Annual Resolution for Thorough Home Cleaning You Truly Intend to Maintain

New Year's Cleaning Resolutions You Truly Intend to Maintain at Home

Many view a new year as an opportunity to establish fresh personal goals for the upcoming 365 days. If one of your goals is to maintain a cleaner home, you might find yourself unsure of where to begin. But the advantage of having these ambitions is that you have plenty of time to work on them.

Instead of diving into a large home cleaning project like organizing your entire garage or attic, consider setting achievable maintenance goals. Even accomplishing something as basic as making your bed daily can boost your confidence to continue your cleaning endeavors throughout the year. We consulted cleaning professionals for advice on how to start.

Melissa Poepping, founder of The Scent-Free Home
Vera Peterson, president of Molly Maid, a Neighborly company

Create a Home Cleaning Checklist

It will feel less daunting to manage all the cleaning tasks around the house when you create a homemade cleaning checklist. If you assign specific days for tasks, you'll be less likely to attempt cramming everything into one weekend if you fall behind.

List all your cleaning goals, ensuring to include thorough cleaning tasks, such as revitalizing skirting boards and showerheads. "Once your entire cleaning list is complete, write 'D' for items that need daily attention, 'W' for weekly tasks, 'M' for monthly chores, 'S' for seasonal jobs, and 'H' for six-month tasks," advises Melissa Poepping, founder of The Scent-Free Home. Next, categorize each task and write them down in a yearly planner.

Declutter Your Home

Many New Year's resolutions focus on improving emotional and mental well-being, and cleaning is one aspect of that. "Clutter often causes unnecessary stress and anxiety in the home, making it an undesirable start to a new year," says Vera Peterson, president of Molly Maid, a Neighborly company. "Clutter is the result of procrastinating multiple cleaning tasks. Setting a New Year's resolution to declutter ensures a clean and comfortable home all year round."

To efficiently tidy your home, take it room by room and assess your belongings. Which items are damaged? Which do you no longer use? Eliminate broken toys, damaged cookware, linens with holes, and other ruined items. Donate any salvageable yet seldom-used pieces.

Make Your Bed Daily

Although it might seem like a small achievement, some believe that making your bed daily sets the tone for the rest of the day. "There's just something about entering this space at any time of the day and instantly taking a deep breath, feeling calm to be there," Poepping says. In addition to tidying up your bedding every day, make it a goal to wash your sheets at least once or twice per week.

Put Your Clothes Away

Although it's tempting to cast aside unwanted garments onto the floor, this can make your room appear more cluttered than it truly is. Make it a goal to hang up or neatly store your clothes after trying them on and place dirty pieces in a hamper until laundry day. "Even if you need to use a simple laundry basket to temporarily house clean clothes until the end of the week, when you can properly fold and store them, it will make the room look tidy and well-maintained," says Poepping.

Organize Your Closets

Our closets can easily become a safe haven for excess cleaning supplies, makeup, unused clothing, and more. Make it a goal to clean these areas every six months to avoid overflow. Go through your clothes and linen closets and part with damaged items and pieces you no longer use. "This creates way more space for the items you love," says Peterson.

Clean and Put Away Dishes Nightly

There's nothing more satisfying than preparing breakfast in the morning without having to confront dirty dishes in the sink. "Every evening, the dishes get done and the stove gets wiped down. Every last dish is put back in its appropriate place," says Poepping. This year, aim to clean and put away dishes every evening, whether it's by handwashing or simply rinsing and placing them in the dishwasher.

Deep Clean the Refrigerator

From leaky condiments to a buildup of leftovers, your refrigerator can quickly turn unsightly if it's not maintained regularly. Cleaning this space about once a month will help you take inventory of your groceries and keep you from holding onto spoiled ingredients. Begin by removing everything from the refrigerator, checking expiration dates along the way to determine what's still edible. Then, wipe down every surface, including the light fixtures, and replace your edibles and beverages.

Wipe Down the Shower

While a nightly deep clean of your bathroom isn't necessary (or feasible), you can keep the space looking and feeling more neat by completing one simple task: wipe down the shower after use. "By keeping a small squeegee handy, you can use it to wipe off water marks on the walls after showering," says Peterson.

Clean Your Countertops

From crumbs on your butcher block to makeup residue on your bathroom sink, buildup on countertops can make your home appear untidy. Address this by making it a goal to wipe down your surfaces nightly. "Keep disinfecting wipes near the sink to quickly wipe off the faucet, sink, and countertops between cleanings," Peterson suggests. This only takes a few seconds, and the look of your home will immediately improve.

Vacuum Daily

Folks might not always manage to sweep their floors daily, but vacuuming shared spaces frequently can prevent the accumulation of crumbs, pet hair, and grime for an extended duration. Keep a vacuum cleaner handy as a prompt to tackle this chore; you can swiftly connect it and offer your abode a speedy once-over.

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Based on the provided text, here are two sentences that include the given words 'Cleaning Organizing' and 'Martha Stewart':

To help you organize your cleaning tasks, Melissa Poepping, founder of The Scent-Free Home, suggests creating a homemade cleaning checklist, dividing tasks into daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal, and six-month categories.
As part of her decluttering tips, Martha Stewart advises creating a designated space for items that spark joy and organizing your closet every six months to avoid overflow and create more room for your favorite pieces.