Although the hustle and bustle of everyday life can make it difficult to keep up with the housework, taking a proactive approach will ensure that your home is a hygienic, tranquil environment for you and your family to enjoy.  With that in mind, we’ve come up with five simple and affordable ways to take the stress out of housekeeping and stop you from feeling overrun by your current cleaning schedule.

1. Diaries/memory aids

If you struggle to find time to keep the cleaning in check, try some of these tips to make your workload more manageable:

• Housekeeping checklist

To prevent the build-up of mess, carry out routine daily, weekly, and monthly cleans.  Draw up a schedule outlining the tasks that need doing and whose job it is to do them – if you need a little help getting started, this article on how to create a cleaning schedule offers more than a few handy tips. Keep your finished schedule tacked on the side of the fridge, and use a color-coded key for added clarity.

• An easy-wipe whiteboard

Place a whiteboard somewhere you can’t miss it, and buy some non-toxic marker pens for easy cleaning. You can use it to leave friendly messages for loved ones – or admonishments, should they accidentally-on-purpose forget to clean up.

• Pen and paper near the telephone

Simple as it may sound, keeping a pad near the phone will come in handy for quickly scribbling down notes: no more last-minute hunts for stationery, and no forgotten messages.

2. Recycling

As well as having a positive impact on the environment, recycling your waste lays bare your household consumption, and makes it easy to identify areas where you could potentially save money – everyone’s a winner! Follow these three tips to go green:

1. Rummage through your wardrobes to find old clothes that no longer fit or have become a little threadbare. Instead of chucking them, keep a plastic bag handy and take them to your nearest recycling point, or a charity shop if they’re still in good condition.
2. Multiple bins may seem like a hassle at first, but sorting your rubbish soon becomes second nature. Designate separate bins or plastic bags for cardboard, glass, unrecyclable waste, and plastic and metal. It’s a good idea to color code for simplicity’s sake; you could even turn recycling into a game to encourage children to muck in with the cleaning schedule.
3. Keep a dedicated compost bin. By collecting food waste, such as fruit and vegetable peelings and other scraps, you can convert your rubbish into organic garden fertilizer!

3. Smart Storage

Compartmentalizing your kitchenware makes storing and finding objects that much easier. Smart storage is straightforward when you know how:

• Keep your crockery near the sink or dishwasher, mugs and cups near the kettle, and use a cutlery tray in a top drawer to keep utensils nice and neat.
• Stack objects vertically – this gives you more space on your shelves and sideboards.
• Sharp knives should be housed in their own block for safety.

4. Key holder

A wall-mounted key hanger in an accessible location (but out of view of any would-be thieves) is an effective way to avoid the Monday morning car key hunt. Use plastic key rings and sticky labels to indicate which key belongs where.

Top tip: For a more high-tech solution, try one of the latest Bluetooth solutions. By attaching an electronic security tag to your keys – the Cobra Tag is one of the market leaders – then downloading an app to your smartphone, you can locate them within a 30-foot radius!

5. General admin

When it comes to dealing with the mail and other household admin, burying your head in the sand is never a good idea. Use these tips to stay on top of things:

• Use a lever-arch file with dividers to store important financial records – mortgage payments, insurance policies, utility bills, and so on. You never know when you might have a problem, and ready access to chronological bills might come in handy.
• Shred any unwanted correspondence that contains personal details. Simply throwing away letters containing your name, address, and other particulars can make you susceptible to identity fraud – it’s better to be safe than sorry.