The problem seems to get even worse if you have professional cleaners coming in – if you don’t watch it, the kids can pick up the attitude of “drop it on the floor and the cleaner will take care of it.”
It’s important for everyone, old and young, to at least know how to take responsibility for their own mess and clean up after themselves. And if you’ve ever had the slightest brush with Montessori education, the process starts way back in preschool years. There are heaps of reasons why children should be given responsibility for cleaning around the home, but that would be a whole article of its own.
Different Types of People
Households differ as to the level of cleanliness that needs to apply inside. Some people don’t mind the kitchen table sitting elbow-deep in old magazines. Others like a minimalist look with absolutely no clutter or mess at all. Others are somewhere in between. But no matter what standards apply in your home, basic hygiene is important so you don’t create a health hazard.
The House Cleaning Rules!
Here are some important household cleaning rules that apply to everyone everywhere:
- If you spill something, wipe it up straight away. It won’t go away if you leave it. Instead, it will set into or onto whatever you spilled it onto and will be harder to get up.
- Carpets must be vacuumed at least weekly in order to keep fleas away and to stop dust bunnies trying to reproduce in odd corners (and that won’t be the only thing reproducing if you don’t bother vacuuming).
- Always wash your hands after going to the loo, going out, after blowing your nose or coughing, and after handling raw meat. Also wash your hands before eating and before preparing food. Yes, this means that you will sometimes have to go and wash your hands in the middle of food preparation if part of this preparation involves handling raw meat.
- If you’ve used a cloth to wipe something off the floor, throw it in the wash (or, in the case of disposable cloths and paper towels, throw it out) straight away and don’t be tempted to re-use it on a bench top.
- If you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be neat and wipe the seat. Or the floor or wherever you were clumsy enough to get it. Also in the smallest room of the house, if you used the last bit of loo paper on the roll, you are responsible for putting out a new roll.
- Leave dirty shoes at the door to avoid tracking mud all through the carpets.
- Sheets must be changed fortnightly to avoid peculiar smells building up in the bedroom.
- Hang up bath mats after use so they can dry a bit rather than sitting there all soggy.
- Use a bath mat to stop water getting all over the tiles and becoming a slipping hazard.
- Plates do not wash themselves, nor do they have legs so they can walk into the dishwasher unaided. Waiting until the gunk on the plates evolves into something with legs is unadvisable. Put your own plates in the dishwasher.
Now you can bet that your house will look a lot better. If not – call The HouseCleaners.net!