Contents
General organization of life
1. To prevent garbage from swallowing us, it must be organized and led. Often apple cores, pieces of paper and broken pens accumulate in rooms. After all, every time to carry trash to the trash can and there is no time, and laziness. Let each room have its own trash can. It seems to you that it is not aesthetically pleasing and not hygienic? Well, what if the role of a trash can is played by a pretty vase on a computer desk? If it is emptied in a timely manner, there will be no damage to hygiene …
2. Cleaning supplies should be at hand so as not to waste time getting them and transporting them to the place. Shoe cream – where we take it off. Powder for cleaning the sink – in the bathroom. Washing powder is by the machine. A beautiful cloth for wiping glasses is by the mirror. There are a few free seconds – I walked there, brushed off the dust here. And half the work is done.
It seems that this can save only seconds. But in fact, we often do not even begin to tidy up, knowing that in order to wash the mirror in the closet, you need to go to the closet, get the glass cleaner from the top shelf. If aesthetics confuses, pour / pour funds into beautiful small bottles, now there is a great variety of them.
3. The beginning of any cleaning is to put things in their places. You unload everything “non-local” from the room you are cleaning into some kind of basin, and then you travel around the apartment with it, delivering the accumulated to the addresses. No need to run with every toy to the nursery. This saves tens of minutes!
4. Horizontal surfaces – countertops, window sills, shelves – filled with objects, give the impression of chaos, disorder. Even if all these things stand on their own places. In addition, figurines, vases, etc. make cleaning difficult. The way out is to unload the open “horizons” as much as possible. Arrange spoons from the kitchen table in boxes, interrogate figurines with predilection: “Are you sure you should be standing right here? Or maybe you are superfluous?
5. If you need to store a lot of small items on open horizontal surfaces, they need to be grouped. Let’s say a dressing table. Nail polishes, perfume bottles, cream tubes, etc. Wiping dust in this case is hard labor. Pick up each bottle, wipe under it, and return it back … We put everything in a beautiful basket (drawer, cosmetic bag, etc., depending on the situation). Now, to wipe the dust, it is enough to lift one basket.
hallway
6. In order not to spread dirt and sand from shoes around the house, keep a small brush with a dustpan in the hallway. Trampled? Immediately swept the dust into the trash.
7. In rainy weather, wrap the doormat on the side of the apartment in a damp cloth. Dirt will be better rubbed off the soles. If necessary, it is easy to wipe the traces with a rag.
8. In order not to carry street dirt around the apartment, if not all households are able to sweep behind them, lay a rug like a mat in the hallway. The sand will wake up between the bars, while the surface will remain clean.
9. In the hallway, be sure to keep a basket for important little things, the contents of which are disassembled once a week. Unpaid bills from the mailbox, temporarily unnecessary keys – but you never know what is in pockets, bags. So that it doesn’t roll around with the risk of getting lost, put everything in a certain vase. Just remember to sort its contents. Start a tradition: on Wednesdays, I take apart the “emergency box” from the hallway.
10. It is also convenient to have your own basket or box for small items of clothing – hats, gloves, scarves, etc. are folded there after arrival. This is convenient if the family has small children. They, unlike adults, are not yet able to put accessories on the top shelves of the hanger themselves.
Bathroom
11. The cheapest vodka, poured into a beautiful spray bottle, will help maintain hygienic cleanliness in the bathroom. While brushing your teeth, getting ready for work, sprinkled on the faucet, door handles, mirror. They cleaned their teeth – wiped the surfaces with a clean, dry cloth – and voila!
12. Among the tubes on the sink, store dishwashing powder in a small vial. Are you here to wash your hands? Spend another 30 seconds cleaning the sink. No longer needed if you perform this procedure regularly. Moreover, dishwashing detergents are softer than for plumbing, and they are not so dangerous to apply without gloves (which sometimes do not have time to put on).
13. An acrylic bathtub can be kept clean between major cleanings with dish soap or cheap liquid soap. What’s the point? No need to put on gloves, and then rinse the bath for a long time, as after applying the killer “chemistry”.
14. Bath sides, sinks and faucets in the morning, before leaving for work, and in the evening, before going to bed, quickly wipe with a dry cloth. When it becomes a habit, you will have to spend no more than half a minute on it. Water stains are easier to prevent than to peel off later.
15. It is convenient to wipe the toilet between times with toilet paper. Just rinse it off after use.
16. So that unironed linen does not accumulate with Everest, sort it even at the washing stage. Hang clothes to dry, turning them right side out, paired items (socks, gloves, stockings) immediately hang side by side. When the laundry is dry, remove it, immediately laying it out in those piles, as they will lie in the closet. Husband’s underwear in one pile, children’s pajamas in another, and so on. Spread the finished piles a matter of two minutes.
Cleaning supplies should be at hand so as not to waste time getting them and transporting them to the place. Photo: shutterstock.com17. Thin blouses, men’s shirts are convenient to dry already on a coat hanger. There is time – iron them immediately after drying. No – we remove it in the same way, on the shoulders, and iron it as far as possible.
18. If the area of the bathroom allows, put a box for dirty linen with a separator by color in the bathroom. Then for washing it will be possible to take the contents at once in a heap.
Kitchen
19. It is convenient to cover the tops of cabinets with newspapers (grandmother’s recipe) or cling film (modern version). Dust is especially corrosive in the kitchen, where it combines with grease. And in order not to rub it off the top of the cabinets, it’s easier to take and change the newspaper / film.
20. In order not to scrub the gas stove, you can cover the hob with foil. It gets dirty – you take it off and in the trash. This, of course, is not very aesthetically pleasing, so the method is rather temporary – for a period of hard time pressure (session, emergency work at work, etc.) or a temporary breakdown when the hostess is sick.
