Do you ever wonder why some people’s homes seem constantly – and effortlessly – spotless? It doesn’t necessarily mean they clean all the time. More likely, it means they hold to a set of attitudes and simple behaviors that, with a little resolve, you too can acquire. Here are 10 easy New Year’s cleaning resolutions that can make your home more consistently clean in 2024.

1. I will treat every possession – including my home – as an investment. This means committing to a level of maintenance that either increases or preserves its value.

2. I will always think twice before bringing new things into my home. Owning fewer possessions means less total cleaning and less likelihood of clutter. Plus, think of the money you will save when you think twice about acquiring new things.

3. For every new permanent item I bring into my home, I will remove something I no longer want or use. Do this all year long and you will never be faced with the onerous tasks of collecting boxes, packing up junk, and hauling it away.

4. I will prevent cleaning tasks from getting bigger than they need to be. You have a choice: clean more frequently with less effort or less frequently with more effort. Doing the former prevents you from ever becoming overwhelmed to a point of inactivity.

5. I won’t waste time cleaning ineffectively. Having the right knowledge and tools on hand always makes cleaning faster and easier. Commit to learning more about what works best for different cleaning jobs and follow product instructions carefully.

6. I will expect as much from others in my household as I expect from myself. No one is going to look back on your life and say: “What a heroine! She did every bit of cleaning herself.” Relinquish the martyr’s role and be amazed at what others around you are capable of contributing. Remember that giving gratitude – even for behaviors that are expected – is absolutely the best way to guarantee those behaviors get repeated for a long time into the future.

7. I will do one extra, very small, organizing or cleaning task per day. Today, maybe it’s 10 minutes purging the junk drawer in your kitchen. Tomorrow maybe it’s two minutes organizing the cabinet where you keep your food storage containers. The next day, perhaps it’s five minutes tackling your unmatched socks bin. Imagine the cumulative impact of 365 similar tiny tasks on your home’s overall feeling of cleanliness.

8. I will adhere to the one-year rule. If it hasn’t been worn or touched in a year – and holds no sentimental or investment value – out it goes.

9. Everything I bring into my home will be assigned a place where it belongs. Cleaning goes much faster when you don’t have to make decisions about where to put things. To decide where an item’s place should be, apply this simple formula: the more it gets used, the closer it belongs to the primary living areas in your home.

10. I will enjoy the aesthetics of my clean home. Take time to notice the smells, the shiny surfaces and, most importantly, the feeling of ease – and absence of stress – you feel when everything is just as it should be in your home.

One last idea – consider hiring a cleaning service. Having professionals provide a detailed and thorough cleaning of your home on a regular basis will allow you to stay on top of your house cleaning and keep the sometimes neglected parts of it (i.e. baseboards, switchplates, etc.) sanitized, clean, and germ-free, ultimately contributing to a resolution of less mess and less stress.