How to Spring Clean Your House and Keep it That Way!

Have you ever walked into an open home, and thought to yourself, “wow, this looks amazing! I wish my house was so neat and tidy.” It just seems that every part of the home has been well thought out and is so organised!

Well, if it’s ever been you selling that house, you will know that all the effort that goes into presenting a home beautifully is often left until just before a house goes onto the market. And then we ask ourselves why we never got our house looking this good for ourselves!

You get the garden looking awesome; you finish off all those little jobs that really annoyed you, like blown light bulbs, dripping taps, and that annoying squeaky hinge on the door.

So, why then when we decide to sell our house do we suddenly get into the mode of fixing everything?

It’s simple, we get used to putting up with certain things, that we later realise a potential buyer won’t.

So, my hot tip for you this spring season, is to treat your home as if you were about to sell it! You will get all those little jobs done, and at the same time, look at your home with fresh eyes, as you ponder just how you want each room in your house to look and feel. And, you will be doing for your own enjoyment, not the enjoyment of someone else, like a future buyer.

So, here are my top tips for getting your home looking like a show home!

[mc_block_title custom_title=”1. Make it a date and make it real”]

So if you are going to make this work, set a deadline for yourself. Choose a date that you are going to have your home show case ready by. This will help you when it comes to getting motivated. You could also coincide this date with a function. So, if you haven’t seen your girlfriends for a while, maybe use this date to have a girl’s night in, or host a tea party. This way you have a date to work to, and you get to have an event where you can showcase your amazing home!

[mc_block_title custom_title=”2. Write down a list of ALL the things that have been annoying you”]

From the cobwebs in the corner, to the stain on the carpet, to the chips in the wall. Get a hot list of all the things you would fix if you were going to sell your house. Once you have your list, assemble all the tools you need, find the trades that you may need to help you, and start to delegate the tasks to whoever is going to do it the best.

[mc_block_title custom_title=”3. Use it or ditch it!”]

Now is the time to get serious about what you are going to keep, and what you are going to get rid of. One of my hot tips for sellers is that if you don’t have storage space for it, either get the storage, or get rid of the items. A house that is overcrowded is nearly impossible to get to showcase stage. If you can get it into storage, do, but if not, donate it to a charity, sell it, or give it to one of your girlfriends who come over for the night in!

[mc_block_title custom_title=”4. Enlist the help of others”]

There is nothing like getting a group of friends together to help you get into the swing of things. You could offer to help them do the same for their house too. By sharing the load, you give your friends and family the opportunity to feel good about helping you, and you help them by teaching them how to ask for help. This way you can all have a showcase home, and enjoy each other’s company too.

[mc_block_title custom_title=”5. Tizzy up every nook and cranny”]

Now it’s time to get stuck into every corner of the house systematically. Start by prioritising which rooms you want to do first. Start with the room you are most dreading, and get it looking exactly the way you want it. Start each room with an overall objective, which could be “I want this room to have a beach feel to it.” This will help you in working out what to keep, what to throw out, or what to acquire. Do your research by checking out a few home magazines, or even better, look at homes for sale that have been styled, or display homes to see what they have done. You will get some great ideas from these.

[mc_block_title custom_title=”6. Celebrate your surroundings”]

Once you have things the way you want them, enjoy it! Your home will be picture perfect, and at the same time, you will really appreciate the work you have put in to getting things just the way you want to. Enjoy your space with friends and family, and help them do the same when they ask you for help.

So far we have only spoken about how to get your home looking amazing, but what about keeping it looking good, and staying on top of the daily chores?

Here are some tips on how to keep things looking good day in and day out:

Have a daily cleaning schedule: Rather than trying to do everything on one day, and feeling like you are getting nowhere, nominate each day of the week where you focus on doing a specific room. For example: Monday could be the kitchen, Tuesday could be the laundry day, etc.
Divide chores up between the household: Like many women, I have become really good at doing it alone. But asking for help and having a clear structure can make your life so much easier. No matter what age the kids are (if you have them), delegate tasks to them. As they get older, continue to keep chores age appropriate.
Take a day off, and let it go! On your day off of doing chores, be completely disciplined. NO housework on this day. It doesn’t matter what the house looks like, just let it go. We tend to find ways of keeping ourselves busy with chores, and forget about the other things that are important to us. Learn to live with your house not always being perfect!
Have a place for EVERYTHING! This can save so much time in looking for stuff being put in the wrong spot. You can start to create a list of items, and where you keep them. You can have them on laminated sheets so that the family knows where things are as well, and you don’t constantly get asked where stuff is!
Create an amazing space that you just love being in, and can totally chill out in. Make it kid free (as much as you can) and make it all about YOU! And for some absolutely amazing spaces you can create, here is a very cool website.