Life is busy, and there’s only so much time for cleaning and tidying. So what are the must-dos for keeping a home well-managed? Here, housekeepers share their tips and tricks for making a chaotic house feel more orderly.
Run a tight ship
According to Matt Church, also known as Mr Housekeeping, from Maldon in Essex, there are four key parts to a well-run home. These are keeping the place “clean, tidy, decluttered, and organised,” he says. “I call myself a housekeeper because it’s not just about cleaning. Cleaning is one part, but some cleaners won’t tidy up, empty bins, make beds, put laundry away, or organise cupboards. Those are all jobs I take on.” People often joke about tidying before the cleaner arrives, but Church says they’re actually two very different things.
“When you take on someone’s house, a lot of it at the start is about listening,” says Georgie Cutbill, who runs The Bruton Housekeeper, a household management service in Somerset. “People have very specific ideas about what they want, so you have to get into their mindset.” Cutbill has found herself in all sorts of unexpected situations, from organising parties with miniature donkeys to finding specialists in Tadelakt, a Moroccan lime-based plaster. “No two days are the same,” she says.
Lisa Williams is head of housekeeping at The Grand hotel in York and chair of the UK Housekeepers Association. During the pandemic, when hotels were closed, Williams worked in hospitals and learned a lot about using chemicals to prevent the spread of infection.
Guests expect to check into a spotless room, but “obviously you have time limits,” says Williams, explaining that it’s not the same as cleaning a home. “You have to clean 11 rooms in an eight-hour day. And obviously, if guests don’t check out on time, that can put a lot of pressure on you.” Sometimes things get broken or there’s other damage to a room: “We understand that guests can sometimes be sick, but they don’t always tell you. It’s great if guests are honest, because then we can deal with it right away. If it’s left overnight and all day, it’s much harder to remove.” At home, Williams says it helps to have a regular cleaning routine you stick to, otherwise you’re always “chasing the dirt.”
Always make your bed
“There’s nothing nicer than a fresh bed.” Photograph: Richard Drury/Getty Images
“It makes a huge difference when you go to bed and it’s already made,” says Church. “It can make a bedroom feel much tidier than it actually is.” Should you do it as soon as you get up? “Yes, in your own home,” says Church. “It’s the last job I do before I leave a client, because if you make the bed and then start dusting the light fittings above it, you end up with dust all over the sheets, so I make the bed last.” How often should you change the sheets? “Once a week is good,” says Church, but more often is better in hot weather. Sam Hodges, who owns Hectic Housekeepers in Hastings, suggests twice a week if you have pets that sleep with you.
“There’s nothing nicer than a fresh bed,” says Williams. If you’re staying in a hotel for a long time, your bed might be changed every other day. At home, weekly is fine, she says. “I keep my bed fresh. It’s also important to remember to vacuum it.” She also recommends giving mattress toppers a good shake because they can get flattened. Hotel bed linen is ironed, but Williams says she only does that at home if she has guests. She shares a handy trick if you can’t be bothered: “If you put water in a spray bottle and lightly spray it, then pull the bed tight, after about half an hour the creases come out. That’s what we do for photoshoots if duvets have slight creases.”
Williams says she can’t resist putting chocolates on the pillows for guests at her home.Although she draws the line at arranging towels into swan shapes.
Never leave dishes unwashed
Washing the dishes and putting them away is essential if you want your home to look well-kept, says Church. He doesn’t own a dishwasher and has a baby, so this can be quite a challenge: “You can spend all night getting the kitchen clean, then the next morning it’s a complete mess again.”
Make sure your home smells amazing
You need a tidy kitchen, agrees Cutbill, one that “feels and smells clean.” Cutbill recommends using candles or applying wood oil to surfaces for a subtler scent. Using good-quality cleaning products also makes a big difference, she says.
“When someone walks into your house, it’s about that first impression,” agrees Williams, who swears by plug-in diffusers for a fragrance that stands out.
Hodges takes an empty spray bottle with her on jobs and mixes some of her client’s fabric conditioner with water, then spritzes it around the house: “The smell is amazing and it lasts.”
Have a sparkling bathroom
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A spotless bathroom is a must. Photograph: brizmaker/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Williams says the bathroom is her number one priority: “If you ever have people coming over, make sure your bathroom is spotless.” Church believes toilets should be cleaned daily: “not a deep clean, but a bit of bleach.” Hodges skips bleach and chooses eco-friendly options instead. “For limescale, white vinegar or elbow grease usually works well.” Hodges says she recently found that a pumice stone and water can effectively remove tough limescale from some surfaces.
Don’t forget to leave products on long enough to work, says Hodges. “When people clean their own homes, they give it a quick spray, then wipe it off.” Instead, “Let it sit – then you save yourself so much hard work from having to scrub it off.”
Keep the fridge under control
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Remove things that have been lurking at the back of your fridge. Photograph: Posed by model; Kentaroo Tryman/Getty Images/Maskot
With a fridge, “if you see an obvious stain, get to it as soon as you can, or it will set and become like glue,” says Church. Regularly cleaning the fridge also helps you spot things at the back of shelves that you might have forgotten about, says Church. “I clean it weekly or just whenever I have a cloth in my hand,” says Cutbill, adding: “You can’t beat a freshly washed cloth or tea towel.”
Don’t let laundry pile up
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Hang washed clothes on the line as soon as possible. Photograph: Johner Images/Getty Images/Johner RF
“Don’t leave things in the washing machine too long,” says Church. “Hanging them up right away can mean you don’t need to iron as much.”
“The laundry room gets neglected in my home,” says Cutbill, “but not in my clients’.” She says the key to managing laundry is placing laundry baskets strategically, getting washed clothes on the line if possible, then folding everything and putting it away promptly. “Otherwise,” says Hodges, “it will end up on that dreaded chair or table in the bedroom, and it will sit there for three weeks, and no one puts it away.”
