by Elsie Parker

Created on: May 14, 2008

Typical, you go to bed one night and the house is clean, you get up the next morning and you see dirt everywhere. Another day, another house cleaning experience. However the time spent cleaning can be drastically reduced if a few general guidelines are followed.

De-clutter. If there is less sitting around the house, there will be less to gather dust so don't hoard rubbish. A place for everything and everything in its place, as granny said so put things away.

Keep only necessary or important papers in a dust proof box.
Keep small ornaments and books behind glass, that way they will need dusting less often.
Provide children with storage boxes for toys - but have a regular clean out to get rid of broken items or just plain rubbish. I think the last time we moved house there were at least two packing cases of rubbish that the children just threw in without thinking about.
Provide laundry baskets perhaps dirty laundry will actually land in them.
Don't leave toiletries sitting around the bathroom, use the cupboard space and only take out what's necessary.

Cleaning. Plan ahead. If you have a dishwasher and the kitchen is full of dirty crockery, put this on first as it can be washing while you are getting on with the rest of the cleaning. Have a basket full of everything you will need to clean the house, there is nothing worse than getting to the top of the house only to find that you don't have a duster or polish. The more you run around to fetch items, the less cleaning you will do. Have bags for rubbish. Start at the top of the house and work down finishing up in the kitchen. If you don't have an upstairs, start at the furthest away point from the kitchen and work towards it.

Squirt cleaning stuff around the bathroom and leave it, you can get anti-bacterial cleaners that do all sorts of wonderful stuff now and many are becoming Eco friendly too. Most people tend to wipe it off immediately and spend unnecessary time scrubbing, just give the stuff time to work then come back to it once you have gone around the bedrooms and rinse off the solution. A quick wipe over the window ledges and skirting boards will make the room feel even cleaner.

In the bedrooms clear any clutter and rubbish into storage boxes or refuse bags. Children get the hang of cleaning their own rooms if they see their special treasures in the bag to be dumped. (Don't be too mean though, give them a chance to reprieve it.) Hang up any clean clothes that have not got as far as the cupboards yet, get the dirty

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