House Cleaning Tips for Busy Parents

We all want to have our houses spic and span, but when you are a busy mom or dad, it is a big challenge. Between running errands, working as well as raising your children, leaning a house will be put on the back burner. Having a clean home will make you feel comfortable, happy and less stressed. Here are some of the best house cleaning tips for all the busy parents out there. 

Get The Worst Part Over First

One of the best tips, when you are cleaning a house that is very messy, is to start with the worst room. When you get done the most damaging part of the job, you will feel less stressed for the rest of the way. All the tasks after the big one will seem more accomplishable.   

Designate A Specific Clean-Up Time 

In most cases, busy parents will have their routines down to a minute, so why not do the same with cleaning. Start every day at the same time and it will not only help you have a better routine, but it will also help your kids know that they need to take their things and put them in their designated spots. That way you will make cleaning a habit and it will help your whole family stay on track. 

Declutter From One Part of The House to The Other 

Every house needs to be decluttered once in a while, especially when you have kids. The best way to do it is to start at one part of the house and get rid of things as you are moving. Instead of going back and forth, make piles of things that you will throw away or donate in each room and make your way through the house. That way you'll save time as you won't be going back and forth. Once you are done with the whole house, pick up the bags and take them out. 

Clean All the Floors at Once  

One of the most common reasons why cleaning takes so long is because you are going out and putting away all your tools multiple times. Instead of doing that just broom, vacuum and mop the whole house at once not room by room. It will save you a lot of time. Another great hack for busy parents is having professionals clean your carpets every couple of months so you don't have to worry about it. If you live in Australia, there are so many different professionals who specialize in carpet cleaning from Perth, so make sure that you are choosing the best ones.

Clean As You're Cooking 

No matter how complicated a meal that you are cooking, there will always be a mess. But instead of piling up your dishes and cleaning them when you finish cooking, clean as you go. It will save you so much time and stress. You can even make it faster and have your kids or spouse help you clean as you are cooking. 

Clean all Your Windows and Mirrors at Once

Just like cleaning your floors all at once, doing the same with all your glass will save you so much time and stress. That way you are just going around the house with one cleaning product and focusing on one task which will have it done faster.   

Multi-task  

It is no secret that working parents are the best multi-taskers out there. That is why you need to put your super power to use and do a few things at once. While you are talking on your phone why not fold some laundry or rinse some dishes. But make sure that you are not overwhelming yourself. 

Get Rid of Water Stains

If you want to make your house look cleaner, get rid of all the water stains. For those stubborn rings, rub lemons on the area and rinse it off. After a few minutes, you won't have any water stains and your home will look much cleaner. 

Clean Your Mirrors with Newspaper

One of the most useful tips for cleaning windows that will make it much easier is simply cleaning them with newspapers instead of rags, squeegees or microfiber. Use your favorite glass cleaner and your windows will be streak-free. 

Doing a little here and here and you will be done in no time. There is no rule that says that you need to clean the whole house in one go. Clean as much as you can and continue the next day.

Starter Guide to Organizing Your Home and Creating a Cleaner, Healthier Environment

This article will reveal many tips and tricks for organizing your home, as well as provide you with a few helpful tools to keeping your space neat and tidy.

How to Overcome the Mental & Physical Barriers of Household Organizing

Regardless if you rent or own a home, there are plenty of opportunities out there that can help you to get rid of your clutter and organize your home. 

The home organization has many benefits. It can make your living space look tidy; it can help you stay organized in life; it helps you be more productive in the workplace.

We're here to help you tidy up your home with the best organizing tips. First, let’s discuss the common reasons why people don’t organize. Some of these mental and physical barriers include:

- The feeling that you have too much to do, so it’s hard to know where to start.

- Finding it difficult to maintain a positive attitude when organizing your home.

- Not knowing how you will find the time or energy needed for the project.

- Feeling stressed from lack of space or clutter accumulating in your home.

- Becoming distracted or lose track of time as you complete tasks, which leads to procrastination.

When you feel overwhelmed by the process, take a look at this guide to help you overcome those barriers and get your home organized! 

Organization Tools for Every Room in the House

Home organization is an important step towards a more organized life. It will help you keep your house clean, look beautiful, and feel organized. Organization will also help you find what you are looking for in no time. If you are not sure which home organization tools to use, this section will make the process much easier. We have picked the best organizing tools for every room in the house - including kitchen organization supplies, home organization kits, and closet organizer bags.

Kitchen Organization Supplies: Pantry Starter Kit from The Container Store or Marie Kondo Fridge Organizer kit. They have plenty of designs for Utensil Trays, Drawer Organizers, Cookware organizers, Roll-out cabinet drawers, stackable food storage containers, turntable spice racks.

