Home Cleaning: The Commandments

Like most things in life, cleaning works best when a few general guidelines are set out.  They are here to act as a guide, feel free to disregard any of them if they don't work for your life.

1. Thou shalt not overly obsess about cleaning.  Obviously I enjoy having a clean house.  I think it gives my life a sense of peace and calm.  Having said that, it is just cleaning and as long as you are comfortable with your level of cleanliness then be peaceful with that.

2. Thou shalt use no chemicals.  I did mention that I am obsessive about being green as well didn't I?  I don't think chemicals are necessary for cleaning.  Having said that I know that technically vinegar, alcohol and, heck, even water are considered chemicals.
Let's just say stay away from the super poisonous stuff, you know the bottles covered in all of the toxic symbols.  I would also say stay away from heavily scented products as well, but that might be my inner aromatherapist coming out.  Lavender?  Good.  Tropical ocean breeze?  Uh, kinda noxious.

3. Thou shalt be a minimalist.  The easiest way to keep a house clean is to only have things in the house that you need and that includes cleaning products.  Once you start looking at ingredients, you will notice that most products contain similar ones.  Commercial products also contain cosmetic ingredients such as perfumes, thickeners, colorants and foaming agents.  These just beautify or shall I saw consumerize the product, for example people think something works better because it gets foamy.  They're just tricking you and all of these little tricks add to the cost.  In another post I will go over a list of simple and essential cleaning products.

4. Thou shalt attempt tidiness.  Repeat after me: the less I drop all over the house, the less I have to pick up later.  I will be the first to admit that I break this commandment frequently.  However, if you truly want a clean house this is a good habit to develop.

5. Thou shalt enjoy your home.  If you are going to maintain a beautiful house then be sure to enjoy it. Turn your home into your sanctuary and you are far more likely to take pride in keeping it clean.

In a nutshell: stay calm, stay green, stay uncluttered, stay tidy and then enjoy!