Cleaning is a never-ending chore, even when you don’t have children or pets to cause a mess. The dust always accumulates, and the carpets must be aired weekly. The blinds need wiping down again, and the kitchen is forever a mixture of unpleasant odors and stains. Not to mention the bathroom. You don’t even have an idea of how to clean the grout so that your tiles look brand new.
Even after you’ve accomplished all these tasks, however, you could still have that lingering feeling that your house is never at its cleanest state. At least, not compared to your friend’s house and those you see on the internet. The thought that never reaches the point of “enough” is frustrating, which is why it’s important to settle this matter once and for all.
How do you know when your house is “clean enough?”
Define It for Yourself
Comparing your interior to that of your neighbor’s is the first blunder in this affair. Unless you’re both receiving government dignitaries in your home or managing a family of five with the same personality traits, then comparing will not lead to any objective insight. The truth of the matter is that different lifestyles call for different levels of cleanliness.
A practical sweep and wipe down for a young professional balancing two jobs will seem inadequate to an older professional working from home. The storage ideas of a housewife with one child will look ineffective to a housewife with three children.
“Clean enough” will vary from person to person. It can even vary at different points in your life. If you really want to know whether your housecleaning skills are up to par with your standards, then make your own criteria. Strive to accomplish them. Doing so should help you feel better about the hard work you put into your house chores.
Ask the Professionals
While “clean enough” is mostly subjective, there are particular aspects that you’ll want to meet when setting a standard. It’s a prominent fact that many homeowners–whether of a three-story house or an apartment in the city–don’t have adequate skills to clean their living space. You should at least tick off the most basic ones, if not for aesthetic reasons, then for your health. Remember that cleaning is a form of maintenance. When you do it well, there’s a better chance of avoiding repairs or spotting one as soon as it’s needed.
One of the best ways to educate yourself and give your house a regular deep cleaning is to hire the help of professionals. It’s not practical for every homeowner in Utah to have professionals at their beck and call, but it is a worthy investment to give your house a meticulous scrubbing every once in a while.
Employing a spring cleaning service can point you to areas you tend to neglect. It could be your attic, basement, bathroom, or kitchen. These are the usual places with neglected nooks and crannies you’ll want to start paying attention to. After a good washing from experienced hands, you might have a better idea of how clean your house can actually get if you did it the right way.
Assess Your Health
Another essential point to add to your criteria is your health. How do you feel when you’re at home? Is the space suffocating? Does spending long periods of time in the living room trigger your allergies? Have you recently developed migraines and breathing problems after transitioning to remote work because of the pandemic?
Your health is one of the primary determinants of your house’s cleanliness. If you start to feel better after getting a spring cleaning service, then you know you’ll have to raise your standards. Should you continue to suffer migraines and allergies, however, at least you can rest assured that something else could be triggering them.
Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself
Busy parents and professionals shouldn’t be too hard on themselves to maintain an orderly home. Sometimes, it’s not cleaning that’s the problem, but your choice of furniture. You could also be suffering from hoarding issues, which is one reason the house never looks clean enough.
Work on these matters one step at a time and set realistic goals. At the end of the day, it’s your house, and your priority is to make sure you’re happy living in it.
