Every one of us likes to live in a clean, fresh apartment. Having to come home to a messy, cluttered apartment every day is liable to cause an immense feeling of dread, which is why it’s essential to devise ways to ensure your apartment is kept neat and tidy.
Below are four unique and manageable ways to get you started:
1) Keep a Chore Checklist
When it comes to keeping your apartment neat, you’ll need to start a chore checklist. This eliminates the problem of wondering where to start and what you’ll need to get the job done. Keeping a list also helps you stay on task until the entire room is clean. If this is repeated for each room in your apartment (bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, living room), your space will be picture perfect in no time!
Include frequency with which to clean each item or room. For example, you will take out the trash every few days, but might only clean the floors weekly and the windows bi-weekly. You can create this list by room (i.e. bedroom, bathroom) or by item (i.e. flooring, windows, countertops).
2) Make Your Own Linen Spray
In case you weren’t aware, there is a way to cut down on laundry, and still keep your sheets, pillows, tablecloths, curtains smelling, feeling and looking fresh! Here’s how:
- Mix 1 teaspoon of vodka
- 5 drops (½ teaspoon) of any essential oil (lavender is a wonderful neutral smell!)
- ½ cup of distilled water into a spray bottle
Shake and use! There’s nothing better than a cost-effective, time-saving and environmentally friendly cleaning tactic.
3) Limit cleaning to 1-2 activities per day
Cleaning doesn’t have to be stressful. Take your mind off of the negative experience of having to spend an entire morning or afternoon cleaning by spreading the work over several days. After all, nobody wants to spend the entirety of their day cleaning. Limit each day’s cleaning activities to one or two tasks. Doing so will help preserve large blocks of your free time. You want to be able to enjoy your freshly clean apartment. That fifteen minutes spent on 1-2 chores each day will translate into extra time when you’re sleeping in on Sunday!
4) Cleaning Your Windows
You don’t need a degree in chemistry to make a window cleaner every bit as good as what is sold in stores. Simply mix a combination of:
- 1/3 cup of vinegar
- ½ cup of water
- 1/3 cup of dish soap
The ultimate natural cleaner! Recycle the morning newspaper and use it as an application and cleaning cloth. Sounds ridiculous, but it works! The finished window will be streak-free! Works well with mirrors, too!
