How to Keep a Clean Home Naturally: A Complete Guide for Busy Moms

Where do I find the time to clean? This thought used to cross my mind at least once a day. With kids, there's always laundry and dishes to do. The weekly cleaning needs to get done and the cat's litter box needs emptying. Kids need to be driven to activities, food needs to be made and work needs to get done too. Where do I find the time to clean? This is a question many moms are asking themselves. I have solved this with circuit chores. The idea is to clean and wipe one area of the home each week. Read my circuit chores article here.

Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

As an environmentally conscious Finnish mom who values recycling, I do my best to use as little plastic as possible (tip: reuse glass jars) and recycle everything I can.

One area where I try to protect the environment is cleaning products. I don't want to buy a new bottle of laundry detergent or dish soap every time. And I don't want to use chemical-heavy products that partly end up as environmental toxins in nature and partly cause eczema on my sensitive skin. So I have tried all kinds of laundry detergents from laundry eggs to laundry sheets. This is the laundry sheet that I found to be most natural and it doesn’t have microplastics as so many others.

These are not sponsored links. I just want to share what works for me.

I have also tried to find a dish soap that doesn't contain ingredients that dry out my hands. I eventually found a good dish soap bar, but it wore down a little too quickly in use. I got tired of searching and decided to make my own dish soap. And I haven't regretted it.

I use natural loofah dish sponges for scrubbing dishes. They work very well and last a long time. When they are worn out you can throw them straight into the compost. My favorite compost bags are paper ones and the compost bin I use fits right on the kitchen counter next to my sink.

It took me several tries to find a dishwasher detergent that was eco-friendly and actually did the job.

I now make my own all-purpose cleaner too, and I have found many uses for baking soda from cleaning the shower to washing laundry and dishes.

Daily Tidying and Weekly Cleaning

Every day I try to keep things in order by keeping floors and countertops clear of clutter and keeping paper piles to a minimum.

I recommend vacuuming as often as you see sand or food crumbs on the floor. We might be a little overboard here, but we currently have three vacuum cleaners. Two are the same model that my husband bought on Black Friday, one for downstairs and one for upstairs. The third one is my favorite brand Miele. It is very efficient and easy to use and accepts a HEPA filter. It also works better in our kitchen with hard floors than the two Black and Deckers.

During the week I dust and deep clean the kitchen and bathroom on alternating weeks using the circuit chores method. Circuit chores have saved me from many stressful cleaning marathons. Instead of cleaning everything at once, I divide our home into areas and tackle one area each week. It feels so much more manageable this way.

Laundry

I sort laundry by temperature. I wash light colored clothes in warm water and dark clothes and sportswear in cold water. I change bed sheets once a week and towels every five days. I wash sheets together with underwear in hot water and towels separately so that lint doesn't transfer to other laundry.

I use the dryer for sheets, towels, t-shirts, jeans and socks. Otherwise I dry laundry on a drying rack. In the dryer I use felted wool dryer balls and lavender dryer bags. Dryer balls are a more eco-friendly alternative to the dryer sheets commonly used here in the United States. They work just as well and leave laundry soft and static-free.

When washing clothes I scoop about a deciliter of baking soda on top of the laundry so the laundry doesn't smell. My husband owns a laundromat and gave me this tip when his sports shirts kept smelling after washing.

Folding Sheets

In Finland sheets have traditionally been folded by two people together, and this method has been passed down from generation to generation. I don't know if it's officially a "Finnish tradition" but I learned it at home and for me it has always been the only right way to fold a sheet. It's also a fun thing to do together with the kids.

Two people each grab the corners at both ends of the sheet and shake it a couple of times up and down. This straightens the sheet before folding. The sheet is then folded lengthwise in half first and then once more on top of itself.

Then the top layer is tucked under the bottom layer. This makes the folds sit symmetrically.

Finally both people pull the sheet toward themselves so the middle part stretches and straightens properly. Then one person holds their end and the other starts folding. The result is a neat and even bundle that fits perfectly in the closet.

Folding a fitted sheet is a skill of its own. You can find my guide for that here:

Indoor Air and Plants

I take care of indoor air quality by airing out the house in the mornings and using only natural products without chemicals. At the end of summer we also use an air purifier, as air quality often worsens here in Washington due to wildfires. During the winter months we keep a humidifier in the bedrooms when someone has a cough or sore throat. You can also add moisture to rooms by misting your plants while watering them. Check out my orchid care guide here.

A comfortable home is clean and relaxing. It is easy to maintain when you take care of it briefly every day and a little more thoroughly once a week.

“The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living within that environment.”

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“The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living within that environment.” 〰️

See all my housekeeping articles here:

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