House cleaning is usually a low priority for busy families simply because our days are busy or our energy is low after week of working hard at the office. Time can be saved during the house cleaning process by being more efficient with tools, supplies and planning!

Wear rubber gloves

You'll find that wearing gloves not only protects your hands from chemicals, dirt and germs, it allows you to get a better grasp on things. Consider them magic hands that do the work for you.

Use both hands

As you finish a step with one hand you can start the next step with the other hand. Besides, you have gloves on both hands. Use them.

Buy pretty cleaning tools

Splurge on attractive cleaning tools. You'll be more likely to use them. Throw out broken, dirty, ugly tools. You don't touch them anyway.

Use a bucket for supplies

Put supplies in a bucket to carry from room to room. If you leave your supplies in the kitchen and you are working in the bathroom, its hard to work fast if you have to keep backtracking to get another bottle of glass cleaner. Keep your supplies with you.

Don't clean the clean stuff

Sounds simple but if something is not dirty, don't clean it. Wall surfaces don't need cleaning like the shelves unless dirty hands made a mess. Ignore the things that look clean.

Organize the family

Delegate jobs to the rest of the family and keep a chart on the refrigerator. Include chores for every member of the family for daily chores and one or two weekly chores.

Organize the family laundry

Adding a laundry basket to every bedroom and requiring family members to keep dirty clothes ready for a load will cut down on small loads. Train the kids that the clothes don't get washed unless they are in the basket. Go one step further. Make it a rite of passage at the age of 13 they are responsible to do their own laundry: wash, fold, put-away.

Plan ahead to relax

If you ignore cleaning all year long it's hard to enjoy preparing for the huge group coming to your house for a holiday meal. Exhaustion will rob you of the pleasure of the company. Keep up with the cleaning in bits and pieces all year to make sure you can enjoy your home year round.

Limit your time

You really don't need to wear yourself out with your household chores and cleaning. Set a limit. When the time is up, stop! You can come back to your cleaning at another time. By breaking up the cleaning in bite-sized chores you will find it easier to keep the house presentable.

Girls, get going!

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