Introduction
Even if you are not one of those clean freaks who love to clean all day, the impact of the corona pandemic must have set some things such as the importance of maintaining good hygiene and cleanliness into perspective for you. Unfortunately, it can feel like a chore to wash your hands with a sanitizer every hour or more frequently and clean the tiniest of blemishes and dirt that seem unnatural. To maintain your mental sanity, it’s important to take a break and outsource the major cleaning in your home to professionals. You can do so by searching for “home cleaning services near me” on Google to find professional cleaning experts in your area.
The Details
However, if you want to take up the challenge of cleaning your house, you have to be prepared to deal with the burnout. Here are a few ways to deal with COVID-19 cleaning burnout:
- Follow an efficient cleaning schedule – Following a proper cleaning schedule can help you reduce the anxiety that comes with realizing that you have so much work to do. Fortunately, it’s not that hard to create a cleaning schedule and follow it to achieve good results when you want to keep your house clean over a period.
Here is a tried and tested cleaning schedule that you can follow to seamlessly integrate cleaning-related chores into your daily schedule:
- Every day:
- Sweep kitchen floors.
- Clean dirty dishes.
- Make bed.
- Sanitize bathroom sinks and kitchen sinks.
- Do your laundry when needed.
- Cleaning frequently used electrical appliances such as coffee makers.
- Every week:
- Toss expired food.
- Scrub bathroom surfaces.
- Wipe down and thoroughly clean kitchen appliances such as microwaves.
- Mop and kitchen and bathroom floors.
- Vacuum floors and furniture.
- Dust furniture and clean mirrors.
- Every month:
- Dust and clean light fixtures.
- Dust blinds.
- Vacuum woodworks and vents.
- Thoroughly clean vacuum, laundry machines, and dishwasher.
- Every three to six months:
- Vacuum mattress.
- Wipe down and clean the inside of the freezer and oven.
- Wash pillows, comforters, shower curtains, and range hood.
- Thoroughly clean patio surfaces, furniture, and vehicles.
- Freshen drains and garbage disposal.
- Every year:
- Clear out gutters.
- Clean dryer. Vents, chimney, and fireplace.
- Deep clean upholstery, drapes, curtains, windows, and carpet.
- Get all your cleaning tools sorted – The most efficient way to clean in this pandemic is to keep all your cleaning tools handy. So, make a list of all the necessary cleaning tools and products that you use regularly or periodically and keep them restocked even if you don’t intend to use them for a few weeks. When you are confident that you have all the cleaning tools and products at your disposal whenever you require them, it can act as a massive stress reliever.
Plus, this is a good practice to restock cleaning products whenever you can since you can never know when you can get hit by lockdowns or whether they would be available when you would need them the most.
- Avoid piling up your cleaning duties – The one thing that you should absolutely avoid is to pile up your cleaning chores such as washing laundry or dusting and cleaning the furniture. If you don’t feel like cleaning a few days a month, that’s completely fine. In such cases, you should let other members of the family take the responsibility of cleaning-chores.
However, if you put off the cleaning work, they can hit you all at once before you realize it and cause a total mental burnout.
- Understand that it’s okay to take breaks – The most important thing that you should realize when you feel tired or stressed out is that it is a normal response. There is no need to feel guilty about it and it is okay to relax once in a little while by taking breaks. Work such as cleaning can not only drain you physically but sap away your mental and emotional health as well. So, it’s crucial to identify your stress responses and watch out for signs of stress and keep them under control so that you don’t explode with anger and frustration.
A few signs of overwhelming emotional burden may include irritability, boredom, anger, anxiety, frustration, and other types of negative responses. Practice self-compassion and gratitude during such a period and take a break to recover your energy.
- Don’t underestimate the power of sensory-soothing techniques – Sensory-soothing techniques such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, positive mental projection, listening to your favorite music, etc. can have a great calming effect on your mind when you feel burned out due to excessive stress. So, make sure to embrace your favorite sensory-soothing technique to relax your mind a few times a day to keep your emotional intensity in check.
Some other popular sensory-soothing techniques include cooking, painting, gardening, and more. Really, it can be any activity or hobby that you love doing at home.
- Hire professional cleaners – The benefits of hiring professional cleaners are paramount, especially if you are worried about the COVID-19 virus. No matter what you do or what type of consumer cleaning products you use, a professional cleaner can use specialized tools and products to do the job better.
In fact, you can hire expert cleaners to deep clean your bedrooms, dining room, kitchen, and even the bathroom to get rid of nasty viruses and harmful bacteria. Plus, you can be sure that a professional cleaning would get rid of molds and reduce the number of allergens that occupy the
space in your house.
Conclusion
If you are feeling particularly stressed, take some time off to relax and cool your head. You can communicate with your family if you get overly emotional or even talk to a professional therapist. And, if you are tired of cleaning, allow professional cleaners to take over that role who can do the job better. All you have to do is search “home cleaning services near me” on Google and you would be all set to contact experts who can help you get back your mental sanity during the pandemic.