Home Organization Kits: Lower Cabinet Organization Starter Kit - one of the easiest ways to organize kitchen or bathroom cabinets.

Closet Organizer Bags: Marie Kondo Shoji Closet Storage Solution

You can find these items over at Home Depot and The Container Store to help you get your space in order once and for all.

2 Simple Ways to Get Rid of Clutter

Clutter can be a real nuisance. It can make your life complicated and frustrating.

The clutter that is found in our homes doesn’t always stem from compulsiveness. Sometimes it's just habit, or maybe we’re not able to see the clutter because it has become so familiar to us over time. Whatever the reason, here are the easiest ways to get rid of clutter!

- Get Rid of Useless Items: Go through your home and get rid of anything that you don't use or have no use for. If you are not sure about something, ask yourself if there is a specific occasion where you will need this item in the future? If not, then proceed to recycle, sell, donate or toss it out!

• Recycle: Most containers such as jars or boxes can be recycled for use in organizing your pantry. 

• Sell: Old electronics or collectibles can be listed on eBay or sold in a weekend garage sale.

• Keep: Keep all items with a sentimental value. 

• Donate/Sell: Everything else.

- Keep Things Organized: One way to keep things organized is by reading this guide and using organizational bins and other tools to separate your possessions into their respective categories.

How to Set Up a Home Organization System that Makes Keeping the House Clean Easier

It's time to take back control of your home! You can do this by creating an organization system that makes it easier to keep the house clean. There are many great systems out there, so you’ll just need to pick one.

- Keep things in their place with baskets and bins.

If you're anything like me, you've got a lot of stuff. Stuff that needs to be organized. And for some reason, it all seems to need to be in the kitchen. There are so many items that seem necessary in the kitchen - measuring cups and spoons, knives, spatulas, cutting boards, napkins, paper towels, and all sorts of other things. 

- Make sure everything is put away in its place after use so you know where it is when you need it next.

Make sure everything is put away in its place after use so you know where it is when you need it next. You can't find a pen, a marker, or scissors if they're all over the house. Keeping everything organized will help you find what you need and keep clutter down.

- Create a daily or weekly routine for keeping things clean and tidy.

It is easy to forget about keeping things clean and tidy. However, this is important for both your mental and physical health. Having a daily or weekly routine for keeping things clean and tidy can improve your quality of life.

Simplifying Your Life with the 10-minute Housekeeping System

The perfect housekeeping system simplifies our life because it takes away the hassles of planning and executing cleaning tasks. It also frees up time for us to do other things that we enjoy.

This 10-minute housekeeping system is not about cleaning your home in 10 minutes. It's about simplifying your life by removing the tasks you don't need to do.

-Start by decluttering your home and throwing out anything that doesn't belong there anymore, piling up, or has lost its usefulness.

-Next, organize what's left according to how often it needs to be used e.g., daily items, weekly items, etc.

-Third, store these items in the right places so they are easy to find and reach without having to spend hours searching for them later on.

-Finally, cleaning your home. Start from the top down. This is so important because it helps prevent dirt from being tracked through the house. This can have a huge impact on the appearance of your home. Clean regularly and it won’t take much effort each time.

Should you require help with cleaning your entire home, do seek help! House cleaning companies like CleanMyTribe Fort Wayne are a great solution to getting your home back to tip-top shape.

Guest Post - Selling Your House? Look to Install These Home Features

If you’re preparing to sell your home and want the highest return on investment (ROI) when it comes to home features, check out this recent home features survey from Angi. Angi surveyed more than 1,5000 Americans and their results might surprise you.

Continue reading to see which home features Americans want most in 2021.

Large Kitchens Are a Must Have

Americans desire large kitchens. When asked, “which living space do you value the most?” 34% of Americans responded that they value a large kitchen most. So, when remodeling your home, consider updating the kitchen first.

One reason for the popularity of kitchens is that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans cooked more. According to a Hunter PR survey, 41% of Americans baked more during the pandemic in 2020, and 51% cooked more. Of the 51% who planned to cook more, 71% planned to continue cooking more post-pandemic. 

It’s worth noting that women value a large kitchen more than men. Only 27% of men stated they value a large kitchen most, while the rate of women who felt the same way almost doubled men with a rate of 44%. 

Yet, it’s worth noting that both sexes agree on the need for an outdoor space, which came in second as the most valuable space at 27%.

Below are the other most valued living spaces and how the two sexes agree and differ:

Which Luxury Items Americans Value Most

It’s well known that Americans are known for being materialistic. That want and need for luxury items apply to homes as well. When discerning which luxury features Americans value most this is what Angi found. 

