“Home” is more than just a place. It’s the soft place to land after a hard day, where you can care for yourself and refill your well. Like anything, it takes effort to maintain a home where you can relax—and that includes cleaning it. But who has the time to give *cleaning* a ton of energy when you’ve got so many other things on your plate? There’s a million ways to clean a room, but automating how you clean will take some of the work out of that chore so you can direct your energy into things that matter more. Emily shares three simple steps to clean any room, along with her favorite tools to get the job done faster, so you can get your time back and start relaxing again a bit sooner.
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6 Essential Tools to Keep Your Home Clean:
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A bucket of soap and hot water. Dawn dish soap is the real MVP of this combo.
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Rags. Buy in bulk or tear up an old t-shirt, whatever works for you works best here.
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Bleach. No explanation needed here, use this to clean all the things—toys, shower liner, cutting boards.
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Windex. Use for polishing windows, mirrors, and chrome fixtures until they gleam.
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Swiffer sweepers, dusters, and the WetJet mop. The whole line of Swiffer is top-tier for all your home cleaning needs.
- A really, really good vacuum. Handheld, upright, robot, whatever works for you here.
3-Step Method to Clean Any Room:
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Do a ruthless declutter. Take out what doesn’t belong in each room and tidy up the space.
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Organize and rearrange the room. Ensure everything has a spot, and if something doesn’t flow right, take some time to rearrange into a pattern that works for you.
- Clean and polish the room. Start at the top and work your way down, ensuring all dust and dirt is caught and swept away.
Thought-Provoking Quotes
“I’ve thought a lot about the way I want people to feel inside my home, and I want them to feel welcome.” – Emily Ley
“Home isn't really about a specific place. It's a feeling that says, This is a place where you are safe. This is a place where you are cared for.” – Emily Ley
“A home filled with people who care for you is a beautiful place. But I think more importantly, a home where you feel like you can care for yourself is even more of a treasure. I think that gets lost sometimes, especially for women.” – Emily Ley
“Cleaning your home isn't about sacrificing who you are in the service of your family. I's not about fulfilling your role as a woman—oh, no. I like to think of it as an act of care toward yourself as you choose to create and maintain a place where you want to spend your time.” – Emily Ley
“I want you to set aside any feelings you have about cleaning or home keeping as being frivolous or a chore. I want to think about this as setting yourself up for real success and creating a place that makes you feel loved and cared for and welcomed.” – Emily Ley
A Blessing for Your Week
May your home be a place where you feel safe and loved and cared for.
May you spend time on the people and experiences that matter to you and release your grip on the expectations that don't.
And above all, may you remember that caring for your home is a way that you show up and care for yourself.
Simplicity Tip of the Week
This may seem like a no-brainer, but you know what can make your life a little bit easier? Toting your cleaning products from room to room in a little cleaning caddy, or even a rolling cart. If your home has more than one level, you can put together a cleaning caddy for each floor so that you don’t have to keep toting your caddy up and down the stairs. Let’s face it: cleaning can feel like a chore, and anything you can do to make it easier is a big win.
New Book Alert: Build a Life You Love!
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