You may be wondering, “is my house too dirty for house cleaning?” The answer is a resounding “no.”
Your house is considered dirty when it's unsanitary, meaning it has unpleasant odours, mould, or even insects. A dirty house means there's more than just harmless clutter. It can be harmful to your health. There's a difference between living in a “cluttered, messy” house and living in a “dirty” house.
How Often Should I Clean My House? Determining how often to clean a house depends on size, how often rooms are used, and the types of furniture and surfaces you have. Some things need to be cleaned every day, while a general clean can be done once a week, and deep clean every few months or annually.
The average person deep cleans their home five times a month and cleans their home normally seven times a month. The average person will clean for 12,896 hours in their lifetime. This translates to 1.5 years, 77 weeks, or, in other words, a very long time.
The short answer is daily. Though you won't do a deep-clean every day, daily cleaning can keep your house neat and avoid buildup of dirt and grime. Don't wait until it's laundry day to make your bed, keeping bed linens off the floor means they don't collect dust or allergens.
While we like the end result, cleaning the house (for most of us) isn't a fun or relaxing endeavor. To get to your housework to-dos before the weekend, commit to cleaning for 15 to 20 minutes five days a week.
The most important part of the home to keep clean is the room that you spend the most time in, be that a bedroom, kitchen or living room. That room will effect you most so is the most important to keep clean.
Clean from the top down
When you dust your house, the dust will fall and settle on tables, bench-tops, and the floor. If you do this last, you'll find yourself re-cleaning these surfaces after you've dusted. Work with gravity, not against it!
Washing your bed sheets about once a week ensures they always stay fresh. Plan to add this task to your weekly cleaning schedule to help reinforce the habit. Keep in mind that you don't necessarily need to wash sheets the same day as you strip your bed.
Most often, a house that is so messy that it is unsafe or unlivable is a sign of an underlying mental health issue. While you might judge others for “laziness” when their homes are messy, they often do not want to live this way. They likely have no support to treat their mental illness or any family members to help.
If you don't clean your house, it might mean you are busy and have little time to clean and organize. It might be a sign that you have too much stuff. Or it might be the result of having young kids in the house who are usually not motivated to clean up after themselves.
Getting sick and unhealthy
Here are some reasons why not cleaning enough can make you unhealthy: Polluted air vents and untidy filters can contaminate the air. Soiled sheets and bedding can cause skin rashes and irritations. Dust mites can trigger allergies, asthma, and other respiratory issues.
Clutter can affect our anxiety levels, sleep, and ability to focus. It can also make us less productive, triggering coping and avoidance strategies that make us more likely to snack on junk and watch TV shows (including ones about other people decluttering their lives).
Not only has clutter been found to increase stress, but other studies have found that, visually, it's hard for the brain to process multiple objects at once — versus if your space is fairly uncluttered. And research has found that people with clean homes are healthier overall than those with messy ones.
So chill out: Those in the cleaning service don't actually judge you as much as you think they do. It's their job to deal with other people's messes. It's a dirty job, but they've signed up for it and they really have seen it all.
Professional cleaners don't circle a room more than once. Taking their place before the bathroom sink, they'll spray and wipe the mirror, scrub the sink, wipe down counters and polish fixtures before they move one inch to the right or left. Don't get physical with your cleaning sessions—make every movement count.
Clean a Little Every Day
For most people, it's far less overwhelming to clean for 20 to 30 minutes a day than it is to set aside several hours on a weekend or give up your entire Saturday to do a deep-clean. So, consider tackling a single room or set a timer for a certain amount of time each day to maintain your home.
It's not a secret that the dirtiest and most difficult place to clean is a toilet. There will always be many harmful microorganisms in the bathroom and toilet, even if you wash them systematically. Therefore, the health and hygiene of the family will be heavily dependant on how often you clean this room.
Best time of day to clean the house -- 4 p.m.
If anyone in the house has allergies or asthma, avoid insomnia-hour and morning cleaning sprees (nasal-allergy symptoms are most severe between 6 a.m. and noon, asthma attacks more likely between midnight and 6 a.m.), and finish well before that person walks in the door.