Am I Cleaning Too Much?

Social Media: everything is so pretty and perfect. There are pictures of gorgeous people in gorgeous outfits, glamorous vacations and meals, and perfectly cleaned homes decorated so beautifully inspiring us to live our best lives now. Real Life: we are busy, we have families, distractions pop up, money does not grow on trees, we are not sponsored to give “free advertising”, our children misbehave, etc., etc., etc. 

Where does this leave us? Feeling guilty for all the things we don’t excel at or just aren’t doing. We have some good news! You can relax! Some of the things we think we should be cleaning in our homes because we saw it on the internet don’t need as much attention as we think they do. Here are just 10 of those things you can relax about cleaning because most of us are cleaning them too much.  

• Sheets 

Now that cooler weather is approaching, the need to wash your bed linens can slow down a bit. You actually don’t need to wash them weekly unless you are extra sweaty at night. Yes, there is the whole shedding skin cells thing, but if you are not sharing your bed with guests there is no need to wash the sheets so often. Cooler weather means less sweating and less need for frequent washing. You can even cut back to once a month if you are not a stickler for needing clean crisp sheets. Washing weekly actually wears down the life of your sheets; it’s pretty rough on them.  

• Upholstery 

When a spill happens on the sofa, instinctually we grab the spot treatment and start spraying it right onto the fabric. This actually applies way too much product to the stain creating more work. Instead, spray a small amount of cleaner onto a clean white cloth and blot it onto the stain. This method applies just the right amount of treatment and allows for much less effort rinsing it out.  More about Upholstery

• Carpets/Rugs 

With all the controversy of what is hanging out in your carpet and the debate of hard surface vs. carpet, we think that we have to constantly vacuum to ward off nasty things living in our carpets. Truth is: Only high traffic areas need constant attention, and the attention is not as constant as you think. High traffic areas like stairs and hallways and the center of often used rooms like the family room need twice weekly routine vacuuming. That rug under your formal coffee table that never gets stepped on? It only needs to be vacuumed once a month.  

• Bath Towels 

Yes, bath towels get wet and wet things have a high likelihood of growing mold, but you only use your towel to wipe off your freshly cleaned body. So, if you are properly hanging your towel with room for it to air dry, you can wash it less often.  

• Hardwood Floors 

In our busy lives, our hardwood floors see a lot of use and many of us think we need to mop pretty often. Some of us even mop every day. We are here to tell you moisture is the biggest enemy of your hardwoods. The best care for your hardwoods is a quick daily dry mopping, weekly vacuuming with a special hardwood vacuum if you have one, and twice monthly nearly dry mopping only with hardwood specific mopping solution (we suggest the cleaner in a spray bottle and washable microfiber mop head method). 

• Clothes 

Unless you are sweating profusely during a workout, rolling around on the ground, or maybe giving a very hairy dog a bath, you can wear your clothes more than once before washing them. When you do wash your clothes they don’t actually need as much soap as is commonly used. So if you did not play hard in your clothes, you just worked say a day at the office, hang the clothes back up in the closet for another use. When you go to put your clothes in the wash read the suggested amount for a load on the package directions and then dial it back just a smidge from there. You will save money using less soap and your clothes will last longer and look better.  

• Yourself 

This one may have you thinking “what!?!” How could someone be cleaning themselves too much? Washing your hands, body, hair, and other things is a good thing it gets rid of grime and bacteria and keeps us from getting sick. Well, too much washing can actually make you sick too. Our bodies carry their own natural good bacteria that help us to fight off the bad stuff and when we wash too often we get rid of the good stuff along with the bad and we also weaken our own immune system in the process. So yes, wash those hands but really only do so when you have been handling something yucky, after using the restroom, or you are about to eat. Your hair? It really only needs a wash every couple of days, those natural oils your body produces are the healthiest things for it.  

So relax, ease up on some of those cleaning tasks. It will save you time and money even! Another thing that will help you not have to make a bigger effort to keep things clean? Annual professional deep cleanings.  

For the best professional floor cleaning in Edmonds make an appointment with All Kleen right away!