Clean your home more thoroughly using these three senses.
Touch: The white glove test
Determine where the dust builds-up in your home by using your sense of touch. Put on a pair of white cloth gloves and run your index finger along the following surfaces in your home: the top of your picture frames, door frames, cabinets, dressers and mantle. If dust is present, it will show up on the glove. To clean these areas, take a damp microfibre cloth and wipe along edges of each dusty surface then use a second microfibre cloth to dry.
Smell: Take a sniff
Stand in the centre of a room in your home and take a deep breath in through your nose. If the room smells stale, add a little scent to it. According to a home value study, lemon and citrus are the most pleasant scents in a home and are often associated with a clean house. In fact, those who added a citrus scent to their home during an open house, sold their home for a higher price, than those without.
To freshen up the rooms of your home, mix 2 ½ cups of water, 2 tablespoons of liquid dish soap and 10-20 drops of lemon essential oil into a spray bottle, and use the solution to clean the surfaces in each room. Lemon essential oils not only smell good, but also have anti-bacterial properties that will disinfect the surfaces in your home.
Sight: Take a look
Stand at the front door of your home and take a good look at the areas visible as soon as someone walks in your home. What do you see? If the answer is clutter, its time get organized. More often than not, our front hallway becomes a dumping ground for many items in our home such as umbrellas, shoes, sports equipment, purses, mail, etc.
To clear the clutter, give every item its own home. For example, if you have a shoe rack, make sure everyone in your home places their shoes on the rack when they come inside. If your sports equipment is usually housed in the garage, make sure to place it there as soon as you get home. The key to minimizing the clutter in your front hall, is to place each item in their designated spot, right away.
