9 Surprising Benefits of a Clean Home (That Will Make You Want to Clean)

Hate to clean? These surprising benefits of a clean home will completely change your perspective on cleaning in general. In fact, you may find you actually want to clean!  

The following is 9 Benefits of a clean home by Kaylyn Brooke. Her direct link to her post is here:  http://bit.ly/2FSYqNy

1. A Healthier Family

This first one is a bit obvious, but it's worth mentioning. Bacteria, mold, dust, and dander cause everything from allergies to asthma. Regular cleaning sessions will significantly lower the potential for sickness, and create a healthier family overall.

2. More Opportunities to Be Hospitable

I don't know about you, but if I have a friend stop by and my house is a wreck, I'm more likely to over-explain why my house looks that way. It's not only super embarrassing, I also go into anxiety-overdrive wondering what they think about my home and how it reflects on me as a person!

Don't get me wrong, your house doesn't have to be spic-and-span to impress. A general pick-up is easy to do each day, and makes your home look so much better. 

Try to spend 15 minutes every evening clearing off counters and putting things back where they belong. 

It makes a HUGE difference!

3. Less Maintenance and Repairs

By keeping your appliances in good condition, you'll spend less money to repair or replace them. And how do you do that? By cleaning them! It might not sound like a big deal, but I'm all about avoiding unnecessary costs, even if it means a little extra attention to keep things like my dishwasher running smoothly.

If you're not sure when you'll find time to do all the extra stuff when you're barely keeping up with laundry and dishes, try to establish a regular cleaning schedule first. I've found that with a regular routine, you can easily add one deep cleaning task a week {or month} without too much hassle.

4. A Quick Burst of Physical Activity

A good cleaning session always gets my heart pumping, especially if it's a task like scrubbing down the shower or vacuuming the floors. Plus, our vacuum is particularly heavy to lug around, so it's pretty much like lifting weights, right?

If you hate to exercise, but want to stay active and healthy, just put on your rubber gloves and tackle a few cleaning jobs for 20-30 minutes. You'll quickly break a sweat without paying for an expensive gym membership—I always count vacuuming as my workout for the day!

5. Not Wasting Time

I know it sounds super simple, but taking just a few minutes to put items away right after you're done using them has an amazing effect. Not only will you have less of a mess to clean later, you'll easily find an item within seconds of needing it. This in turn, saves time, and time is just as important as saving money!

6. Less Guilt about Downtime

Have you ever felt guilty about watching Netflix or reading a book? I have a really hard time relaxing—mostly because the moment I sit down, I think of twenty other things I should be doing, cleaning included!

I used to have a specific cleaning day, but right now, I spread out all my cleaning tasks throughout the week. On Monday, I tackle the master bathroom, on Tuesday, the guest bathroom, and so on. Once I get that task completed for the day, then I'm free to relax or tackle other projects.

It's almost like having your chores finished so you can go play….and feel less guilty about it!

7. Increased Productivity

I recently listened to a podcast by Jeff Goins, and he said something that sent off all sorts of lightbulbs in my head, “Clutter is the enemy of creativity.”

This is so true! I have personally found that it's incredibly hard to function, let alone be creative, when you're surrounded by dirt, grime, and most especially clutter. I can't even write a single blog post when there's stacks of paper all over my desk.

Keeping a clean home gives you literal and mental space to work, and allows you to focus exclusively on the task at hand. Which….you guessed it, makes you WAY more productive.

8. More Control

The next time you feel like your life is spiraling out of control, take a good look around your home. What do you see? Is it full of toys? Clutter? Stains? Crumbs? Those things might be a huge cause of anxiety and frustration.

The thing is, you and I have control over those things. We can choose to sweep or vacuum crumbs off the floor, wipe down the counters, and get rid of clutter, which has an immediate effect on our mood.

Yep, it takes time….and work, but when I have more control I have over my environment, the better I feel in control of my life in general.

9. Sense of Accomplishment

Remember how at the beginning of this post, I talked about that sense of accomplishment I felt after tackling the bathroom? Knowing I had crossed something major off my list gave me a huge boost of energy. I was pretty happy too!

One quick glance over your clean and tidy home, and I promise you too will get warm fuzzies whenever you think about all the hard work you've done. It also encourages you to continue the habit in the weeks, months, and years to come.

Everyone's idea of a clean home will be different, so don't make yourself feel guilty over what you decide to do. Some women love to clean {I unfortunately am not one of them!} Others do just enough to get by, and leave deeper cleaning until it's time to sell their house. *Ahem*

Either way, cleaning makes that little bit of inconvenience worth it in the long run, and leads to a happier, productive, and healthier life overall. That's something that I'm willing to clean for, you?