Whether you’re living in the world, you want your home to be clean.
Cleaning your cabin can be isn’t very time consuming and can be extremely inexpensive, costing you little to nothing. We’re all intelligent individuals, there’s no excuse for living like a pig.
Cleaning your home is a very important step in the maintenance of your cabin.
When cleaning our homes, the first things we think of are cleaning the dishes, wiping down the tables, cleaning the windows and the walls however your floors are something you cannot forget when you’re cleaning your cabin.
You likely have hardwood floors which can be damaged by the abrasion of sand and dirt. These can chip away at your floor over time, eventually getting bad enough for insects to come through your flooring. This makes it very important to clean them regularly.
Who wants to come home to dirty, stinky and sticky cabin floor? You should want to be able to sit down on the floor in front of your fireplace and drink a warm cup of hot chocolate. Because of this, in this article, I’ll be proving you with tips to keep your floors clean in your cabin.
Use Outdoor rugs for entrances
The most effective way to keep your floors clean is to not let them get dirty in the first place. A good to do this is to clean off your shoes before you enter your cabin. There’s no doubt that your shoes will be muddy, sandy or have some sort of dirt on it when you return to your cabin after a day of exploring the outdoors.
I recommend that you purchase an outdoors rug for each entrance to your cabin. These will be used to get most if not all the dirt on your shoes. These rugs have rough fibers which will scratch the dirt off the sole of your shoes. There’s plenty of these rugs on Amazon such as this one that I’d recommend.
These rugs are very durable and can last you up to a year. I wash mine every couple of months as they get less effective when caked in dirt. They’re a very cheap yet effective way to keep your floors clean.
Keep a chair near your door
Keeping a chair by your door will make it easier for you to take your shoes off by the door.
Any old chair, bench or stool will do the job – just something to make taking your shoes off, more convenient. This will encourage you to take your shoes off by the door and prevent you from tracking dirt into your cabin. It can also be very useful if you often find yourself returning to your cabin out of breath after exploring.
Shoe storage near the door
Many homes will have some sort of shoe storage by the door. This allows you to take your shoes off as soon as you enter your cabin. This prevents you from tracking dirt straight into your cabin living room.
Shoe storage helps keep your shoes organized – you don’t want to trip on a pile of shoes when coming into your cabin. Being organized allows you to easily find the pair of shoes you want before you go exploring – none wants to go on a hunt for their boots.
Most likely you already have shoe storage somewhere in your cabin however I’d highly recommend having one by your door so that you don’t have to bring dirt into your home.
You can purchase a wide range of shoe storage online or in a store. I purchased this one here. I really like this bench as it has a seat to sit on whilst kicking off my shoes. It comes with a very comfortable cushion – I often take a seat on it to catch my breath after exploring. It’s very strong and sturdy and will many years if taken care of properly.
It’s fairly expensive however there are much cheap alternative to shoe storage such as this one here. This one is a simple 3 Tier shoe rack. If neither of these tickles your fancy, there’s plenty of other designs on the market.
Have carpet or soft rugs
There are a few reasons why many people wear their shoes inside. The most common is, people don’t want to have their feet touch the floor because it’s cold or dirty. Wearing shoes inside the cabin isn’t a good idea as you’ll track dirt all over the place. Therefore, carpets or rugs are a good idea – they’re a lot more pleasant to stand on with your bare feet.
Get Slip on Shoes for Quick trips outdoors
Sometimes you just need to nip outside quickly for a quick trip. Though these trips are short and not too messy – you’ll still bring some sort of dirt back into the cabin. Therefore, even these small trips can be devastating for your floors.
Therefore, I’d recommend getting some form of slip on shoe. These could be sliders or flip flops, whichever you prefer. You should store these at the door, so you can slip them on quick for such trips.
They don’t need to be anything fancy, none’s really going to see you in them so you don’t have to go and purchase some Gucci sliders. Any old cheap $5 pair will do the job. You don’t even have to purchase anything if you don’t want to – an old pair of shoes that you don’t wear will do.
I keep a pair of Nike sliders just outside my cabin door, so I can slip them on when I take out the trash and kick them back off as I enter.
Purchase a Vacuum for Hardwood Floors
You probably already have a vacuum for cleaning your cabin floors however not all vacuums work very well on hardwood floors. You’ll have to do your research when looking for a new vacuum. This Bissel vacuum is extremely effective on hardwood floors – I’d recommend you check it out if you don’t already have one.
I’d highly recommend a handheld vacuum cleaner, they’re very maneuverable and will allow you to get in the corners and small crevices. They’re not great for primary vacuum cleaners as it will take a long time to do the whole cabin – however I recommend them as a secondary vacuum cleaner which you use for the final additions.
Limit eating to the kitchen
A common thing for parents to do is to force their children to eat in the kitchen. This is because children are very messy eaters and they don’t want them to make a mess all over the house.
Though, even us adults create mess when we eat. You may not even realize you’re dropping crumbs on the floor every time you take a bite of a sandwich. If we only make a mess in the kitchen, it’s easier to clean up.
Air Filter/Purifier
Dust is just as big as a problem as dirt is.
So far, I’ve provided you with ways to prevent you tracking dirt into your cabin; now I’ll be explaining a very effective method in keeping dust out of your apartment.
I’d highly recommend that you invest into an air filter for your living area. You can get cheap air filters which will last you a couple of years. Using an air filter will minimize the amount of dust in your cabin, preventing it from building up. This will make keeping your cabin easier as you won’t have to spend as much time sweeping and dusting. I recommend this Air Purifier. This is the air purifier which I use in my cabin – it’s extremely effective and helps keep you healthy with it’s UV-C light technology which kills airborne bacteria, mold spores, germs, and viruses. There are plenty of other Air Purifiers if you prefer a different style.
Air Purifiers don’t require any maintenance so don’t worry about having extra work – once it’s set-up you just let it run. I keep mine running 24/7 pretty much. These air purifiers are almost essential if you suffer from hay fever or have any pollen allergies.
Swiffer/Mop
As vacuums don’t pick-up dust, you require extra equipment if you want to deal with it effectively.
One product you could purchase is a Swiffer, which is essentially a fancy mop. They’re very effective in cleaning up dust, hair, and lint. They work better than duster as a duster only throws dust back into the air whereas dust with stick to the Swiffer’s disposable cloth.
They’re very easy to use, just drag it across your floor every couple of days and your cabin should stay relatively dust-free. Especially with the combination of a Swiffer and an air purifier, your cabin should be completely dust free.
One thing you should keep in mind, is that the Swiffer is secondary cleaning tool – it’s not a replacement for your vacuum as it’s not effective at cleaning up large messes and dirt.
Fuzzy Socks
This may sound like a joke, but it seriously does help.
Wearing fuzzy socks helps keep your floors clean as the fuzz traps the dirt onto the bottom of your feet without spread it all over the cabin. This is a simple yet effective tip which you can incorporate into your life at little to no cost. On top of this, you also get to keep your feet warm – and fuzzy socks are extremely comfortable.
My name is Eugene Thornhill. I'm an outdoor enthusiast who loves nothing more than being one with nature. I've lived in numerous outdoor homes and even constructed my own. Living off-grid is something I'm very familiar with, more so than living in the city. For many years I've dealt with the many problems of living off-grid. It's time to pass on my knowledge through Cabinguides.