Oh the joys of cleaning your home! I get asked about this question allllll the time! “How do you keep your house so clean and white with kids?” The truth is we have some ground rules that help reduce those constant disasters and messy spaces! Rules such as: eating at the table only, toys stay in the play room (for the most part), wash hands before and after every meal, as well as after they come in from outside, no shoes in the house, and teaching our little ones to simply put their things away after they’re down with them. These small set of rules have really helped us establish a system which helps our house stay tidy and clean. Of course there are always going to be things to tidy and clean, but our house rules have helped us stay on course of cleaner and tidier spaces- which also teaches our children to respect our family home. (See my tips for an organized playroom here.)

That all being said, “Deep Cleaning” your home is an absolute necessity – especially after spending most of the winter months inside. It’s refreshing to open the windows, dust the blinds, and purge items you aren’t using and maybe a great time to whip up a refreshing home made room spray (see DIY below)!! I try to keep these deep cleans consistent with a good clean at least twice a month (bi-weekly). We have a trusted cleaning crew come by the house once or twice a month to help me with these cleaning days.

A deep, thorough clean makes everything feel fresh and can even help to alleviate seasonal allergy symptoms. We have noticed our little ones this season are already seeing some of the side effects of seasonal allergies- Liam especially this year, poor little guy!  We have a heat pump system in our house and furnace and Troy is really good about getting the proper servicing on these yearly (or as they are due to be serviced). Our local Aire Serv, a Neighborly company that provides installation, maintenance and repair of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and indoor air quality systems, was happy to provide us even more than servicing, by sharing some great tips on how to make sure we are taking the proper steps to keep our home as dust and pollution-free as possible. It’s amazing how this helps maintain the feeling of a clean home! 

There are a few spots to pay special attention to as you clean, especially if you suffer from allergies:

Your bedroom: Use sealed dust-mite-proof covers for your pillows, box spring and mattress. Wash your sheets once a week to remove any unwanted allergens.

Your carpets & floors:  Vacuum and deep clean them regularly – especially if you have pets or wear shoes in the house. Aim to vacuum high traffic areas daily at the end of the day (kitchen, entry etc.), and mop, vacuum once a week. 

Your furnace: Replacing the filter is essential to improving the air quality by removing dirt and debris from the air. The air filter should be cleaned or replaced at least every three months. It also isn’t a bad idea to get your furnace serviced to make sure it’s functioning optimally. Helps with all the dust floating around your home too! Ugh, I can’t stand all the dust build up- seems never ending doesn’t it? 

When you take time to get into the nooks and crannies with a dust rag/mitten and cleaning supplies, you can make your space more comfortable for everyone. That includes all the baseboards and moldings too!

DIY Linen Spray

(Que our DIY Linen Spray!!) Using homemade cleaners and sprays is a simple, easy way to deep clean your space without adding more chemicals and toxins to the air in your home. There are all kinds of recipes using ingredients you have around your home. Today, we pulled together a simple room and linen spray to add a light, fresh scent as you freshen up your home. It’s amazing what a quick spray will do after an end of the day clean! 

We created these adorable printable labels, so you can leave your room spray at arm’s reach! It’s pretty enough to leave out by your sink to give a quick spritz! Or how adorable would all three look lined up in your laundry or mud room? It’s the little things right? Go ahead, print them out! We hope you love them as much as well do!

DIY Room Spray Supplies (per 16oz bottle)

Glass bottle (we used a 16oz spray bottle)
Drops of your favorite essential oil(s) Rose, Lavender, and Citrus were our top choices
Clear alcohol or witch hazel
Distilled Water
Labels (we used these one’s from Avery and they worked perfect!)

For every 8oz of distilled water you will need 8-10 drops of essential oil and 2Tbsp of vodka or witch hazel. Make sure to mix the vodka and essential oil together first before adding in the water.

Printable Labels

We used the label #00751 from Avery which fit the bottle perfectly you can log onto there site and simply choose the label # and pop in the pdf, simple and will make sure your labels print to size.

Label Downloads

Lavender Label

Rose Label

Citrus Label