Photo by CC user ErikaWittlieb on pixabay

Having your own home is one of life’s greatest joys.

With that being said, do you sometimes feel a little overwhelmed with all there is to do in keeping your home nice and organized?

For some moms, their residence is the place to escape to, but a cluttered and/or stale look to the home can make one feel a little down.

So, is it time your home got a fresh look?

Where Do I Start?

If the time has come for you to learn how to spring clean a home, you might be asking where to start.

While clutter might be part of the battle, keeping a home clean is certainly another part of it.

Even if you get help (family, maid etc.); maintaining cleanliness and freshness in a home can be one of life’s top challenges. If you have a big family, the challenge becomes even greater.

So, where should you get started?

Think about the following:

• Upstairs – Even though many guests will never see the upstairs portion of your home, you know it is there, oftentimes quite messy. If you have a child or children of suitable age, making sure they clean their rooms regularly should be a given. Yes, they may stomp and stammer around about doing it, but teaching them at an early age to be responsible helps them and ultimately you. Assign them chores to do, making sure they know that a messy room won’t be tolerated. As for your own bedroom, do your best to make it as free of clutter as possible. The bedroom should be somewhere for you and your significant other (if applicable) to escape to. That translates to not having to step over items and climb into a messy bed every evening. When it comes to the upstairs bathroom, just because guests typically won’t be using it is not an excuse to have it dirty and full of bathroom products that lead to a mess. If you share a bathroom with a spouse, make sure he does hit part to keep it as clean as possible

• Downstairs – The portion of the home typically seeing the most usage, your downstairs needs to be kept up as often as possible. If you do not have the time for this, consider hiring a maid. Yes, you will be spending some money out-of-pocket, but it could save you from major stress. Along with maintaining cleanliness, give your downstairs some refreshers from time to time. It might be time to give the carpet a good shampoo or even change it out. Do your tables and chairs look like they’re still back in the 1970’s? If so, consider buying some new furniture. Items such as a coffee table, recliner chair, new big screen television, a teak end table or two might be just the answer. If you’re working with a budget, you certainly do not have to buy everything at once, though you may get a deal from a company if you buy most or all of the items in bulk

• Kitchen – Given how much time you and your family likely spend in this portion of the home, your kitchen should always be a top priority. Along with keeping it as clean as possible, maintaining a fresh look is also imperative. No one truly wants to sit and eat in a drab kitchen, so think about changing the color tones, adding more light (including more windows to let natural light shine through), and perhaps wood flooring. Also make sure that your cabinets are spacious and allow for plenty of navigational room when stocking groceries or putting away dishes

• Outside – Finally, how much time and effort do you put into keeping up your outside property? Some people go to great lengths to make their yards and other areas of the outside look great. Others, meantime, have a look that leaves much to be desired. Like with the inside of the home, budget your outside needs so that you don’t run up a large swath of debt. Doing some planting projects etc. can be done in installments. If you have a patio, adding the right chairs, tables etc. doesn’t have to be done all at once, that is unless of course you do a lot of summertime entertaining.

With all the challenges your home can present to you, including when you’re thinking about major renovations, don’t get too stressed out.

Remember, your home is supposed to be the place you go to in order to relax.