Updated appliances closely beat out hardwood floors for the most valued luxury items. 30% of Americans value updated appliances most while 28% value hardwood floors the most. For the most part, men and women agreed on these luxury home features.

31% of women listed updated appliances as their most valued home feature. Similarly, 30% of men said the same thing. The agreement extends to hardwood floors. 27% of men and 28% of women listed hardwood floors as their most cherished luxury home feature.

Disagreement occurs when looking at walk-in closets, which came in third for most appreciated luxury home feature at 1/5  Americans. Looking closer at that 20% of Americans who value a walk-in closet most, women nearly doubled men — 24% of women and 16% of men listed walk-in closets to be their most valued home feature. 

So, if you’re renovating your home for the future, first consider what you want first. Perhaps these survey results will influence or help you decide which living space to make a priority or which luxury feature to go with. 

If you’re selling your home, then take these survey results to heart since some will likely have a higher ROI. As always, consult with your real estate agent first, and hire a home organizer to help declutter spaces before renovating.

Author Bio:

Chi Whitley is content marketing creator based out of Austin, TX. He writes for both B2C and B2B clients. When he’s not brainstorming ideas, writing content, or editing articles, you can find Chi hiking or tossing a frisbee with this dog, Augie. 

Guest Post - 5 Home Upgrades to Save Money on Your Heating Bill

Updating your home is an achievable and straightforward process. Updates will decrease your expenses, increase your ability to save, and improve the overall value of your home.

Some new updates can specifically target lowering your heating bill. Here are five ways that you can reduce your heating bill by updating your home:

1. Insulate Everything

Houses that are properly insulated don’t need as much heating as those with “leaks.” If your home isn’t sealed well, the heat you’re generating inside will leak out.

Your heating bill will go down once you stop trying to heat up the outdoors! A few areas tend to be the primary culprits for air leaks inside homes:

• Doors

• Windows

• Walls

• Fireplaces

• Uninsulated walls

• Power outlets

Inspect these areas of your home for drafts. Can you feel air coming through your doorframe? Is the air warmer or cooler near your fireplace than in the rest of the room? If so, you can address these air leaks to improve the insulation of your home.

2. Purchase Energy-Efficient Appliances

Water heating accounts for 13% of the average American homeowner’s heating bill. Usually, families use hot water for their sinks, laundry, showers, and dishwasher.

To cut your energy use even further, consider replacing your hot water heater, clothes washer, and dishwasher with more energy-efficient appliances. Buying an energy-efficient fridge or freezer can also help since cold air in your home increases heating usage and costs during the winter months.

Of course, you can also change your habits and start taking shorter showers and washing clothes in cooler water to save on your heating bill.

3. Invest in a New Roof

Roofing is another part of your home that directly affects your energy usage. In addition to protecting your family from the elements, your roof insulates your home and reflects excess heat.

Consider updating your roofing to ensure the highest level of energy efficiency from this part of your home. Look at different types of roofs and choose the one that will best fit your location and needs and the aesthetic of your house.

Tile roofs in particular are incredibly energy-efficient. Made of natural materials, they reduce the transfer of heat between attic spaces and outdoor air, maintaining the temperature of your home across varying seasons.

4. Update Your Heating System

If your internal heating system is over 15 years old, you should probably replace it. There are many options to choose from, so it should be easy to find the energy system that works best for you and your home.

Homeowners frequently lose energy through poorly insulated heating ducts connected to their heating system. These ducts should especially be insulated when they run through uninsulated walls. Dusty furnace filters can also add to “leakage” and increase energy output.

Newer heating systems are more energy-efficient than their older counterparts. In combination with insulated heating ducts and an updated thermostat, they can significantly reduce energy requirements in your home.

5. Install a Smart Thermostat

In temperate climates, homeowners typically turn their thermostat down in the summer when their home is naturally heated and then turn it up in the winter.

Programming your thermostat to turn down overnight and while you’re away from home is another way to reduce your heating bill. Being proactive with your thermostat can have a significant impact on taking down your annual energy costs.

Smart thermostats are especially effective because they reduce the likelihood of human forgetfulness and inconsistency. With a smart thermostat in place, you won’t have to think about saving energy. Your thermostat will do it for you.

Heat for Less

You can significantly reduce your heating bill with just a few simple updates to your home. While these updates will require a higher investment in the short term, you’ll see the rewards in lower heating bills over the long haul. Follow these five tips, and you’ll soon be living in your most energy-efficient home ever!

Author bio: Rose Morrison is the managing editor of Renovated, where she offers advice on home renovation, maintenance, and organization.nd slow-paced lifestyle now, because your little ones will be back in school before you know it!