I am a single guy living alone for more than 15 years since I was studying bachelor degree. It is life changing to take care of your home by yourself. Along these 15 years, I picked it up a habit to tidy up your living place and life with putting very minimum effort. I hope you find something useful from this piece. If you are living with a family or sharing space with other, some of these tips might not work.
Chain your chores with routine ⏱️
Imagine cleaning room, laundry and other chores on every weekends that you suppose to rest is painful. Nobody wants to do that and people relies on house maid or cleaning service which costs money and you have to bring in strangers to your house. Instead of doing that, get up from sofa and move around a bit while listening to a podcast, audiobook or music and do some chores.
The main idea is to come up with an idea of how to chain your chore with daily routine. You are relaxing after work and the idea of get up to clean toilet is just painful. I normally add a single chore before your routine such as cleaning toilet before shower, taking out trash while walking out for lunch, schedule washing machine to the Saturday morning and enjoy hanging clothes with a sip of a cup of joe. By arranging like that, your weekends is plain blank chore-free for you to enjoy hobbies and activities.
A dedicated place for everything 📑
Make a habit of assigning spots for everything you own. Utensils and plates in sink. Socks in wash bin. Clean folded clothes in wardrobe. Keys in your key holder spots. After a week or two, you will build up a muscle and unconscious memory to organize your home without any thoughts all. Try it and you can skip a chore of daily/weekly de-cluttering task in no time.
Don’t hoard things 📰
I ran into room filled with tower of old newspaper, pamphlets, and unknown items. Wardrobe fills up with t-shirts from 20 years ago, just pilling in there. Too many things in your living space makes it hard to tidy up. Don’t need to Marie Kondo. Just give out and recycle time by time. sell back 2nd hand items you don’t use anymore online. It’ll help to minimize the stuffs you need to clean.
Invest on vacuum cleaner 🧹
It’s a bit expensive house appliance but it’s worth the money spent. Imagine it like a mini maid that take care of your floor without your supervision in a daily basis forever (till it breaks down). I own a rumba costs more than 4k TV and there is no regret.
Don’t wash a single dish 🍽️
There are people who have a urge to clean a single plate or a dirty cup. DON’T’. Washing dishes drain our mental energy every time you do it. I limit myself to not more than 1 time per day. Soak into water and a bit of pre-wash and pile them up to wash up later.
Don’t make up your bed everyday 🛏️
It’s your home and not a hotel room. It don’t need to have a neat folding blanket everyday. In my opinion, spreading it out the blanket is better than folding it. It can get a natural sunlight and airflow can avoid of trapping tiny dust mites and bacteria.
Do your laundry in group 🧺
Putting every piece of cloth together for a single laundry is just not effective. I tend to keep separate bins for gym clothes and other. At least these 2 categories need to laundry separately to have different treatment. Another step is to do tops and bottoms separately (if you have enough pairs to continue).
Don’t buy air fresheners. It’s TOXIC 🧪
I don’t see the point of air fresheners for temporary refreshing room. It contains toxic chemicals and you are just wasting money. I suggests to have air purifier that help your room get rid of pollution and pollens. Use dehumidifier for toilet and natural air ventilation is the best way in general.
If there are other tips or any feedbacks on these above life hacks, DM me at twitter 🐦.