7 Things in Your Home You Should Be Cleaning More Often

Cleaning is something that a lot of us put on the back-burner. Life only has so many hours, why spend those hours cleaning? Unfortunately, while that logic somewhat makes sense, cleaning shouldn’t be ignored. In fact, cleaning leads to having a better life! Studies show that a cleaner home leads to improvements in health both physically and mentally. You don't just clean the areas of your home that need attention because they need attention. In fact, you clean them in tandem with help from pest control companies who can help you to keep the bugs and pests away. Cleaning isn't the most fun job we all have to do, and yet we all have to do it if we want to live somewhere that looks and feels fresh. 

I spent my entire childhood living in homes that weren’t the cleanest. My bedroom specifically was always the worst offender. In college, things got better. That was mostly because when I was at school, I left most of my stuff at my parents’ house. Once I graduated though, I took more pride in my post-college home and preferred it to be clean. I felt like I couldn’t think in a messy, cluttered home. I began cleaning all of the time! I became a total neat freak! Or, so I thought.

There are a lot of things that I hadn’t realized I wasn’t cleaning as much as I should be! Just because things look clean doesn’t mean that they are clean. There are things you should be cleaning that you probably aren’t cleaning enough, or even worse, not at all! Here are seven things in your home that you should be cleaning more often!

BED SHEETS – ONCE A WEEK

This is one that has always been up for debate. Truth is, you should be washing your bed sheets once a week, if not more often! You might think this is unnecessary, but it’s not. Sheets are supposed to be treated like clothes. Would you wear a piece of clothing for thirty days straight before washing it? I doubt it. All the oils, sweat, and dirt on your body is also all over your sheets. Once that’s realized, I doubt you’ll want to wait before washing your bed sheets!

PILLOWS – EVERY THREE MONTHS

I didn’t know you could wash pillows! I honestly thought that they couldn’t go into the washer. Turns out, most pillows are washing machine safe! For the same reasons that you should be washing your sheets, pillows can be even worse. A pillow is more durable though, so you don’t need to wash it as often. Washing your pillow is important though! Don’t spend your nights resting your head on a sack full of sweat and dirt!

VACUUMING – TWICE A WEEK (IF NOT MORE OFTEN!)

This is important if you have allergies and/or pets. Here’s a rule of thumb: if your floors look like they haven’t been vacuumed, they need to be vacuumed! Some people say that the best motivation for this is decluttering. If you need to get a bunch of junk on the floor, convince yourself you need to vacuum! Vacuuming is important for your physical health. You are more likely to have allergies if you don’t vacuum your home regularly! It’s also good to get rid of all the pests living with you. News flash: you’re not the only living thing in your home! Gross!

DUSTING – BETWEEN ONCE A WEEK AND ONCE A MONTH

Certain pieces of furniture are more prone to dusting. I personally dust every day, but that’s because I’m allergic to dust. You don’t need to be as worrisome as me! However, dusting is still important! Even if you aren’t allergic, it can still make you sneeze. If you are curious as to what dust is, it includes human skin cells, pet dander, dirt, and dust mite excrement! These things are not only disgusting, but it can hurt your furniture. It’s also extremely bad for you in large amounts!

CLEANING OUT YOUR FRIDGE – ONCE A WEEK

When I say cleaning out your fridge, I mean two things. One, you need to check for food that might have gone bad or expired. Nothing is worse than a cluttered fridge! Two, you need to also wipe down the inside of your fridge! A dirty fridge means dirty food. When your fridge is dirty, your food spoils quicker. That’s money right down the drain! Plus, waste is just bad for humanity, so clean your fridge!

WINDEX YOUR WINDOWS – ONCE EVERY SEASON

Sunlight means happiness. Don’t believe me? It’s true! Your windows can collect gunk that block out the sun. Cleaning your windows means a better chance of seeing the outside world. If you don’t clean your windows often, there’s a good chance you will be more prone to bugs. You’ll also make yourself vulnerable to mildew. These are things that can affect your mental and physical health, so don’t procrastinate!

CLEANING YOUR BATHTUB/SHOWER – ONCE A WEEK

Your bathtub and/or shower is actually a dirtier place than your toilet! Think about it logically: you go into the shower to get off all the dirt and grossness that you have on you. That can lead to all that dirt and grossness to cake the inside of your bathtub! If you don’t clean your shower, there is a 25% chance you’ll find some skin infecting types of bacteria! I’m being totally serious. There was a study done on it and everything. Clean the places where you clean yourself!

Cleaning can feel like a full-time job, which is why there are regular maids for hire. Unfortunately, most of us just can’t afford that. I do recommend that you hire a professional to come and clean your home once to twice a year! It will do a lot for you. Again, if you can’t do that though, it’s okay. There are ways to manage on your own!

While it might feel like you should be focusing on other things besides cleaning, think of your health. A cleaner home means a happier home! Set up a schedule for yourself. Once you get into a rhythm, it will feel less like a burden because you will love your clean home!