Hey y’all! Seen as we’ve been home owners for almost a year now🙈 (hard to believe, right?). I’ve decided that it’s about time I start writing some home posts.

Now, if my Partner was reading this, he’d definitely laugh. The upstairs of our house is still a building site, and as anyone who’s renovated will tell you – it is impossible to keep a building site clean.

When I think of tidying our house, the expression of polishing a turd comes to mind – and that’s an accurate description. I love our house, but it’s definitely a work in progress.

Most of the time, the mess doesn’t bother me, but every now and then it does become overwhelming. Especially the clutter.

So here’s 3 tips that I use that help me love our home. Even when it’s at its messiest.

Always Wash Up Before Bed

I don’t do this every night, but I aspire to be that person. My Mam washes up every night, no matter the time, because she hates waking up to mess. And I never really appreciated that until I moved out.

Before we moved in, we were those people who said we’d wash up as we go. But it turns out we definitely aren’t those people.

Going into 2022, we divided the chores between us, and doing the washing up is in my domain. Most nights I wash up before bed, but sometimes (like tonight) I let it slip. And regret it the next morning.

When it gets to the end of the night, the last thing you want to be doing is the dishes. But I’ve found that popping my headphones in, blasting my show tunes playlist, and getting the job done really makes our house feel fresher.

Today you might hate it, but tomorrow you will thank yourself for it!

Accessorise with Flowers

As a cat owner, flowers are tricky. They are beautiful, and they make our house so much nicer. But, they can also be dangerous to our cats.

We have 4 cats under 2 and they are all drawn to everything that they shouldn’t be (typical cats really). So when we buy flowers for our home, we have to be really careful.

Recently, we’ve been buying daffodils for our kitchen. My Mam bought us a bunch around about St David’s Day time, and they lasted for weeks. When they died, we replaced them with another bunch, and we intend on keeping this process going for the foreseeable future.

Most flowers can be dangerous to cats. So, we simply keep our flowers out of the way of the cats. For example, our cats don’t have access to the kitchen unless we’re out there too, so our flowers are safe there.

Again, this is something really simple. But, going into spring with fresh flowers in your home can really make your home feel friendly and fresh!

Put Your House to Bed

We’ve spoken about washing up before bed, so now let’s talk about putting your house to bed. I know you’re probably thinking ‘what?’, but this is actually a great thing to do if you want your home to feel fresh in the morning.

If I’m the last one going up to bed (which I usually am), I make sure that I put the house to bed. This begins with taking all the dishes we’ve used during the day out to the kitchen, and washing up. I also take all of the rubbish out of the livingroom, and dispose of this in the appropriate bin (waste, recycling, etc.)

I leave the dishes to drain over night (because I find that this is the best way to dry them), and then I wipe down our kitchen units and our Range Master cooker. I put the dog and cat food bowls ready for the morning, as well as my Partner’s lunchbox and things for work. Finally, I spray an air freshener around the kitchen, and then I put the kitchen to bed.

Then I move onto the livingroom. While I’m doing this, I usually keep Cimmy (our dog) downstairs with me, so I do have to work around her. I begin by putting our side tables back into their correct places, then I pick up all the cat/dog toys and put them in the toy box.

With that completed, I move onto the sofas. I pull the blankets on the sofa tight (to ensure they look neat), then I plump up all the cushions. Finally, I put our decorative cushions back in the correct places.

When that’s done, I collect all the TV remotes and put them on the foot stool so that I know where they are in the morning. I spray some air freshener around the room, check that the curtains are pulled tightly, and then I put the livingroom to bed.

Lastly, before bed, myself and Cimmy check that the front door is locked (5 times and then back again to check 3 more times). Then we head upstairs to bed, with the whole house ready for the next morning.

See, it’s not really that strange a concept, is it?

Summary

So there we have it! These 3 tips are simple, but they are incredibly effective if you want to make your home feel clean and fresh.

Cleaning and maintaining an entire house from top to bottom, day upon day, isn’t easy. But these simple tips can make you feel like you have it all together (even when you really don’t).

What are your quick and easy cleaning tips? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

C x