5 Ways to Keep a House Clean Despite Having a Family That’s Always on the Go

5 Simple Ways to Keep a Clean House Despite Having a Family That’s Always on the Go

BY TARYN JEREZ

Most families with kids can barely remember the series of events that unfolds Monday through Friday! Between getting the whole family ready to head out the door in the morning, prepping meals, going to work, and heading to multiple pick-up-and-drop-off scenarios at the end of the day, keeping the house clean can seem like a daunting task to add in!

Families often want to eliminate the unwelcome frustration and added stress of a messy, dirty, or disorganized home, but they haven’t necessarily figured out how to implement the steps they need to get there!

If this sounds like you, keep reading for five simple ways to keep a clean house that can work for even the busiest of families.

1Reducing Clutter Before It Begins You don’t have to “Marie Kondo” your entire home, but be realistic about which clutter you can eliminate. Does the corner of the entryway table get overthrown with random junk mail daily? Consider sorting through the mail outside and tossing the unimportant stuff into the can before coming in. Kids bringing home a sweet, but overwhelming amount of artwork from school weekly? Instead of shoving it on top of the fridge, choose your favorite pieces to display and take photos of the rest, rather than keeping every piece! If you know the garage is going to be a dumping ground for sports season in Spring, start getting rid of things now that the family doesn’t use to make space ahead of time and avoid a huge mess.

2Prioritize the Problem Areas You may have little boys who can’t quite hit their target in the bathroom or a cluttered kitchen island, making it impossible to get lunches packed up. The high-traffic parts of your home that you know create stress or overwhelm when they are left in mayhem need to be top priority. Every family will have a different answer for this! Before bed each night, consider having a few key things that you and your spouse are on the same page about regarding keeping them clean. If backpacks need to be hung up in the mudroom on hooks to prevent beforeschool chaos, then that’s a recurring priority before you head to bed.

3Build Cleaning into the Family Routine Everyone is guilty of saying, “I’ve got to find time to clean this house!” When things get crazy and the mess is overwhelming, we’re almost claiming fault, and therefore guilt, for our home being dirty and then leaning into this obscure idea of “finding time.” The truth is, finding time isn’t the problem. The problem is not creating time to clean the way you create time for everything else your busy family has on the agenda. We treat soccer practice and bus pick-up or dinner time as a “non-negotiable” part of the routine, but that can refer to cleaning, as well. Mark out a portion of a specific day of the week for certain tasks that you know need to be accomplished to ensure your spaces are tidy. Not everything will stay pristine, of course, but you’ll feel so much more in control.

4Set a 15-Minute Timer to “Attack Clean” Remember that a little bit every day goes a long way! If you spend most days on the go, you’re not going to have a solid hour to clean house, but 15 minutes? You can absolutely find this chunk of time to focus on one or two things you can “attack.” Maybe it’s the kitchen counters driving you crazy or the kitty litter right now. Use that limited time to get to work and knock out whatever you decide to focus on. You may find you finish those one or two things quicker than you thought, so add in something else if you can. If your spouse or kids are home during this time, consider making it a family “attack,” where everyone has the same 15 minutes to rock out a single cleaning or picking-up project in that time frame!

5Collect Safe & Easy-to-Use Cleaning Supplies Don’t for a second assume children are useless when it comes to keeping a clean house. While they may be the main mess-makers, they are more than capable of taking on some tasks that align with their age. (Even toddlers can throw a toy or two into a basket!) Having non-toxic cleaning supplies such as water- and vinegar-based spray bottles or essential oil mixtures, for multi-surface cleaning that is safe for everyone involved, very helpful. Organizing supplies like garbage bags, microfiber cloths, paper towels, and your kid-safe cleaners in an easy-access spot in the house is key, so when it’s time to fix a quick mess or take time for those “15-minute attack cleans,” everyone knows where to get what they need!

Start this week by choosing and implementing just one of these steps within your own household, and go from there! Once you have one of them down, move on to the next!

