Back to College: Pt. 2, Cleaning Tips

Part Two: Cleaning Tips

You’ve moved, now we are going to dive into some tips for maintaining your cleanliness while keeping up with a busy schedule and social life!

Keeping a clean home is a way to honor yourself and the people in your life. There are many different standards for clean, but a few basic tips will make an impression and will keep life running smoothly.

I highly recommend keeping a schedule while in college. If you keep a schedule, you’ll be more likely to stay on top of your assignments, work, and chores without having to sacrifice your social life.

I worked 39.5 hours weekly while maintaining a 15 hour course load the entire time I was in college. I worked out 1-2 hours per day, was involved in a bible study, went to church, and had time to travel. My house (mostly) stayed clean and I always had clean clothes to wear. I don’t know how I did it, but I’mg going to try to remember.

When you set up your schedule, put all your classes in. I would always schedule 2-3 hours of cleaning/organizing each week. Usually, I would set it up for a time when I knew I was unlikely to be studying (Saturday morning or Sunday). Sometimes I would use light cleaning tasks as study breaks (who doesn’t like a reason to procrastinate)?

Keeping a clean house will create a home environment that is prime for relaxing, entertaining, studying, and escaping off to. It will also likely keep your roommate happy!

If you just have a room or a small dorm, your cleaning may only take 30 minutes each week.

Use the time to listen to some good music, a podcast, or even an online lecture.

I always recommend multitasking. I would always try to double up on everything. For example, I lived three miles from campus, so I’d ride my bike to and from school in order to get my cardio in. I picked jobs that enabled me to study (but please honor your commitment and only study if you’ve done what you’ve been paid to do). I would listen to online course lectures during my commute/working out time. I’d clean on days when I didn’t need to study. I honored my social life.

In order to do well in every area, it’s important to keep balanced. When a life is lived with discipline and balance, you’ll find healthy choices arise across the board. When one area of life gets out of kilter, you’ll start to feel like life is sucking out of your spirit in different areas. Take time to care for yourself: mind, body, and spirit. Also, don’t be too hard on yourself. I’ve valued balance for years and always finding myself needing a “recalibration”.

College is the perfect time to practice these skills! I’m certainly thankful that I took time time master them in college because the value system has remained through the various phases and challenges that life has brought since graduation!