How to have a clean house without really trying - Part 1

Hi everyone!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to have a clean house. However, I don't really like cleaning. Conundrum?!

Normally, our house looks pretty clean and tidy, even though we have a small child at home. People sometimes seem genuinely shocked when they come round. I recall one instance when the four-year-old son of some friends of ours asked, on entering the living room, 'Why is it so tidy in here?'!

So, I thought I'd share, over the next few days, a few things that help me along in my mission to have a (fake) immaculate house without a lot of elbow grease.

But why, you may be wondering, do I enjoy having a clean house quite as much as I do? Let me tell you. I enjoy making my home an environment where my family can thrive and where guests feel warm and welcome. For me, that means not always tripping over stuff, not worrying about whether there's toothpaste all over the taps, and not having to apologise to visitors. I have a low threshold for dirt but it's not just because I'm picky, it's because I want to create a place of warmth, fellowship, and fun for everyone who lives or visits here. It doesn't mean that my home is actually immaculate - it does, after all, house two adults and a baby - but it does mean that I take a little time to look after it and make it as welcoming as possible.

I don't have a lot of time to do this, with a small baby, a family to feed, and piles of laundry to get through each week, not to mention going places, taking Sophie to playgroups, and having fun! - which obviously, given my aversion to actually cleaning, suits me fine. So, this series is about doing it in the most cut-corner fashion possible!

More to come!

Laura x