Keep the home tidy with very little effort: daily tips to keep clutter and mess at bay
Clutter at home seems to appear out of thin air: in just a few days, a house can start looking like a bombsite. So, what's the best ways to optimize our time spent cleaning and still get acceptable results? Well, read on to find out more:
The bedroom
There are two things you can do to make the bedroom immediately look tidier:
- Make the bed. Messy sheets are an eyesore, so it's an good habit to make the bed every morning. However, don't do this immediatelly - do something else first, then come back to make the bed. Why wait? Because letting the humidity that has accumulated under the blankets dry out is good to maintain proper hygiene standards (mite, for example, thrive in humid conditions).
- Put away the clothes draped over chairs (or similar). Perhaps your worn clothes can't put back in the closet, but maybe they're not so dirty that they should go in the laundry. For these garments, use a nice basket or a hanger rack to keep them neat and orderly.
The kitchen
Limit yourself to the following "bare essentials" daily chores in the kitchen:
- Don't go to sleep with a pile of dishes in the sink.
- After dining, clean the worktops. Perhaps you can also give the oven a quick clean, but just having the shelves sorted out will make the whole kitchen look tidy.
- If you see any stains or dirt on the floor, sweep and wash it immediately.
Laundry baskets
And what about dirty clothes - how best to deal with these?
Well, if you don't have a laundry room that everyone in the family is disciplined about using as the "dirty clothes depository", put out some laundry baskets in strategic spots that will temporary "hide" the soiled garments from view until laundry day.
Don't put off dealing with your mail
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It seems paradoxical that in this digital age, so many letters and other paper-based documents still get delivered to our homes. In fact, a messy pile of correspondence can accumulate in the blink of an eye!
So, as a first step, sort out the incoming mail. Divide into categories (no more than three), and sort the mail as soon as you come in. Once sorted, you can deal with the mail in a systematic manner.
The bathroom
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In the bathroom, you can do at least three things that won't take up much time:
- Keep a sponge or cloth handy near the sink to wipe it down after each use (or before going to bed).
- Don't wait to sweep or mop the floor if it is clearly dirty.
- Keep a squeegee in the shower, to clear the surfaces of the cubicle after use. The shower will remain clean for longer and you will notice a decrease in streaking, limescale build-up, and other staining. Additionally, don't get out of the shower before picking up any hair you can see laying loose in the cubicle (better still, use a drain filter to catch hair and clear this after showering).
This may seem like a lot to do, but if you divide the chores up during the day, they will not be as burdensome. And doing so will also make your weekly, deeper cleaning chores much easier!