The Living Healthy in the Real World Guide to Cleaning & Organizing, Part One: Why Should I Clean?
Don’t forget to answer this month’s poll!
Welcome to another mini-series here at Living Healthy! Be sure to check out our past mini-series if you missed them before: the Guide to Grocery Shopping and Guide to Budgeting.
Why Should I Clean?
The short answer, obviously, is that if you don’t regularly clean your house, you’ll be wallowing in dirt. Ew. That’s reason enough to keep the place clean!
Having a clean home, however, is important on a number of other levels, too. Your personal health is a major one here. Houses that aren’t continuously kept clean can breed mold; bed bugs and other nasty critters can also sneak into your home if you aren’t careful. Harmful bacteria and germs will grow on unclean surfaces. Allergens and toxins may also be released into the air if your place isn’t regularly maintained.
An unkempt house will take a hit in your bank account. Any appliance that isn’t taken care of could rust or get easily worn. Using the wrong kind of cleaning product on a countertop or stove is going to tarnish. All kinds of furniture and items in your home can last for years longer than you expect if they are cared for properly. Economically, a clean house is going to increase in value if you’re looking to sell it in the future: it will mean fewer replacements for both you and for the new owners.
A dirty home also contributes to stress. Arriving home at the end of the day to a sink full of dishes, a living room full of clutter, and a bathroom with soap scum lining the walls is no fun at all. We are far more likely to be able to get a proper rest and to feel peaceful if we are living in a clean and workable environment.
Lastly, a clean home is important for making a good impression! If we don’t take the time to take care of the place we live, what does that say about how much we care about ourselves? Living in a tidy space will make it welcoming both for yourself and for guests. Even if you don’t like having house guests over much, it’s likely that at some point you’ll have visitors dropping by unexpectedly- and it’s always nice to present an organized, clean home when they arrive.
Convinced that you should be living in a clean and organized household? Great! Next we’ll discuss how to begin the clean-up, no matter how dirty your home may be.
I laugh that I totally slacked in the cleanage around here after we lost both of our dogs in close succession.
when we had them I HAD to vacuum twice a day just to get the hair up and NOT TO BE one of those domiciles you entered and immediately KNEW they owned dogs.
and beyond the poor impression Im confident I made on many peeps—-the disarray made my MIND slowly slide into disarray as well
I needed to live the “oooh clutter and mess outside makes for clutter and mess INSIDE (me)” in order to get it.
I’m looking forward to your series on cleaning. Wanna come practice at my house? 🙂
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So true, and analogous to fitness housekeeping; the act of keeping one’s body clean. Sadly, I’m better at that than the house, but I do try. Perhaps this series will give me the boost I need.
Miz- My mind falls completely into dissaray if my house isn’t clean. It’s good incentive to stay organized! (And giggling over the dogs- reason number 241 why I don’t want pets at this point in my life 😉
Bag Lady- I will clean for you in exchange for home-grown beef and tasty baked goods 😀
Emergefit- YES. Entirely.
I like to keep my place organized. It really simplifies finding things and in the long run saves time. I have a few areas that I mess up just because 🙂
YES YES YES! Great post Sagan.
Keeping a clean and organized homespace is really important to my peace of mind. Also very important for my hubby’s allergies.
Dr. J- Hahaha, yes, we’ve got to have SOME kind of a mess!
Clare- Maintaining cleanliness to prevent an allergy flare-up is major. And good motivation! Sometimes I think that my peace of mind is the number one reason for why I keep my place clean, though 😀