How clean is your house? It’s a matter of choice: yours. While it may sound like heresy to the “cleanies” among us, the happiest families establish a standard for household cleanliness that suits their family composition, cleaning style, and personal preferences.
Set the right standard—for you Some families—such as those with crawling babies or immuno compromised
elders—will need to reach for a very high standard of cleaning. Others, such as a clan of healthy young adults, can live quite happily in a home with a more-relaxed cleaning style. While nobody advocates ignoring cleaning to the point of health and safety problems, a realistic view of your family’s cleaning standard prevents frustration—and helps get the work done faster.
Reach for family agreement on the issue of a cleaning standard. If most household members fall on the “relaxed” side of the equation, there’ll be cleaning trouble if one member pushes for higher standards.
Negotiate a common-sense compromise. Food preparation areas require a high level of sanitation, but a teen’s bedroom poses fewer health and safety concerns. Better to pick cleaning battles carefully, with an eye to general well being, than fight it out over every speck of dust.
Clean smart by setting a realistic cleaning standard for your home. Schedule chores to keep a clean house every day. Be realistic about where to insist on a higher cleaning standard. Children’s rooms and kitchen areas demand a higher level of clean.
More relaxed cleaning standards are appropriate in less-used areas. Go easier on the chores in guest bedrooms or utility areas.
Cleaning quiz :
Where does your family fall on the cleaning spectrum? Try this quiz: it will help you assess the sweet spot of “clean-enough” for your home. There are no right or wrong answers.
1/ When dinner is over, what’s the state of the kitchen?
A Pristine, of course. I load the dishwasher as I cook, and dinner dishes are done promptly. I can’t relax if the kitchen doesn’t sparkle when I turn out the lights. Who wants to come back to a dirty kitchen in the morning?
B I let the dinner dishes soak until next day. Who wants to ruin a good meal by spending time with their hands in hot water afterward?
C What’s the difference? The counters are still covered with dirty dishes; I just washed the ones we needed before the meal.
2/ How’s your relationship with the vacuum cleaner?
A Who needs a man when I have my high-speed vacuum cleaner? Even the cat has learned to stand still for the daily vacuuming.
B Love-hate. I show it the carpet every week or so, or when friends are on the way over—but I do wish it would learn to lower its voice.
C What vacuum cleaner? I’m still hoping a cleaning reality show will stop by and dig us out. Public exposure would be a small price to pay!
3/ Getting to the seat of the problem, how often do you scrub the toilet?
A As often as I use it, of course. Who wants to park themselves on anything less than sparkling?
B Hit or miss—a couple of times a week, more often if the fellows in the house forget to aim.
C Only when something snarls at me when I lift the lid ... say, every few weeks?
4/ For sweetest dreams, how often do you change the sheets?
A Once a week—or twice a week in warm weather. I love the feel of crisp, fresh linens.
B When I remember, or the smell gets to me. Say, every couple of weeks or so?
C Only when I have a new boyfriend, if you know what I mean. Why waste good laundry powder and water if I’m going to be too sleepy to notice?
5/ Are you a duster or a dabbler? How often do you remove dust from the home?
A Daily, of course; it’s a ritual. Some of my finest ideas come to me while I stroke the furniture with my dust cloth.
B Once a week or so—or whenever the household joker writes “Dust Me” on the dining-room table with his finger.
C I’m a fan of the blow-it method. If I pick something up and it’s covered with dust, I blow it off. Great house hold hint, huh?
If you answered mostly A, congratulations! You are a Clean Extreme, and happy to be so. Your house shines, and any dust mote so unwise to assert its presence is shown the door, pronto. Just be careful that militant cleaning doesn’t come between you and other family members, who don’t necessarily share your enjoyment of the process.
Mostly B answers show you’re a Moderate Mopper, with a house that is clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be a home. Most of the time, you’re happy with the balance between time spent cleaning and the domestic results, but occasionally, you slip a bit too far toward slapdash. Try a more scheduled approach to clean less and enjoy it more.
More than three C answers? You’re a Dirt Dodger. Too often, you’re discouraged about life on the home
front. Remember this truth: if you don’t wanna, you ain’t gonna. To pull the household back from the dusty
brink, focus on small changes: clearing kitchen counters once a day, setting aside an afternoon each weekend for cleaning chores.
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