21. A dishwasher washes dishes more economically (in terms of water consumption) and cleaner than a person. Try to find an opportunity to buy it.
22. Shelves and drawers of the refrigerator can be lined with beautiful non-woven cloths. Cleaning will become easier – just change the cloth for a clean one, and the humidity will also decrease. And this means that vegetables, for example, will be stored longer.
23. Cloths for wiping tables, etc. better to start with a dozen. Used for a day – and in the wash. It is best to wash everything in a crowd in a washing machine at a high temperature. There is nothing worse than a dirty, greasy rag. I don’t want to take on something like this.
24. A dishwashing sponge can be disinfected by placing it with the dishes in the dishwasher.
25. You can also disinfect a sponge in the microwave. Keep in mind, the washcloth should be wet, you need to heat from 30 seconds. up to 1 min. depending on the power of the stove.
26. To wipe off plaque on a teapot, scale on an electric or coffee maker, colorless sprite-type soda will help. Just pour over lemonade and leave for half an hour.
27. Sticky tape or a damp sponge for dishes will help to collect fragments from broken dishes. Sponge after use must be thrown away, since it costs a penny.
28. If the dishwasher began to wash unexpectedly poorly, pour about a glass of a potent fat-splitting agent (such as shumanite) onto the bottom of the machine (without dishes!) And start the longest program with the highest temperature. Most likely, the machine is corny clogged with grease from dishes, it needs to be cleaned.
Trash can
29. Garbage bags can be stored directly in a roll at the bottom of the bucket, under a stretched bag. When you take out a filled package, you do not need to run around looking for the next one.
30. There was a free minute – pull 5-7 bags on the bucket at once. When the top one fills up, you pull it out, and you can immediately continue using the trash can.
children’s room
31. Toys are more convenient to store in capacious boxes where they can simply be brushed away. Of course, it is beautiful when the dolls stand in orderly rows on the shelves. But how long will this beauty last? And how much strength is required to maintain it?
32. Gadgets for children’s creativity is more convenient to store by type of activity. Everything for drawing – in one box. In the other – everything for modeling. In the third – for the application. Etc. Want to draw a child? They got him a box in which the album, and pencils, and a sharpener. Tired, will we sculpt? We brush everything into a box, we get the next one, etc.
To facilitate and speed up the process of cleaning the house, smart women have come up with a lot of life hacks. Photo: shutterstock.com
Bedroom
33. It is convenient to store bed linen directly in sets. And so that it is not lost, put everything in one of the pillowcases.
34. It takes too much time to iron the bed. But is it worth ironing it at all, given that doctors do not recommend it – the hygroscopicity of linen worsens from this. Simply hang your sheets and duvet covers flat to dry, then fold them neatly. They will flatten out under their own weight.
35. It is more convenient to put small things like T-shirts in chest of drawers not one on top of the other, but like index cards – one after another. Pulling out one little thing, do not turn over the whole pile.
36. If the husband, despite admonitions, throws socks around the bedroom, put him there a small basket. Let him practice basketball, and you will take away his treasures for washing right from this basket! Only the device for catching socks must certainly be without a lid – otherwise the trick will not work.
37. If you have a lot of flowers on your windowsills, it may be more convenient not to put each pot in a water tray, but to arrange several planters on one tray. Water after watering will continue to drain, and if necessary, it will not be difficult to clear the window sill.
38. The bed, so that dust does not accumulate there, should be either on a deaf pedestal or on high legs – so that you can vacuum it without problems.
39. If under the bed you are forced to store some kind of good (for example, out-of-season shoes, etc.) – get a large under-bed box. And store boxes of shoes in it. It will be necessary to mop the floors – it’s easier to roll out one box than to get 20 boxes.
40. So that the chargers from the equipment do not roll around anywhere, store them in one place, preferably right next to the outlet. You can use special cable channels or boxes for wires. And you can – ordinary plastic baskets from the household store.
41. With the help of large clerical clips, you can fix the “tails” of the chargers directly on the desktop. And also fasten excess wires so that they do not twist on the floor.
42. Pet fluff is excellently removed from carpets with a so-called laminate mop. This “lazybones” with a microfiber cloth, where the pile is in the form of thick pasta.
43. Cat “marks” on a carpet or mattress can be etched by spraying this matter with vinegar or vodka from a spray bottle. True, after this the room will have to be ventilated to remove the smell of alcohol or vinegar. And, once the carpet gets wet, the procedure will have to be repeated again, because the stench will return.
44. Thinking about the repair in the apartment, immediately consider what furniture and materials will require you to be more vigilant on the harvesting front. On glossy surfaces, even handprints look sloppy, not like the slightest speck. And corrugated materials require careful rubbing. That is, the surfaces should be matte, but smooth. Any speck of dust is visible not only on a white background, but also on a dark – black, wenge. Cabinets ideally should reach the ceiling so that dust does not accumulate on top. Narrow gaps between the cabinet and the wall are best closed with extensions.
45. In order not to start something in a routine to an indecent state, make a list of household chores that need to be redone. And on the next page, note what has already been done. Crossing out from the general list is not the best option, because there are too many things to do at home – it will seem to you that you are fighting, fighting, but they all do not end … But looking at a separate list of what has been done, be filled with pride for the time spent not in vain.
A few more secrets
46. You can remove scale from the dishwasher by running it at maximum temperature with a glass of vinegar. And in the next cycle, sprinkle a few tablespoons of soda on the bottom. The washing machine is cleaned in the same way.
47. Fat from dishes washes off mustard powder perfectly. Cheap and environmentally friendly.
48. Grease stains from clothes and upholstered furniture are removed with Fairy dishwashing detergent.
49. To clean the blender, run it with a drop of detergent.
50. To clean the grinder, run baking soda in it.