Why Housekeeping Is Important? 5 Great Reasons to Clean Your House
Not sure why housekeeping is important? Everyone is different. Some people love to have a squeaky clean house. Others are used to a little bit of a mess. And then some people don’t seem to care at all.
I have been cleaning houses for work for over 17 years and I would say that I thrive in a clean home but I also understand that life happens in a home and everything can’t be perfect all the time.
With a million other things to do cleaning house can seem like the least interesting, least important thing we can spend our time on. So why is housekeeping important? What are the benefits of cleaning house?
Let’s discuss 10 important and possibly surprising reasons to clean your house! When you know the benefits of cleaning your house you will feel motivated to keep up with it!
1: Physical Health Benefits of Cleaning House
There are many benefits of cleaning house but one of the biggest reasons to clean your house is that a clean house is a healthy house.
When you don’t clean often mold can grow in showers, under sinks and in dark corners. Some kinds of molds such as black mold can cause serious health problems. Aside from different kinds of mold, dust, pet hair and other allergens can accumulate in your home if you don’t clean it often. This can lead to more respiratory problems.
Food waste can draw pests like roaches and mice which can bring disease. And of course we are all aware that germs linger on services.
One of the biggest benefits of cleaning your house is that you are supporting your health by keeping your home clean.
2: Mental Health Benefits of Cleaning Your House
Do the benefits of cleaning house end with your physical health? Not at all! You will also find that one of the benefits of cleaning your house is improved mental health.
Many studies have proven that a cluttered home raises cortisol levels and rates of depression, especially in women. That makes sense because a cluttered and dirty environment often makes us feel overwhelmed and even guilty.
Instead, when you clean your home regularly you avoid those feelings of overwhelm and guilt. You trade those negative emotions for a feeling of control over your environment which makes you feel more positive and proactive about other parts of your life.
Another one of the great reasons to clean your house is that it will help you focus. It is very hard to think straight about anything when visual clutter is telling you that you have a million different things on your plate.
One sneaky side benefit of cleaning your house is that requires physical activity which creates endorphins that in turn promote a feeling of well being.
And finally, a clean environment, without distractions and overwhelming reminders of obligation and a body that has tired itself with the work of cleaning will lead to better sleep.
3: Cleaning Your House Saves Time and Energy
Have you ever spent half an hour looking for your favorite shirt, a matching pair of shoes, an important bill or your keys?
These things may seem like small irritations that everyone has to deal with but let me tell you a secret. When your home is decluttered, organized and cleaned these search and rescue operations are few and far between.
One of the coolest reasons to clean your house is that it will actually save you tons of time and energy in the long run.
First of all, when you don’t clean often the cleaning job you will have in front of you would make a professional (like me) cringe. It will be gross and take forever. On the other hand, when you stick to a cleaning schedule things never get really bad so cleaning can be done pretty quickly.
Also, when your home is clean and organized you know where things are, you get rid of things when they are no longer needed and you avoid those crazy piles where important items hide when you need them.
4: Social Benefits of Cleaning House
Surely we have covered all the benefits of cleaning house by now right? Wrong! You will also benefit from a clean house in your social life. What do I mean?
Well, I’m sure you have had the experience of dreading someone coming by your home because it’s not clean. What if that someone was your mother in law? What if you husband wants to have his boss over for dinner? Or an old friend drops by from out of town?
Wouldn’t it be great to be happy about those experiences instead of dreading them? Imagine having your home clean enough that it’s not embarrassing. Would you have your best friend over for coffee more? Would you plan a game night with your friends?
The Happiness Institute has stated this:
“While the basic living standards are essential for happiness, after the baseline has been met, happiness varies more with the quality of human relationships that income.”
Happiness Institute
Isn’t that interesting? That means that the more connected you feel to those around you the more happy you will be, regardless of how much money you make or how big and fancy your house is.
Still, if your house is dirty you will not invite people over. Is it possible that your dirty house is actually keeping you isolated and sad?
Additionally, within your family relationships, could a dirty messy house stress everyone out? You know the answer. If a messy environment raises mama’s cortisol levels than nobody else is going to be happy either.
I bet you never thought that another reason why housekeeping is important is that it will help you have better relationships but it’s totally true!
5: Why Housekeeping is Important for Your Finances
There are so many great reasons to clean your house but here is just one more big one. Having a clean house benefits you financially.
The biggest financial reason why housekeeping is important is that when you clean your home regularly you prevent deterioration and thus avoid maitenance and replacement costs that are much steeper than cleaning products.
For example, when you keep the bathroom clean you avoid needing a new toilet cause yours is gross with brown rings, a new shower because yours is developing black mold in the caulking, and so forth.
When you keep your garage and gutters clean you avoid big costs from external deterioration and when you keep the dark corners of your closets and kitchen clean you find unknown leaks and condensation before they cause major mold problems and even damage to your walls and floors.
As a side note, a clean home will also financially benefit you because you will know where stuff is so you won’t buy duplicates of stuff you already have.
Also, health problems can cost a lot of money and as we already discussed a clean home will help you stay a little healthier. You will probably even cook healthier meals at home more when your kitchen is clean and ready to use. That saves money on eating out as well as health problems!
Now You Know Why Housekeeping is Important!
So why is it important to have a clean house? Now you know! When you need to motivate yourself to clean you can think of all these great reasons to clean your house. The benefits of cleaning house are well worth the effort you will need to put into it!
Now that you know why you need to clean your house read my post recommending the best cleaning products I’ve used in my years of cleaning professionally and then find a great daily cleaning schedule to make it easy. Then take a little extra time to do an awesome spring cleaning!
What Will Make Cleaning Even Easier?
If you still find it difficult to clean your house you may need to ask family to help or you might consider hiring a cleaning lady.
Regardless of how you get your home cleaned there is one thing that will make house cleaning easier. What is it? Less clutter! A cluttered home takes twice as long to clean as a clutter-free home that is tidy and open.
Do you need help figuring out how to declutter your home? Have all your previous decluttering efforts failed miserably? Did you make some progress only to see the clutter creep back?
I can help! I created a special three phase decluttering program that will help you declutter your home without overwhelm. You will build your decluttering muscles so that you never get rid of anything before you are ready. You will stop making excuses and start making real progress with the Fearless Decluttering e-book!