Staying on top of laundry means doing a little and often, continues Hodges. “Sort clothes before washing and don’t overload the machine, or it won’t wash properly,” she says.
If you do one job, make it the floors
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Brushing and mopping the floor regularly makes a world of difference. Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images
A clean floor can make a world of difference, says Church, who starts at the “top of a room and does the floors last.” Cutbill is constantly mopping her own floor because she has three dogs who bring in dirt fromHaving plants inside the house is something she reflects on. “I regret it from a cleaning point of view, but I don’t regret it because they are very lovely.” She always keeps a good brush nearby to handle messes from her dogs. “I brush most days, then mop regularly to keep it fresh and clean.”
Don’t forget to clean your vacuum cleaner, says Hodges: “I spray the inside of the Henry with fabric freshener, so the room gets a nice smell. And with my Shark, once a week I’ll take the sponges out and hand-wash them with a washing pod or fabric conditioner.” This then releases a pleasant scent when vacuuming.
Rediscover the lost art of dusting
Diluted washing-up liquid works well when cleaning blinds. “Make sure all areas are dusted,” says Williams. Factor in time for “periodically cleaning blinds and curtains. You need to do them weekly or monthly.” Hodges puts an old sock on her hand like a puppet with some diluted washing-up liquid on it to run across dusty slatted blinds. “Don’t spray the actual blind. Spray the sock and then just run your hand along after you’ve given it a dust. It’s so much easier to clean.”
Struggling to remove a stain? Think CHAT
Church explains that this stands for: chemical, heat, agitation, and time, a concept developed by the German chemist Herbert Sinner in the 1950s. “If you’re struggling with cleaning something, if you increase one of those it should do it,” says Church. For example, “you could be using the wrong chemical, it might need hotter water or to be scrubbed differently or for longer.”
Be ruthless
When decluttering, decide what you want to keep, rather than what you want to put back. “When decluttering, chuck out anything you haven’t used for a year,” says Cutbill. “Find somebody who is going to give it a home because a lot of these things can have a second life.” Cutbill swears by local WhatsApp groups for rehoming unwanted goods, and charity shops.
“I like to get everything out and into the centre of the room,” says Church. “If you are just picking things up around you, you’re dealing with little fires everywhere.” With everything in the middle, it is easier to decide ‘What do I want to keep?’ and ‘What do I want to put back?’ Enlisting a friend can help you to be more ruthless: “When you pick something up yourself and you’re holding it in your hand, you can make up a hundred excuses as to why this is sentimental. But if someone else is holding it and saying, ‘Do you need this random booklet?’ or whatever it is, you are more likely to say ‘no’.”
“Small wins quickly build momentum,” says Hodges. “Pick a corner and start from there. Work your way around until you’ve completed the room. It doesn’t have to be done in one day.”
Keep toys on rotation
Avoid leaving all the toys out at once. “Children get bored of the same toys and overstimulated when there’s too much out,” says Church. Rotating which toys are accessible every few days “helps to keep the room less cluttered – particularly helpful in smaller homes.”
Treat tradespeople with respect
Offer tradespeople a regular cuppa. On choosing good tradespeople, Cutbill advises to “go with your gut instinct. And really take the time to get to know them. You’ve got to invest in your people.” Offering regular cups of tea is crucial. If you are fortunate enough to have someone to help at your home, communication is key, says Church: “Don’t be afraid to tell them what you want done because every house is different and what is a priority for you is often different to someone else.”It’s okay to let your standards slip sometimes. Church says he can get quite stressed when people visit his home, “because I feel like they expect mine to be perfect. But I work about six days a week, so by the time I get home, I’m pretty tired of cleaning, and I’ve got a one-year-old – we do our best.”
“I’d love to live in a well-organized home,” says Hodges, “but the truth is, it’s definitely not spotless all the time. Being busy and cleaning everyone else’s homes, it’s usually not at the top of my list. There’s always a pile of laundry or a cup that appears out of nowhere: things just mysteriously move from one room to another. I think the saying is ‘the cleaner needs a cleaner,’ and it’s very true.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs based on the topic Make your bed and dont hold back 14 expert tips for a clean healthy and happy home
General Mindset Questions
1 Why is making my bed the first step to a cleaner home
Its a psychological trigger Completing this small task first thing in the morning gives you an immediate sense of accomplishment which creates momentum It makes you more likely to tackle the next chore and it instantly makes your bedroom look neater reducing visual clutter
2 Im not a morning person Do I really have to do it right away
Yes but it takes 2 minutes The goal isnt perfection its about starting the day with a win Even just straightening the duvet and fluffing pillows before you leave the room sets a positive tone for the rest of the day
3 What does dont hold back actually mean in this context
It means dont just do the bare minimum Dont just pull the covers up smooth out the wrinkles fold the corners and fluff the pillows Its about doing the job properly so the room looks intentional and inviting not just tidied
4 Is this advice only about the bedroom or does it apply to the whole house
The bed is the starting point The expert tips in the guide are about applying the same level of care and attention to every roomfrom decluttering countertops to deepcleaning floorsto create a holistic sense of calm
Health Hygiene Questions
5 Does making my bed really help with allergies
Yes If you leave your bed unmade dust mites and allergens settle into the damp sheets Making your bedand pulling the covers back to air out for 10 minutes before you make ithelps reduce moisture and keeps dust from settling which is better for allergy sufferers
6 Should I air out my bed before making it or is that counterproductive
Its actually the best practice While you sleep you sweat Before you hold back throw the duvet back and let the sheets air out for a few minutes This prevents mildew and keeps your mattress fresher
