Cleaning your home can always seem like an ever daunting task, but it truly doesn’t have to be. If you spend the time to keep up with your home in small chunks and keep your cleaning routine organized, cleaning can be a breeze. Take a peek at the tips laid out below to discover how to make cleaning an easy task around your home. 

Keep All The Tools You Need In One Place

It’s a good idea to keep everything that you’ll need to clean your home within one place. Use a bucket or caddy to help you tote your essentials around the house. This way, it will be easier to bring your cleaning supplies with you from room to room. You could even keep a cleaning tote on each level of your home for an even smoother cleaning process. 

Skip The Small Stuff

If you take out time during every cleaning to dust small collections and care for them, you’re wasting your time. Small knick-knacks and other hidden details of the home can stand to be dusted about once a month. 

Have A Storage System

It’s much easier to clean your house if you have a storage system. Having an organizational system in place means that everything has a place. Be sure you have shelving, cubbies, racks, and everything else you’ll need to help your family put everything away as they use it. Keeping things neat and organized is half the battle when it comes to keeping your home clean.     

Use Your Vacuum Wisely

You have a vacuum to make cleaning easier, so use it! Get an extension cord to make every area of the house easy to reach. Although a broom or dust mop can sometimes be helpful in the cleaning process, a vacuum makes it much easier to get every piece of dirt and dust up off of the floors.  

Have A Plan

Beginning to clean your home without any rhyme or reason can be a recipe for disaster. If you only have time to do one room on one day, keep your cleaning schedule short but consistent. This way, the entire house will get done, but you won’t be overwhelmed. Focusing on one room at a time can help you to make your home shine. 

Use The Cleaning Supplies That Will Be A Help To You

There are many more things you can use in your home than conventional cleaning supplies. Use whatever works for you. Everything from vinegar to toothbrushes is fair game to use for your cleaning supplies.      

Essential oils are catching on as a natural way to spruce up your home. However, many people are unaware of the full array of uses for essential oils in the household.

In this article, we’ll cover some of those uses that you may not have heard of, and give you some tips on which essential oils are the best to use.

What are essential oils?

Essential oils are the result of distilling large amounts of herbs, spices, or other plant-based materials. There are dozens of essential oils commercially available and they all emit strong aromas that can be used in multiple ways.

When buying oils, it’s important to check the labels to make sure you are buying 100% pure essential oils. Many companies dilute their oils in a carrier oil such as olive oil, coconut oil, or almond oil. While this isn’t inherently bad, it does probably mean you’re getting less for your dollar due to being diluted.

Aside from smelling nice, essential oils are often used for aromatherapy and other medicinal uses. However, be aware that they are not intended as a treatment for any medical condition.

Similarly, some oils might cause an allergic reaction in some individuals. So, be careful when spraying them in the air or using them on your skin if you think you might be allergic to a certain oil.

Which oils are best for use around the home?

There are dozens or even hundreds of essential oils that have various scents and uses. However, some are more pleasant and suitable for the home than others.

The main essentials that serve a number of uses around the home are:

• Lavender

• Lemon

• Tea Tree

• Peppermint

• Pine

• Lemongrass

• Patchouli

• Bergamot

• Eucalyptus

• Tangerine

There are various kits available online that include some or all of the oils listed above, or you can buy them individually from retailers.

Household uses for essential oils

There are many uses for essential oils around the home. They include:

• Used as an air freshener with an oil diffuser. These diffusers humidify the air while diffusing the oil into the room, resulting in a pleasant aroma.

• Mixed with water or alcohol to make a fabric spray. You can find several formulas for creating a fabric spray. However, the easiest way to quickly freshen up the sofa or carpet is to mix 10% oil to 90% water or ethanol and put the mixture into a spray bottle.

• As a natural cleaning product. Lemon, lime, lavender, and peppermint all make great additions to a homemade cleaning solution. Diluted with water and vinegar, many essential oils can be used to freshen up a countertop or scrub a sink.

• Spruce up your clean laundry/linen. You can put a couple of drops of lavender onto a damp washcloth and put this in your dryer with your clothes to give them a nice fragrance. This works particularly well if you use unscented laundry detergent. However, be sure not to go overboard--essential oils are strong and some can cause skin irritation.

• Refrigerator deodorant. The best way to get rid of the smell of a refrigerator is to give it a thorough cleaning. But afterward, help keep it smelling clean longer by putting several drops of lemongrass into a small bowl with baking soda. Stir the baking soda on occasion to release the lemongrass fragrance.

If you're in the market for a new home, one of the first things you need to determine is how much of a monthly mortgage payment you can comfortably afford. A loan officer or mortgage broker can help you figure that out, based on your income, debts, and other information.

One thing they probably won't include in the equation is the cost of home maintenance and other essential services, like garbage collection.

Ultimately, it's up to the homeowner to build in enough "breathing room" in their budget to cover unexpected expenses. Although you can't predict exactly what those expenses will be or how much they'll cost, it's virtually guaranteed that they're going to occur. Whether you're planning to buy a new house or a mid-century dwelling, here's the short list of typical homeowner expenses that could crop up. While all these items may not apply directly to your situation, many of them eventually will.

• Plumbing repairs: Leaky pipes, clogged drains, and broken plumbing fixtures are common problems in most homes. You may also need a plumber to fix or install a garbage disposal, repair or replace a hot water heater, or hook up a new refrigerator to your water supply.
• HVAC services: When you combine the cost of semi-annual routine service calls and unexpected emergency repairs, the cost of maintaining your heating and cooling systems can really take a bite out of your household budget!
• Appliance repair: The typical family depends on at least a half a dozen major appliances to prepare meals and keep their clothes and dishes clean. When one or more of those appliances break down, chaos can ensue! In many cases, it's more cost-effective and practical to call a repair service than buy a new appliance.
• Exterminator services: Regardless of whether you live in the city or the country, unexpected and unwelcome insects, rodents, and other miscellaneous varmints can show up in your home and yard. Sometimes it's even necessary to call a wildlife control specialist to remove skunks, raccoons, and other intruders!
• Electrical repairs and upgrades: Although electrical repairs are occasionally needed for safety reasons, most calls to electricians are more routine in nature. However, when light switches, electrical outlets, and ceiling lights stop working, it can be a huge inconvenience for you and your family. In some cases, you might even be desperate enough to pay extra for emergency electrical service on weekends!
• Miscellaneous expenses: Garage door repairs, fireplace cleaning, swimming pool maintenance, deck repairs, rain gutter cleaning, professional carpet cleaning, landscaping, fence repair, home siding repair, and wet basement problems are a few of the many expenses that may require you to dip into your savings or household budget.