7 REASONS TO CHOOSE kitchentune•up®

OF WINSTON-SALEM

BY DENISE HEIDEL

They say the kitchen is the heart of the home. And with that in mind, you want it to be well conditioned and in great working order. But over time, everyday wear and tear, plus changes to family lifestyles, may take a toll on your kitchen. Having an expert to bring new life to it can help. With that said—meet Peter Mahoney—a man who knows a thing or two about kitchens. He should; he’s renovated over 700 of them!

As a seasoned contractor and remodeling pro, Peter and his wife, Rebecca, a retired Air Force officer, were eager to make a change. After living in New Hampshire and working in Boston, they moved to Winston-Salem in 2020 to start Kitchen Tune-Up. “We love it here,” said Peter. “When we were looking to start our business, this was an open market, and we feel fortunate that we are the ones who brought this business to the area.”

So, why Kitchen Tune-Up?

1. The model is based on efficiency. “It’s no secret that home remodeling projects take time,” said Peter. “Often the dread of the mess and inconvenience keeps people in outdated kitchens far longer than they need to be…. The Kitchen Tune-

Up model is based on efficiency. We can transform a kitchen within five days.

“But do not equate efficiency with less than quality work,” Peter continued. “We take tremendous pride in producing quality results with quality products. With our singular focus on kitchens, we know how to make the best use of our time and turn out beautiful results.” 2. Kitchen Tune-Up offers cost-effective solutions. “A kitchen tune-up is about giving an existing kitchen space a facelift,” said Peter. “If the bones are good, we can bring cost-effective solutions. In many cases, the cabinets are structurally fine—we simply need to paint them and replace the doors and hardware. It’s less mess and less money!”

3. The Kitchen Tune-Up team are experienced professionals.

“My team are true pros,” said Peter. “We are construction professionals who understand the ins and outs of a kitchen—from the cabinets and counters to the electricity and plumbing.

“Additionally,” Peter continued, “our team of professionals arrives ready to work at 8 AM, and they are usually out the door by 4:30. But when our team leaves, we clean up, leaving the kitchen in working order, no matter where we are in the process of remodeling. We want to ensure that homeowners can continue to use their kitchens even mid project.”

4. A Kitchen Tune-Up improves the value of your home.

“It’s no secret that two things have the best return on investment for a homeowner,” said Peter. “Kitchens and bathrooms. If you’re thinking of putting your home on the market, but need to update the kitchen first, a Kitchen

Tune-Up may be the perfect solution. After all, 80% of homebuyers identify the kitchen as one of their top three most important factors in searching for a house. A Kitchen

Tune-Up adds value to the home!”

5. The options are practically endless. Peter shared, “We have a great feature on our website called a Design Tool.

It enables a homeowner to select a kitchen similar to their own and look at the various options—from appliances, counters, sinks, floors, paint—the works! It’s a fun way to get inspired without being overwhelmed by all the options.

“Plus,” Peter continued, “We stand behind the products we use. We offer our clients customizable solutions with brands and products we trust. We can help guide homeowners to make the decisions that will work best for their home and lifestyle.”

6. Financing is available. “We have a great partnership with several lenders,” said Peter. “Again, our website proves to be useful for the homeowner by helping them identify the best loan options available to make financing their dream kitchen a possibility.”

7. Excellent service is a promise. “I always encourage prospective customers to read our Google and Home

Advisor reviews,” said Peter. “Our goal at the end of every project is for our customer to say, ‘WOW! That was the best experience I’ve ever had with a contractor.’ As I tell my team—we want to always exceed expectations. And I’m proud to say that based on our reviews—my team delivers.”

Kitchen Tune-Up is based in Clemmons, NC, and serves the Winston-Salem, High Point, and Greensboro areas. Contact Kitchen Tune-Up at 336.970.3419 or e-mail Peter at PMahoney@KitchenTuneUp.com. Visit the website at KitchenTuneUp.com and be sure to like them on Facebook.