As soon as the cold weather hits my mind immediately goes to cleaning hacks.  I'm not overly ocd about my house (we leave that to my husband), but the cold weather brings me back to a time when I had the flu so bad that I couldn't even open the cough syrup bottle because I was too weak.  So now I do everything I can to keep our house clean and healthy.  And since I'm a working mom with two little girls in school, a husband that's a teacher and a dog that tracks everything into the house, I've come up with some of my own ways to make cleaning easier with cleaning hacks for anytime of year.

Cleaning Hacks for Anytime of Year

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Stanley Steemer.  All opinions are my own.

I used to think of cleaning as a day of the week that I would clean the whole house.  My day always seemed to be Sunday.  I'd run through cleaning everything from dusting to washing cabinets to vacuuming to washing floors.  By the end of the day I'd be exhausted, but it was done and I didn't have to worry about it again until the following Sunday.  I quickly realized that I was starting to hate Sundays.  I forgot to mention that I did it this way before kids.  Once I had our first daughter, cleaning once a week all day long was just not a viable option if I was also going to keep her alive.  Let's be honest, having a new baby rocks your wold to the core.  I, for one, was not okay with the lack of sleep that I was getting so cleaning wasn't even a thought.  I finally realized there was a much more doable way to get the cleaning done though.

Cleaning hacks with kids

• If you have a baby, I highly recommend investing in a Baby Bjorn.  That thing was a lifesaver.  It let me have my arms free and my continuous movement, would often put her to sleep.  Just keep in mind not to lifting things or bend over too quick.  I learned first hand it'll jolt her awake and you won't be cleaning any long.
• Pick a task or a room to do each day.  Depending upon how old or what my girls were doing would determine how I decided to clean.  When they were babies, I usually chose to do things by task like dusting, scrubbing, windows or vacuuming.  As they got bigger it was easier to lock them in a room with me, while I cleaned the entire room.  You make it work for your personality and the stage your children are in.
• My girls have always loved to be involved in whatever I'm doing.  If I'm on the phone, they suddenly need to tell me something very important (you know how that goes).  The same thing happens when I was cleaning.  They wanted to be involved so I would usually have a Swiffer duster with me even if I wasn't dusting so that they could get involved without knocking over my bucket of water.
• Keep cleaning supplies in a carrying case so that it is easy to move from room to room without feeling like an octopus trying to grab onto eight different types of cleaning supplies.

When we got Charlie he was a cute little fur ball that was the perfect addition to our family.  As he got bigger his fur got longer and also started to shed.  For the first six months we thought we had hit the jackpot with him because he wasn't shedding at all.  Oh boy, were we wrong.  Not only did he start to shed, but his hair is long around his legs so leaves and dirt always managed to get caught in it.  We quickly realized that if we were going to keep our house clean the way that we liked it then we needed to put some cleaning hacks in place for him.

Cleaning hacks for Pets

• Charlie is a tri-color Australian shepherd.  He's super cute, but his hair is dark so the second he leans up against the couch you can spot his har.  Or if he decides to make the couch his bed, which he's not supposed to do, but totally does just about every night.  Have a vacuum that isn't just an upright one.  You want something that is lightweight, but still sucks up the hair.  We love our bagless hand vac for this.
• Vacuum high traffic areas daily.  I know you probably just rolled your eyes.  I'm not talking about vacuuming the whole house.  Just the main area like the living room will keep any dirt and hair from traveling throughout the house.
• Keep a dog towel for wiping feet handy.  We have a towel specifically for wiping off Charlie's paws before he tracks mud and leaves throughout it.
• Have an outdoor mat as well as indoor mat.  The mats help grab any loose particles from his paws before he can track it in.

• Get your carpets professionally cleaned and deodorized every six months.  We use Stanley Steemer for our carpet cleanings because they're quick and professional.  They did four different rooms in our house and they were in and out within an hour.  Plus they deodorized all of the rooms and there was no mess.  They hook up their equipment and you barely know that they are there.  I love knowing that getting the carpets cleaned by Stanley Steemer removes 94% of common household allergens.

• Keep cleaning supplies that are meant for removing spots.  Stanley Steemer brings their own supplies with them that work like a charm.   Plus, you can purchase your own to keep at the house for emergencies.  You all know that there's bound to be a carpet emergency with kids and pets in the house.  That's especially true around the holidays.
• Know specific carpet cleaning solutions when those emergencies do arise.