Keeping things tidy is often a challenge, but it's worth it because it gives us more time for the better things in life. There are a few things we can learn from decent people.
Do you prefer to meet friends for dinner? Are you drenched in sweat when a spontaneous visitor is around the corner? Then things might look a bit chaotic at home.
Now imagine how nice life would be with a tidy apartment. With a few extra movements, your home would even be ready for a visit. Sounds good? Then it doesn't have to remain a pipe dream. Instead of falling into a panic frenzy of tidying up and cleaning, we prefer to adopt a few habits that characterize people with tidy apartments.
1. Make the bed
Ordinary people never leave the house without making their bed. Because a bed that has been made visually ensures order and peace in the bedroom, as the bed usually takes up a large part of the bedroom. And in the evening it is also much nicer to turn down the covers and hop into a decent bed.
2. Empty the dishwasher
If you empty the dishwasher in the evening or in the morning at the latest, you don't have to put the dirty dishes in the sink. A trick that fans of order can rely on. Because the cereal bowl, bread knife and coffee cup can be put straight into the empty dishwasher. In the evening, after dinner, there are more dirty dishes without having to get up – tired from the day – to unload the dishwasher and then put it back in again.
If you don't have a dishwasher, it's best to wash your dishes right away. Because once large mountains of cups and plates have piled up, it is more difficult to overcome and wash up.
3. Wash laundry regularly
Ordinary people don't turn laundry hills into mountains of laundry. Those who wash their clothes regularly will prevent the mountain of dirty laundry from getting too big at some point. Advantage: There is always enough underwear in the closet. And enough space to dry the laundry.
4. Put away clothes
Who doesn't want to just throw their clothes in the corner and lie down on the couch in the evening? But if you do this every day, you are invited to chaos. So it pays to resist the call of the couch and put your clothes aside first. Practical: You can wear a hanging dress again without having to wash and iron it.
5. Tidy up the kitchen
The bed has a magical attraction. But proper people clean up the kitchen first. Dirty dishes, pans and pots are put in the dishwasher or washed up. Leftovers go into the refrigerator. Work surfaces and dining table are wiped. Advantage: You don't have to worry about it in the morning if it's harder for you, you can hop into bed with a clear conscience. Plus, the kitchen (or even the whole apartment) doesn't smell like the meal from the night before. In the morning you prefer to concentrate on the new day anyway.
6. Take out garbage
Organic and residual waste are usually noticeable quickly. You have no choice but to take out the garbage immediately if you want to avoid unpleasant smells and nasty fruit flies (especially in summer). Paper waste and old glass, on the other hand, do not draw attention to themselves as persistently, especially if both are collected in the corner or in the storage room. Ordinary people regularly bring paper, cardboard, bottles and glasses into the paper bin or the paper and waste glass container.
7. Tidying up and cleaning in between
While the pasta is boiling in the pot or the vegetables are sizzling in the pan, you can throw the pasta packaging in the garbage can or wash the knife and cutting board. In this way you not only keep an overview and order in between, but also use waiting time cleverly and in the end you don't have to tidy up and can use the time for nicer things.
8. Organize things
Boxes, baskets and cardboard boxes help tidy people to keep the chaos under control. All the things that you do not need (e.g. catalogs, advertising letters, etc.), you throw in the trash before this stuff feels at home at some point. Ordinary people collect important documents (e.g. for taxes) in a folder or a box. Nothing is lost and everything has its place.
9. Plan ahead
If you think about what to wear in the morning, you save time in the morning – and don't have to rummage through the closet for the right outfit. Tidy people don't give the preprogrammed (clothes) chaos a chance!
10. Don't put off anything!
Those who value order, tackle things right away: Delivered parcels are immediately cleared and the packaging disposed of. Anything that is not liked or that turns out to be a bad buy is immediately prepared for the return (that even saves a lot of money in the end). Purchases are unpacked and put away immediately, letters opened immediately and, if necessary, placed on the shelf, unnecessary mailings (e.g. catalogs) thrown in the trash. If you don't postpone anything but tackle things straight away, you will save yourself from an ever-increasing mountain of tasks that will definitely not vanish by themselves.
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