San Diego Moms: Spring Cleaning Tips And Tricks

By Hoa Quach, Times of San Diego

April 16, 2023

As a mother, it seems that I am cleaning everyday — whether it’s cleaning the house, cleaning the backpacks or cleaning up all the crumbs and dirt in the car! It’s an ongoing job.

I spoke to Michelle Urban, a professional home organizer and owner of The Organized House, and a mother of two very active kids herself. She gave me priceless guidance on how to manage all the cleaning.

Here are Urban’s top three suggestions for parents:

Think progress over perfection: Cleaning can be challenging. And thanks to Instagram, Pinterest, filters, and presets, we now have distorted perspectives and grandiose ideas for what our homes should look like. In reality, very few people can maintain a pristine and sparkling clean home. My philosophy is that small and simple cleaning efforts sometimes have a significant impact. The goal is to make your daily routines and habits efficient and chaos-free, so remember progress comes over perfection, and give yourself time to find a cleaning system that works for you. For example, you might start by doing one small cleaning task or cleaning areas that are the quick and easy wins

Declutter and do it often: The less stuff you have, the easier it is to clean and keep things tidy. This doesn’t mean that you have to be a minimalist. It just means that you have few items, especially in places where they don’t below. With fewer things in a room, it’s more likely that everything you own will have a proper home base and not free-floating on a countertop, shelf, or floor. In the long run, doing things like vacuuming, dusting, or wiping down a countertop will be relatively simple.

Clean up every night: Take a few minutes every night to put things in their proper place, and do a quick spiff. I call this “putting the room to bed.” This quick reset gets the room ready for another productive day. Since everything will be in its proper place, organized, and clean, it allows you to feel less stressed and eager to start the day. On a near-nightly basis, try to accomplish a few of these tasks:

• Wipe down tables and counters
• Sweep the kitchen floor
• Put dishes away that are on the drying rack
• Load and start the dishwasher
• Gather laundry and start or fold a load
• Wipe down bathroom counters
• Pick up everything off the floor in each room
• Put away the random items that seem to pile up from the day

Finally, outsource when possible: There is no shame in the outsourcing game. When budget allows, have a professional help you deep clean the areas in your house that are more time-consuming and don’t need to be done every week, things like cleaning the oven and store filters and fan, wiping down the baseboards and crown molding, washing the screens and windows, cleaning the inside of your refrigerator, getting all your laundry washed, folded and put away, or wiping down doors handles and light switches. Outsourcing small tasks will be cheaper than having someone come in and deep clean your house in one swoop. Plus, it will lift a ton of unwanted stress, which is priceless.

Urban also recommends investing in a great, upright vacuum and hand-held steam cleaner. For those random marks you’ll find when you live with children, using a Magic Eraser.

Here are some other products that I have tried and loved during the cleaning process, especially as a mother.

AIRROBO P20: An affordable robot vacuum. Even better, if your child is sensitive to loud noises like my own, this vacuum is significantly quieter than other, more expensive robot vacuums I’ve used over the years.

Charlie’s Soap: This line of products is made with biodegradable ingredients, and do not utilize any harsh chemicals making it safe to use with kids. Even better, it doesn’t have any extremely obnoxious odors, which also makes it kid-friendly!

Sqwishful: This eco-friendly company offers an assortment of cleaning tools that are plant-based, plastic-free, and crafted with natural, carbon-saving materials. 100% of the products and packaging are home compostable!

Render Goods: Looking for better kitchen towels? Try Render Goods for highly absorbent towels that come in stylish designs. Each towel is also made from recycled water bottles.

Have a cleaning product you love as a parent? Tell us about it in the comments.

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San Diego Moms is published every Saturday. Have a story idea? Email hoaq@timesofsandiego.com and follow her on Instagram at @hoawritessd.

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