Our home is our haven. It is our sweet refuge after a long hard day of work and/or school. Naturally, we would want to go home in a house that is clean, tidy, and fresh.
Unfortunately, and more often than not, we do not have enough time to make sure everything is clean in the house. When you get home tired from work, you do not have that motivation for cleaning. Not to mention, some of us are just not a fan of household chores.
Luckily, we have life hacks to make things easier when it comes to cleaning. It benefits everyone from the busiest of the bees to the laziest person there is.
Here are 6 nifty tricks to keep your home clean without exerting too much effort.
1. Microwave Cleanup
Everyone loves the microwave oven. It offers convenience in reheating food with not much effort. But, not everyone has the time to clean all the spills and grimes that build up over time.
Rather than spending your precious hours scrubbing off spills on the microwave wall, mix water, lemon juice, or vinegar, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and zap the mixture into your microwave.
The steam released by the mixture helps loosen the dirt and grime stuck on the walls. In just a few seconds, you can easily wipe off the interior of your microwave oven.
2. Line Your Pots and Pans
A meme says, “Recipes should also include photos of the mess you have to clean up after cooking.”
True indeed. Almost all of us love to cook, but only a few are fans of cleaning up, especially the dishes. It is often tempting to leave them all in the sink and let your future self deal with it. We all know it is a bad habit that needs to stop, though.
To make washing dishes a lot easier, particularly when it comes to pots and pans, line them instead with parchment or foil before using them. Now, you do not worry about stubborn stains, and you will be less likely to be tempted to leave the dishes in the sink.
3. Utilize Your Dishwasher
It is said that dishwashers are God’s greatest gift for people who do not like doing the dishes. It is indeed. With your dishwasher, you no longer have to lift a finger to get all the piles of dirty dishes washed in a matter of minutes.
But it does not mean that you haphazardly misuse this God-given invention. Follow the proper usage and care of your dishwasher.
Use only the recommended soap, arrange the dirty dishes to ensure everything is thoroughly cleaned, and take time to get those cleaned dishes out.
The tricky part is removing the cleaned dishes from the washer and storing them. To make it easier, build a habit of emptying your washer while brewing your coffee in the morning.
4. Fluffy Slippers for Clean Floors
Your flooring is another concern if you have no time to vacuum or sweep it. One easiest trick is to switch to hardwood floors rather than carpeted ones. Nonetheless, a bit of cleaning and maintenance is needed when you have hardwood floors.
Since you have to regularly wipe them off from dust and dirt, you could use fluffy microfibers instead. It is like hitting two birds with one stone. Even when you are just walking around your house, you are actually cleaning.
You should also enforce a no-shoes policy for everyone in the household. Bringing dirty shoes in makes floor cleaning more tedious. Provide indoor doormats for people to wipe their feet before they enter your home.
5. Go for Darker Towels
White fluffy towels look nice. The same thing is true with pastel bright ones. However, we can all agree that they are too laborious to wash especially when there are stubborn stains.
To solve this dilemma (and save your pockets), opt for darker towels instead, be it for your bathroom or kitchen.
Darker towels can easily hide stains. Now, you can plop them on the washing machine for cleaning without spending so much time worrying about stains.
6. Clean as You Go
We have heard of this ‘claygo’ policy everywhere — in our offices, parks, cafes. You name it. This principle of ‘cleaning as you go’ is very much applicable in our homes, especially if you do not have much time to keep your home clean.
This means you clean up after your mess, like when you are cooking a meal or putting back things where they belong after using them.
Practicing claygo makes deep cleaning a lot easier. Plus, doesn’t it seem nice when everything is just in place around your house?
Part of adulthood is being responsible for keeping our homes clean. Hopefully, these life hacks can help you out.
