We all know someone who always has a perfectly clean and neat home and most of the times, these people will not really share their secrets about their well-organized and sparkling homes.
But, good news is that we are ready to share these secrets with you!
Invite People Regularly to Your Home
A house is never guest-ready!
If it’s your mom dropping by for a surprise visit, then you’ll never turn her away – she knows how you just LOVE living in a dumpster, but of course, she’s still going to complain about it. However, if it’s a friend or your date of yesterday, you are going to come up with all kinds of excuses – from “I’m not at home” to “I was just leaving”,” “I’m already invited to someone else’s house” and “I’m sick.”
I know it’s easier to tell the truth, but how many of us have the guts to say, “I live like a pig!”
Eventually, at some point, these people will realize that you are making excuses or lying to them, and they’ll be upset and stop trusting you. So, here either you rely on honesty or you take it as an incentive to always keep the house neat and tidy.
When you know you’ll be entertaining guests regularly in your home, you will pressure yourself in keeping all the spaces clean. The kitchen counters will be free from crusts and leftovers; the floors will be clean; no clutter in the living room, and you won’t stress out from embarrassment when a guest is using the bathroom.
It sounds unusual, but there’s nothing selfish in inviting people over to your house in order to motivate you to clean.
Create a Place for Everything
Clutter represents all those excess clothing from your closet and dresser drawers; it’s all the shoes that are scattered in the hallway; it’s also about all the keys on your kitchen table, the documents lying on your desk table and the kitchen appliances that live on your kitchen counters. According to several experts (and my own experience), what really makes a home messy and dirty is all the stuff that doesn’t have a place to go.
For example, if you have a narrow kitchen and don’t have enough space to keep some kitchen supplies, use the tops of your cabinets or add an extra storage space to the side of your fridge. Mugs can also be hung on hooks and you can buy a cutlery tray to store your utensils.
When you come back home from work, it’s easy to throw your coat and bag on the sofa and let your shoes wander in the hallway. Here’s what I suggest:
- Set up a shoe rack at the entrance of the house. However, if you are a Hindu and you believe that the main entrance is where the goddess “Lakshmi” resides, set up the shoe rack in a storage or spare room.
- For your coat storage, you can either install hooks at eye level, set up a free-standing rack or a wall-mounted coat rack.
Exercise
I’m not saying that exercising will make your house look clean – how I wish it was that way – but you can consider cleaning as a workout.
When you think about it, there’s nothing fashionable about cleaning; once you are done with all the sweeping, mopping and vacuuming, you’ll be all sweaty and tired – the aftermath after an ultimate workout at the gym.
So, start thinking of cleaning as a strategy to burn calories and lose weight (of course, you are not going to lose, much, but it sounds good enough).
And, if you are not really a fan of workout and fitness, I guess the next one might work for you.
Enjoy Cleaning
Cleaning doesn’t always have to be boring and monotonous. I get that it’s not your thing, but you could make it feel less like a chore by listening to your favorite songs, watching tv (my sister does that all the time and it works) or listening to your favorite audiobooks.
