Summer is in full swing! With extra warm days and more hours of sunlight than any other time of year, it is a great season for enjoying time with family, hiking and taking advantage of other outdoor activities. Summer brings with it a few a challenges, including new housecleaning headaches.
Keeping your house clean during the summer does not have to snatch up all of your free time or cause a headache. Taking a few preventative steps can go a long way towards keeping your sanity intact over summer break!
Create a drying-off zone: If you do not have an area in your home for dirty shoes and other outside gear, you can create a space outside to collect these items. A simple purchase like a plastic storage bin, kept next to the door can keep muddy shoes, wet pool toys and other summer toys at bay. You can also try attaching a few pegs to a board (like these) to create a place to hang wet swimsuits, towels or shoes.
Creating a space just outside the door to allow your kids to dry off will keep your floors cleaner and all but eliminate the pesky wet carpet from tiny feet running through after a plunge in the pool!
Make storage easy: You do not have to get fancy with the summer yard-toys. Create a storage solution that is easy and works for you. Tall, metal garbage cans can easily hold tall yard tools (like rakes, hoes, brooms etc.) or pool toys (like noodles, life jackets etc.). The metal is easy to clean and it is sturdy, so you do not have to worry about replacing your storage container all the time.
Schedule yard work: Summer is a great time for playing outside, but if you do not keep up on your yard, toys and tools can easily vanish in the ever-growing grass. Schedule one day a week to do a quick once-over on your yard. Check for weeks, clean up leftover toys and other debris that have appeared and mow the lawn. If you keep you with the yard regularly, you won’t have to worry about your front lawn looking like a rummage sale.
Hang a laundry line in your shower: This may sound a little crazy, but it is a super handy trick! Simply buy a retractable clothesline (you can get them from Amazon, Bed Bath and Beyond and a few other household stores) and hang it a few inches under the shower curtain bar. You can hang wet swimsuits and towels over the tub for a quick, mess-less dry. In the winter, you can even use the line to hang your do-not-dry sweaters and jeans.
Routine maintenance: Summer is a great time to schedule a few bigger cleaning projects, like window and screen cleanings. Keeping your windows clean and in good repair will make your home feel and look brighter. It can also help keep your energy bills a little lower!
As always, remember that whatever cleaning you do around the home, consider using eco-friendly cleaning to keep your home fresh and safe!