Organize Your Cleaning Supplies
Does the very thought of cleaning have you feeling overwhelmed from the start due to the mere fact that your cleaning closet/cupboard/supply area is disorganized? It’s not something we all think about when it comes to cleaning, but it’s a core foundational aspect of cleaning.
Keeping a neat n’ tidy cleaning system will help you build a solid foundation and routine around your cleaning practice. When you know where your supplies are, cleaning becomes that much less overwhelming and is a more pleasant experience. You have clarity. You know what to expect.
The act of organization in itself can be a creative endeavor. A choose your own adventure, so to speak. There are thousands of different bins and organizers that you can get to hold and house your products, but I’d like to address an aspect about organization that is very important: sifting, sorting, and purging.
Before you begin to go out and buy the fancy containers or start measuring that closet to see what organizer will fit:
Sort your products into categories of “like” items. For example: place all of your all purpose sprays in one pile, your toilet cleaner in another pile. Do you have duplicates? Half empty bottles that can be combined? A product that you can’t remember the last time you used that can be tossed, perhaps?
This task in itself can greatly reduce the amount of supplies you’re storing and provide some clarity on what products you actually use.
Here are my top tips on how to make cleaning more organized and systematic:
Pair down cleaning products to one of each type
Instead of having an all purpose spray from 5 different cleaning brands or picking up whatever is available at the store for glass cleaning, use the same product consistently at home. This lessens decision fatigue AND familiarizes yourself with the usage of a product. There’s nothing like opening your utility closet to have to go searching for that one all purpose spray you actually like. Make it simple and stick with the same products.
The Tidy People sustainable cleaning system streamlines the process of cleaning. Instead of having a closetful of products, the focus is having a caddy-full of products.
The high quality reusable glass bottles have a silicone protective sleeve on the bottom and are beautiful enough that they can be a fixture on a countertop for easy access.
Cleaning Caddy
Keep a cleaning caddy on hand that holds most of your cleaning supplies in one place, that you can carry around the house when cleaning and can get tucked away in a cupboard or closet when not in use. Your whole cleaning system should fit into one caddy. The back stock of extra product can be organized in your cleaning cupboard/closet/shelf.
Personally, I like the kind where it has compartments, so that supplies are easily organized:
Cloth Caddy
Plastic Caddy
Dyson Stick Vacuum
When it comes to quickly vacuuming both carpets and hard surfaced floors, the cordless Dyson Stick vacuum is an excellent option to have on hand for easy access to vacuuming. It can be wall mounted and is connected to a charging station when not in use. If you have a larger space, I recommend having a more heavy duty vacuum to have on hand for bigger cleaning days. But this is a great tool to have near the kitchen and other common areas to quickly vacuum floors vs. sweeping them.
Organize Cleaning Poles
Keep your cleaning poles organized, such as mops, cobweb removal tools, etc.
Reusable Towel System
Create a reusable towel system (like this one). You can keep your towels in an organized bin and have plenty on hand.
Designated Cupboard or Closet
Designate an enclosed area in your home where you store all or most of your cleaning supplies and tools. Not every space is created equally, so use your creativity here to find what works best for you in terms of accessibility and functionality.
A place for your cleaning caddy, reusable towels, vacuum, poles, and so on.
