7 Wonderful Ways to Free up Your Time and Trim down Your Chore List ...

One of the best ways to free up your time when it comes to chores is to do a little each day. For starters, never leave your dishes in the sink overnight where you’ll have to wake up to a mess in the morning. Instead, wash them before you go to bed and put them away. If you have a dishwasher, then by all means use it, but don’t let the clean dishes sit for days at a time before you put them away. It will take a mere 5 minutes of your time at the most and it won’t be there later for you to look at.

One trick I like to do is to sweep and vacuum daily, just over the floor’s main surfaces. It takes me about 15 minutes each morning, but it is so worth it to never live with a messy floor, and by doing this each day, I never have to worry about a huge cleaning job on the weekends . It is also great when you have unexpected guests drop by.

Instead of letting dust pile up and having to spend hours getting it up with a vacuum, simply dust 3 times a week for 5-10 minutes each session. Do this in between television shows, anytime you find 10 spare minutes, and you’ll notice that your house stays cleaner all week. I just take a simple dusting rag, a little polish and go at it. You can save the heavier jobs like dusting ceiling fans, curtains, etc. for days you have more time.

One trick to keep your floors cleaner is to implement a policy for removing your shoes before entering your house. All my running shoes get left in the garage so they don’t track in dirt, and more stylish shoes that I may not want to leave outside, I simply take off before I go in the house and put them in my closet inside. Putting mats down at the door also helps if you have family members who don’t want to remove their shoes before entering. This tips helps you have to mop less often as well.

If you have kids or many members of your house, assign each person a basket, either all in one room, or put them in each of their rooms separately. In the basket, put their mail, and whatever other items are theirs around the house, such as keys and other odds and ends. Even better, ask them to make sure they put all their items in baskets instead of you doing it. This will help decrease clutter around the house overall and will get everyone in the habit of putting their things in their own spot. Just make sure everyone empties the basket once a week so they don't pile up.

If you’re making a meal, clean as you go. Don’t leave dirty silverware, spoons, or prep bowls out to clean up afterwards. Instead, clean as you go. Then, you won’t have to spend 30 minutes after dinner while your favorite show is on, just to clean up the kitchen. If you have kids, this is also a great lesson to teach them.

I’ll admit in high school, my room looked like my closet exploded! Then, I was left with a huge pile of clothes to put up each week. Sorting, organizing, folding and hanging just left me with less free time on my hands. Now, instead, if I don’t like an outfit I put on, I make myself hang it back up or fold it and put it away. I also put my pajamas back in the drawer each morning and never leave a load of laundry over a day to fold after washing. By doing this small task each day, you’ll save major time later and it takes absolutely no time. You’ll have a cleaner room all the time as well. Another trick is to fold clothes while you watch TV at night so you don't dread it as much.

Don’t assume cleaning has to be a lengthy daily chore list, or a day-long weekend occurrence. Simple, small tasks that take between 5-10 minutes each can be done each day and make your life so much easier, and cleaner. You’ll be surprised that you’ll have more free time overall than if you sacrifice one whole weekend just to get your house in order. Do you have any tricks for minimizing your cleaning list? Share them with me!