The New Year has officially begun, which means it’s time for us to get started on our resolutions! Don’t want to jump on the “eating right” or “getting in shape” bandwagon? We don’t blame you. If you’ve been struggling to come up with the best resolutions, here’s a gentle suggestion for you: up your cleaning game in 2017.

Everyone has some cleaning habits that probably aren’t so great. Well, here’s a thought, maybe we could all nix those nasty cleaning habits in 2017! One step better, we could replace those bad habits with better alternatives.

And when it comes to cleaning advice and suggestions, there’s no one we would rather listen to than Melissa from Clean My Space. As it turns out, even this cleaning guru has some bad habits that she’s looking to replace.

Here are just a few of her worst habits and her resolutions:

1. Not Closing the Shower Curtain

After a nice, hot shower, we understand that NO ONE has cleaning on their brain. But you should, because post-shower is a crucial time for avoiding mold! If you’re NOT doing these two things, you are asking for mold to grow in your shower.

And 2017 does not want to see your moldy shower.

Make sure to close your shower curtain after every steam and pull up your bathmat. Seems like a lot of work, we know. But every time you leave the curtain bunched up or the mat on the ground, water is accumulating and bacteria is growing. And that means mold is coming.

It’s a little bit of work, but that’s what New Years resolutions are all about, right?

2. Using Bleach as a Cleaner

Cleaning with bleach is something too many of us do. See, bleach has two main purposes: to whiten (which is why this is used in laundry) or to disinfect.

While disinfecting is a kind of cleaning, just pouring bleach on something doesn’t take care of hard water stains and clean all aspects of your home. So just bleach? Not exactly cleaning!

3. Holding on to Magazines

This is something I am SO guilty of! If you have a magazine subscription (or many, if you’re like me) you probably have this bad tendency to hold onto said magazines long after you’ve read them.

We know it seems like a waste, but this is a good rule of thumb to live by: every time you get or buy a new mag, toss out the last one you got. This will keep clutter to a minimum.

And if you wanted to reference something in an old magazine, tear out that page to keep! You can even make an inspiration board of magazine pages if that would help.

4. Using Too Much Product

If something seems dirty, the easy answer seems to clean it with more product, right? Well, that’s not always the RIGHT answer.

When you add more spray cleaner or laundry detergent than you need to, you’re just adding more to clean! You’ve got to scrub that dirt away AND all that sudsy soap, too. Remember, just add less than you feel inclined to, and always check the instructions on the cleaning product when in doubt.

 

For the rest of Melissa’s bad cleaning habits and her alternative methods, make sure to check out her video below! And make sure you share your thoughts on these cleaning resolutions, and your own bad habits, in the comments section below.