It’s beyond frustrating when your home still doesn’t look clean, even though you’ve just cleaned it. Here are some of the main reasons why this happens – a few changes and tweaks will make all the difference to feeling like you have a clean home (as well as knowing you do!).
We’ve all been there…
Spending hours cleaning everything in our homes, dusting ceilings, shining mirrors, polishing everything in sight.
Only to turn around and find that, although we KNOW it’s all clean – it just doesn’t LOOK clean.
Not one bit.
So – what’s the answer?
Why can’t we have both a clean home and a home that looks clean?
Let’s delve into all those reasons why your home still isn’t looking as clean as you know it is.
I’ve even got a few tips to help as well!
6 Reasons You Home Never Looks Clean
#1 – Too Much Stuff
Clean is one thing. Tidy is another.
We all too often assume that when we clean things, it becomes tidy as well.
Not true…
When you have cluttered surfaces, NO MATTER HOW CLEAN THEY ARE they’ll still feel unclean.
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THIS?
Spend a little time before you clean, making sure only what you really need in that space is there, will save you time and effort when you come to clean.
After all, if you clean everything in sight, just because it’s there, then you’re cleaning more than you really need to.
And who wants to do that?!
Related: 365 things to declutter this year – one for every day incl. free printable
It’s also REALLY worth taking some time to style what you DO want in the space.
Move things around, make displays look good, and take some time curating what you actually want on show – that will automatically feel tidier, so when you clean it will feel cleaner as well.
Related: 30 Unmissable Interior Design Tips You’re Going To Love!
#2 – Unfinished Home Maintenance
We all have a TO DO list of little jobs that need finishing around the house.
Trouble is – those little jobs have huge potential to make every room look unclean as well.
Think about the types of things: –
- Cupboards falling off their hinges
- Paintwork scratched or chipped
- Ripped wallpaper
- Stains on carpets / curtains / furniture
- Stained grouting and sealant in bathrooms & kitchens
All of these things aren’t fixed by cleaning – they need more time and effort.
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THIS?
Go around the house and list anything that falls into the ‘needs fixing as looks dirty or untidy’ category – and then spend a day fixing all those little things (or get someone in to help, a handyman is perfect for this type of thing).
Related: 50 Home Maintenance Tasks To Get Stuck Into Now!
#3 – Untidy Soft Furnishings
When cleaning a room, you tend to take all the soft furnishings off the surfaces/furniture, and clean everything thoroughly.
For example – taking cushions and throws off a sofa so you can clean under the main cushions.
Another example would be taking the bedding off a bed to clean the mattress.
How about resting curtains on the window sill so that you can hoover underneath?
Or, what about taking rugs outside to shake off the bits…?
The only issue here is that when we’re rushed, and concentrating on cleaning the house – the last thing we want to do is make sure they all look great when they’re all put back in place.
Oftentimes we just chuck things back, and move on.
But that’s when a clean item looks unclean.
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THIS?
Another simple solution!
Take a few minutes to plump all cushions, fold throws nicely, and arrange them well.
It really does make all the difference.
TIP – If you truly struggle with keeping the soft furnishings you have, looking tidy, then consider taking away a lot of them. Make life easier for yourself rather than frustrating…
TIP – A huge part of every bedroom space is, of course, the bed. As such – make sure that you get into the habit of making it each morning. When your bed is made, the room automatically feels cleaner.
#4 – Dim Lighting – Inside And Out
Lighting can make or break a room – because it can feel dirty with shadows and badly lit spaces.
So – let’s look at a couple of ways that you may not be creating the right lighting to enhance your clean home….
NATURAL LIGHT
You may have cleaned everything in sight, you may have sparkling windows, and the curtains are tied back to let lots of natural light in – but have you thought about the OUTSIDE of the windows?
An easy fix is to make sure you wash both sides of the windows when you can – as that can make all the difference.
INSIDE LIGHT
As with the outside of the windows not letting in the maximum light, so too could the inside lights.
By that I mean, how often do you actually clean your lightbulbs?
It’s not something on most peoples weekly cleaning schedule, but it is something that can make a huge difference to the brightness of the lights in your home.
I like to turn the lights off (of course!), then wipe with a dry cloth.
#5 – Bad Smells
We get very used to the smells in our own home, and desensitised to them.
Although most of the smells are pretty nice (cleaning products and sprays etc…), some lingering smells can be less nice – and a bad smell immediately creates the impression of uncleanliness.
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?
Make sure last nights food has been cleared up properly – wash the dishes, take the bin outside etc… Food is one of the worst culprits for those bad smells!
Related: 15 Ways to Make Your Home Smell Amazing!
#6 – Daily Chores
Last, but by no means least – is day to day ‘stuff’.
When we live in our homes, stuff gets moved around – and that can cause things to look unclean even when they aren’t.
- Piles of laundry waiting to be put away
- Full bins
- Cleaning products still out (hoover in the corner, anyone!)
- Piles of paperwork to be actioned
- Food put out ready for cooking later
- Dishes in the sink
I could go on – but you get the idea!
WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT?
Simply get into the habit of doing some tidying throughout the day – and get the rest of the family to do the same.
Some quick tips are: –
- When you leave a room, scan for anything that needs taking to another room
- Have a stair basket for items that need taking upstairs, and check this when you walk past
- Use inboxes for your paperwork
- Create a cupboard for laundry piles, and put away clothes instead of creating piles anywhere
- Have a place in the fridge for todays meals – so the ingredients aren’t out all day.
There you go – do any of these reasons why your home still doesn’t look clean, ring true for you?
I would wager that at least one of these is something that you could do right now to make your home feel cleaner.
Just remember the most important part of this is that a TIDY HOME FEELS CLEANER AUTOMATICALLY.
As such, getting some tidy habits will really make a huge difference to how you feel about your home all the time, but especially after you’ve cleaned it.
P.S. Ready for more cleaning inspiration? You’ll definitely want to check out this post next – all about a step by step way to create your very own cleaning schedule (one that actually works for you!). CLICK HERE TO GO THERE NOW.
