Even if New Year’s resolutions aren’t your thing, there are simple habits that you should work on developing any time of the year. One of the simplest, and most important, is creating an effective house cleaning routine.

You see all the dust and grit that builds up around your house. The only time you don’t notice it is when there’s clutter on top to hide it.

It’s time to stick to a cleaning routine and feel more at peace in your home in this new year. Then, you won’t have to worry about those chores sitting on your to-do list every single day as you continue to procrastinate.

Discover the household cleaning schedule that best fits your needs by using these tips.

Building a Routine

Building an efficient and easy-to-follow cleaning routine may sound a lot easier than it is, but it is the foundation of creating your house cleaning habits.

For seasonal cleaning, pick a month during which you complete all your big cleaning tasks. So in the fall, you declare October to be the month that you do all your cleaning and preparing for winter.

This way, your cleaning list doesn’t have to haunt you in those other months.

Creating a household chore list can also make it easier for your family to chip in. You can assign certain chores to your kids, and even your partner, to complete on a weekly or monthly basis.

If you still find it challenging to stick to a schedule or there are too many items to complete, hiring help can lift the burden off your shoulders.

Make Your Bed

There’s a reason that making your bed is a great place to start when developing a cleaning routine. It is an accessible and simple task to complete in the morning.

You’re already at your bed, and it only takes a few minutes. And that one move can make your whole room look a tiny bit tidier to start the day off well.

Getting in the habit of changing your sheets regularly is beneficial, too. It can be a little self-care act to have fresh sheets to cuddle up in at night.

Accessible Cleaning Equipment

You may want to pack all your cleaning equipment into one closet with the intention of pulling it all out at the same time. Let’s be honest; you’re not going to actually clean the whole house in one day or one weekend.

Instead, take the pressure off yourself and stash various cleaning equipment all around the house. Even having a multipurpose cleaner or a broom on hand can make cleaning up a small mess a little easier.

If you have a standard vacuum cleaner downstairs, maybe keep a handheld one in the closet upstairs. Every bathroom should have a small bottle of cleaner on hand for quick wipe-downs of frequently used surfaces.

A handy duster can wipe away cobwebs and freshen up window sills in seconds.

While smaller tasks like these are more manageable, the bigger cleaning tasks might still weigh on you. Finding quality house cleaning services can help you feel less guilty about procrastinating on deep-cleaning projects.

Attention to the Bathroom

While you may go into the bathroom to get clean with a nice shower, your bathroom may not feel quite as clean.

There are lots of commonly used surfaces in your bathroom that easily collect germs. And the places that aren’t used as often collect dust or even develop mildew as a result of increased moisture in the air.

Completing tasks like cleaning the toilet and spraying the shower walls with a cleaner is not labor-intensive, and can be done on a weekly basis.

If you have a few minutes at the end of the night, you can wipe down surfaces like the sinks, sink handles, and outer toilet surfaces quickly before you go to bed.

Clean as You Cook

Whether it’s a complicated meal or a single-pot dish, there are always items that you can clean as you cook.

Utensils like knives that were used for chopping or cutting ingredients can be washed off quickly. Even pans and cutting boards can get a quick scrub and rinse as you’re waiting for food to simmer or bake.

Then, when the meal is finished, you can sit down and enjoy it instead of worrying about how much cleaning you’ll have to do afterward.

Common Area Organization

There are places where clutter gathers in every common area of your home. You know where they are: the table by the bed, the floor of the mudroom, the coffee table in the living room.

Clutter gathers easily. Create designated spaces for items like shoes, keys, books, and empty glasses.

Having a specific place to set keys when you get home also makes them easier to find when you’re rushing out the door. An easily-accessible bookshelf provides entertainment and a home for any reading material that’s lying around.

When you come home, establish a rule that shoes must be put away before anything else. Empty glasses, or dishes of any kind, must be moved to the dishwasher, or at the very least the sink, once they are finished being used.

Focus on Little Tasks

Household cleaning habits are really all about the small tasks.

Keep extra trash bags in the trash can so you can replace the bag easily. Fold blankets and replace pillows on couches at the end of the night, so you wake up to a neat living room. Wipe down counters, so the crumbs aren’t what welcome you in the morning.

Create a House Cleaning Ritual

Building your house cleaning skills and routines might seem like a colossal task to undertake. Don’t tackle it all at once. Start with easy tasks or the ones you actually enjoy a little. Then, you can build up to the deeper cleaning and scheduling.

If, at the end of the year, or the end of the spring, house cleaning is just not your cup of tea, know that you can always turn to residential house cleaning services to help you out. Check out the different services you can hire to keep your home clean.