Seven Reasons to Have a Clean Home

Have you ever wondered why we feel the need to clean? In one of my previous blogs, I mentioned that perhaps that cleaning is an evolutionary trait from our ancestors. The theory is that the less things that were in your way of looking out for predators, the less anxious that we would feel. Luckily today we don’t have any predators, but most of us still have the need to keep a clean house (unfortunately for us.)

But in today’s world, is cleaning just for cleaning’s sake? Or does it have a purpose? I’ve come up with seven reasons why it’s important to have a clean home.
1. There’s less yelling/ irritation between family members when there’s a clean home. We’ve all been there. You come home from a grueling day of work and you walk in the door, ready to relax, when you step on a toy car and almost slip. Even though you told your son to put up his toys about ten times last night, everyone ignored the mess and went straight to bed. If you make an effort to clean every day, I promise that there will be less of these fights. Even if you live alone, the tendency to have the “I’ll do it tomorrow attitude” can heavily influence your mood.

2. Unexpected Guests will not freak you out. If a phone call about your in-laws popping in at the last minute for an overnight stay makes you throw a temper tantrum at your desk, you may have a clutter problem. Sure, your house is never going to look like it belongs in a House and Garden spread all the time, but it can certainly be ready for overnight guests unexpectedly with just a little bit of work every day.

3. You’ll always be able to find something to wear. How many mornings have you looked for that favorite shirt, only to find it nestled in your dirty clothes mountain? You then decide to sniff said shirt and then put it in the dryer to fluff it up a bit. Admit it. We’ve all done it. Prepare yourself for those manic mornings and always have at least your favorite clothes cleaned and flawlessly ironed.

4. Your dog or toddler won’t choke on something small and/or plastic. Quit reading those horror stories on the Internet about how a dog choked on a toothbrush bristle that he dug out of the trash or a two-year-old that chewed up a styro-foam cup and got deathly ill and live in fear. Prevent any possible accident as well as you can by keeping a clean house, ensuring that all clutter and dangerous chemicals are out of reach for furry friends and babies. Obviously you can’t prevent every accident, but you can be as prepared as you possibly can.

5. You’ll always be able to find your passport, birth certificate, and photo albums in a flash. Prepare for the good unexpected and the bad unexpected events by keeping a neat and tidy home. You don’t want to be in a situation where your best friend won tickets on the radio to see a concert in Paris over the weekend and you can’t find your passport. Or worse, you don’t want to be in a dangerous weather situation and you can’t find your kids’ baby books. Be organized and you won’t regret it!

6. Spend your weekends relaxing, not cleaning. Life is simply too short. Weekends are even shorter. During the week of hustle and bustle, we often forget or choose to skip cleaning because we just assume we’ll have plenty of time/ energy to clean over the weekend. Your time is important. Spend your free time with your family or friends doing the stuff that you ENJOY. You owe it to yourself.

7. A Clean home is a healthy home. For obvious reasons, clean homes are healthy homes. The less dust you have, the better. The less mold you have, the better. Cleaning a little bit every day can go a long way in preventing short term or chronic illnesses. Protect yourself and your family!