Useful tips
We all like order, but we don’t always want to restore it. However, if you organize everything correctly once, you won’t have to clean things up too often.
There are several simple ways to properly store things that will help you save a lot of free space and also make your cabinets, pantries, shelves and drawers more pleasing to look at.
Here you can learn how to properly organize storage areas for clothes, food, cosmetics and other things that are present in every home.
Psychological reasons
The chaos observed in the room indicates serious internal conflicts of the occupant of this room. In rare cases, this is one of the symptoms of a mental disorder, such as depression. The psychology of a mess in an apartment:
- Insufficient attention. Clutter is a great way to get others involved in cleaning up. A person lacks attention and asks his friends or relatives to help with cleaning. They agree to this, thereby devoting additional time and support to their friend.
- Reluctance to become an adult. Some children were brought up in families where parents loved cleanliness too much. They could always force their heirs to wash dishes, sweep and put things in their places. However, most children do not like this scenario, so a mess for them is salvation. With the help of disorder, they express their protest, as well as their unwillingness to obey their parents. Such a child, after he grows up, will completely believe that a person does not need order at all. Also, a mess is a sign of a psychologically immature personality. Such people, on a subconscious level, have the hope that someone will clean up for them. They simply blame their problems on others, which indicates irresponsibility.
- Loneliness. When a person makes a mess around him, it means that he feels helpless and abandoned. Therefore, others do not need to ask why there is a mess in a friend’s apartment; they should just go to his aid. If people throw things around, they want to declare their existence.
With clutter, a person unconsciously shows others that not everything is as good as it seems. Relatives and friends need to pay more attention to such people. This can have a positive effect on them.
Preparatory stage: where to start cleaning?
Before you start cleaning, walk through the house and inspect the “work front”
Determine for yourself what result you want to get.
What do you need: a perfectly clean room or just general neatness and the absence of obvious mess? Make sure that the task is realistic and that you meet the time that you are willing to allocate for cleaning. If you understand that there is not enough time, lower the bar.
Make preliminary preparations
These are simple and quick steps that will then make the cleaning process much easier for you: pour detergent into the plumbing fixtures, plug the sink and soak dirty dishes in it (if you don’t use a dishwasher), start the washing machine.
Prepare the necessary tools and cleaning supplies
It’s much more convenient when everything you need is at hand and you don’t have to run after every little thing. Therefore, before you start cleaning, prepare yourself a basket or basin with everything you need.
My usual set:
- Latex gloves
- Paper towels
- Rags, microfiber cloths, sponges, napkins, etc.
- Baby wipes or antibacterial hand wipes (super remedy for stained doorknobs and light switches!)
- Glass cleaner (I often use this also on mirrors, wall clocks, some appliances, glitter figurines, sinks and the like)
- Cleaners
- Garbage bags
Order in the kitchen
Fridge
Before:
In that chaos you have to dig around for a long time to find something, and keeping the refrigerator open is not a good idea.
After:
Plastic baskets with handles and containers appeared. They organize products in such a way that you can save a lot of space and still quickly find the product you need. Among other things, the inside of the refrigerator has acquired a more pleasant appearance. If desired, you can add labels to the containers and baskets for the products they are intended for.
Serious mental problems
Disorder can appear in people who suffer from psychological disorders. Sometimes these can be serious illnesses. These include:
- Anxious state. Events happen in life that throw a person out of his rut. For example: death of a relative, divorce, litigation, and so on. This leads to anxiety, which forces you to focus on experiences. People stop taking care of themselves and cleaning their house.
- Depression. In such a state, a person loses meaning and interest in everything around him. He develops apathy and loses the desire to perform simple everyday tasks. This is reflected in the order in his house. A depressed person loses energy and cannot keep his room clean.
- Schizophrenia. This is a very serious mental disorder. A person suffering from this disease stops taking care of his appearance, becomes apathetic and does not perform simple household tasks. Serious abnormalities in brain function are reflected in clutter in the house.
A mess is not always a reflection of a person’s laziness. Sometimes this may indicate serious mental disorders. Such problems require serious treatment with specialists.
How to clean quickly and not get tired
How to do a general cleaning of an apartment or cottage and not get exhausted? Use these tips when you get ready to organize your home:
- Plan your work. In a household, this approach is no less important than in any other business, so write down in your plan everything that needs to be done and do not violate the algorithm.
- Set aside the whole day for DIY cleaning and start in the morning. This way you will have more time to get everything done. In addition, it is better to wash windows and mirrors in daylight than in artificial light.
- Do not take all the work into your own hands, but distribute it among family members. Involve everyone, including children. Of course, you shouldn’t trust a first-grader to wash windows, but a child can put things in bags that are meant to be thrown away or put things in order in his toys and books.
- Check the availability of cleaning equipment so as not to be distracted by trips to the store and not waste extra time.
- Do several things at once if you want to quickly get your home in order. While the washing machine is running, you can wash the floor. Or, after applying detergent to the surfaces of the stove and oven, you have half an hour to clean the sink or ceiling light in the kitchen.
By following these recommendations, you can keep your entire house clean without spending a lot of time on it. Clean regularly, and your home will always be in perfect condition. Clean household appliances: oven, microwave, stove.
Where to start general cleaning
The exact approach you should take depends on what kind of room you will be cleaning. By concentrating on a specific task, understanding where to start and what surfaces to clean next, you will get your home clean much faster.
To protect the skin of your hands, be sure to use gloves.
