondered if you’d marry me? LOL Kidding, I know you’re happily married! I do really enjoy your site/blog though.

I’ve been to Guam, stayed over on the air base enroute to Saipan, but coming back, was stranded on Guam waiting for two weeks for a flight to Hawaii. Each day I watched the sun rise and set. Once in a while, when we get a warm evening here in VA with lots of pretty stars, I can close my eyes and pretend I’m walking under a coconut tree on the base :-) It was beautiful there.

When I couldn’t get a flight back, I had the irrational thought that I might just find a job and stay :-). I kinda wish I had!

Blessings,

Crystal

Taylor Says:

March 24th, 2008, 0:57 am

I need a little help. I want to clean my house all the time and tidy up but my mom and grandmother who lives with us smokes. They smoke a lot so smoking outside isnt an option. I just want to leave in a clean environment and be able to go places w.o smelling like smoke. Any opinions?

Leo Says:

March 25th, 2008, 7:33 am

@Taylor: I can’t think of any options that would allow them to smoke inside and still leave you and your house not smelling like smoke. I would talk to them about smoking outside, even if it doesn’t seem like an option.

Sid Savara Says:

September 22nd, 2008, 18:51 pm

Ok, I am very late reading this, but I love it. I do the same thing. I hate any type of clutter, and it distracts me to no end. I constantly keep my room and bathroom clean (minus the cleaning the toilet every time I use it!)

I also don’t like anything on countertops, dressers, desks, even on my bathroom counter - I put everything under the sink. I love clean, unculttered, and totally empty free of distractions.

Funny story, in the past my girlfriend got upset at me for putting her picture away. I told her it was distracting. She asked me why, I told her because everytime I saw it, I thought about her and couldn’t concentrate.

I thought it was a good answer. Apparently not. My wishes were unceremoniously pushed aside, and her photo was brought out of the dresser drawer I had neatly tucked it away in, back onto the dresser, where it sat - all by itself, the only item on any surface in my room aside from my laptop and keyboard (in a keyboard tray - of course).