Cleaning the house - useful tips to help simplify the process:
- When doing general cleaning, wash first where you clean least often:
- start cleaning the surface of windows and areas behind upholstered furniture, such areas are not cleaned daily and become clogged with dust;
- After cleaning hard-to-reach places, start cleaning the top shelves and everything that is on top, because... when cleaning surfaces, dust will settle down;
- Clean the floor not at the first stage, but at the final stage.
Every housewife has her own secrets - home remedies and devices to do the job more efficiently.
Bathroom
As a rule, first of all it is necessary to pay attention to special means that disinfect the surface of the bathroom. Please also note that it is necessary to use suitable products for tiles, as
universal ones may leave streaks. If the tile itself is glossy, then be sure to use the amount of product that is written on the package, because if the norm is not met, then it may not be possible to clean the gloss well.
Here the traditional algorithm is complemented by work with plumbing.
For taps and other metal surfaces, use rust removers; after using them, the rust will come off or be reduced, and a beautiful shine will appear on the surface.
It is important to disinfect the sanitaryware, bathtub, sink, not forgetting about the faucets.
Don’t forget about mirrors, because they tend to fog up and leave streaks. Do not use cloths with lint to wipe glass, which in turn may remain on the mirror.
These smallest rooms in the house are usually washed last, completing the general cleaning.Living room
For the living room, special attention should be paid to upholstered furniture and other interior items. Carefully clean the surface of the fabrics, pay attention to pieces of furniture with a mirror and smooth surface, as
it quickly becomes dirty and leaves fingerprints and possible stains.
General cleaning of the house should begin with the living rooms: bedroom, living room, children's room.
If there is a carpet and classic curtains in the room, be sure to wash or clean them, depending on what material they are made of
Pay attention to decorative shelves and details that are complementary. Dust also settles on them, although they do not perform any functions, they also affect the overall level of cleanliness in the house
First of all, the ceiling, lighting fixtures, walls, windows, radiators are washed.
Bedroom
The sleeping place and the space around it definitely needs to be cleaned; clean it carefully, without damaging the fastenings and decorative trim.
You also need to treat soft surfaces: knock them out, vacuum them, clean them with special products.
If you have a dressing table, be sure to rearrange and wash all its surfaces, and re-sort all the products that you may use daily or less often. Place the ones you use most often in the foreground and on the top of the table, and place the less necessary ones inside. For sorting, use special containers for cosmetics.
When cleaning rooms, you need to move from top to bottom to prevent dust from settling on already cleaned surfaces.
Kitchen
Pay special attention to work surfaces, as they are the ones that need regular cleaning the most. Also be sure to move away work cabinets and additional furniture, the space behind which also needs to be cleaned
The step-by-step plan for cleaning the kitchen is a little different from putting things in order in the rooms.
Wash and clean hard-to-reach spaces first, and then clean the space from top to bottom. Be sure to wash and wipe the chandelier and frame, because a layer of dust also accumulates and settles there.
When carrying out general work, it is important to get rid of all unnecessary things that are not used in order to free up space and reduce the risk of consuming spoiled products.
How to store things in a closet
Clothes storage
Before:
A pile of hangers on which old and new clothes are hung. It's hard to find what you want to wear.
After:
New shelves were added to hold folded T-shirts, sweaters and other clothing. At the same time, space for a hanger was preserved. Baskets have appeared in which things are also stored.
You can add labels to baskets and boxes so you know where things are. You can also neatly store shoes hidden in boxes on shelves. On each box you can paste a photograph printed on a regular sheet of paper (possibly in black and white) of the shoes that are in it.
Cleaning schedule
Experts advise dividing things by season. Make a schedule of what needs to be done quarterly, what every month, what every week, and what daily. Once every three to four months we wash curtains and drapes, wash chandeliers and windows, disassemble cabinets and sort through things, get rid of unnecessary things, wash ceilings and baseboards. To provide an incentive, such cleaning can be timed to coincide with a holiday or date, for example, New Year, Easter, and so on.
A little less often, once every five to six months, it is recommended to clean pillows, blankets and mattresses, wash the oven and beat out carpets. Don’t forget to wash hard-to-reach places behind the refrigerator, cabinet, stove, and so on. Divide tasks into several days and complete them throughout the week.
The list of tasks that need to be done every month includes washing doors and tiled walls, refrigerator and microwave oven, kitchen unit and hood. This also includes careful processing of pots, pans and other kitchen utensils. We also clean rugs in the hallway, bathroom and toilet. But, if animals live in the house, it is recommended to clean it every week.
Every week I wash mirrors and bathroom fixtures, the door of the refrigerator and microwave oven, and the hatch of the washing machine. We thoroughly wash the floors, including under and behind the furniture. Twice a week we lightly mop the floors and vacuum the carpets. If there are children and animals, we do this every other day.
Every day we devote 15-20 minutes to cleaning. Here we wash the dishes and put things in the closet or send them to the laundry, ventilate the apartment and sweep, wash the kitchen table, sink and work surface in the kitchen. Once every two or three days, we wash the shower or bathtub and wipe the dust in the house. This schedule will help maintain perfect cleanliness in the kitchen, bathrooms and rooms.
Organization of order in the house
Small kitchen pantry or kitchen drawer
Before:
Boxes of cereals and cereals take up a lot of space. In addition, some boxes may fall and all their contents may spill.
After:
Baskets and labels appeared. Moreover, they use labels coated with graphite paint, on which you can write with chalk, which is very convenient if the contents of the baskets change. Paint can be purchased at specialty stores or office supply stores. You can use cardboard for labels.
