Cleaning Tips for Young Adults
There is a feeling of freedom for young adults establishing their own homes, especially when moving out of their parents’ home for the first time. Having your own home is rewarding, but it also comes with responsibilities. Good habits are key to maintaining a clean and orderly home. Here are some cleaning tips to help you live a more organized life.
Here are six tips that are useful for anyone, but especially for young adults who are wanting to keep a clean home.
1. MAKE YOUR BED DAILY, WASH YOUR SHEETS WEEKLY
It is a good idea to leave your bed unmade for an hour or two in the morning to let it air out. Making the bed too soon can trap moisture and allow dust mites to flourish. Let your bed air out while you go through your morning routine, and save making your bed for the finale.
In addition to making your bed every day, you should wash your sheets every week. If you use white sheets, you can wash them with bleach. Bleaching colored sheets will cause stains. Washing white sheets with bleach will eliminate stains and keep them looking fresh, clean, and white. When making your bed with clean sheets, be sure to place the tag of your fitted sheet at the bottom-left corner (from the perspective of lying in bed) for the perfect fit.
On a related note, you are missing out if you do not utilize storage space under your bed. This is a great place to store items out of sight but still close by for easy access.
You can find storage containers specifically for this purpose and fill them with whatever you want. Free up closet space by using them for your winter clothes in the summer and vice versa!
2. WASH DISHES BY HAND AS YOU USE THEM
If you have a dishwasher, consider washing your dishes by hand.
Like an unmade bed, a sink full of dirty dishes mars the aesthetic of a room. They make it difficult to use the sink, and the pile of dishes often hides something you need. Even if you use a dishwasher, you have to take time to load and unload it and deal with the noise as it runs.
Washing dishes by hand as you use them solves all of these problems. You will never have a sink full of dirty dishes, search through your dirty dishes for the one you need or never let old food harden on your dishes and have to vigorously scrub it off.
A good rule of thumb to avoid procrastination. If a task will take less than five minutes, just do it now. Applying this rule to dishwashing is an excellent habit that keeps your kitchen clean and organized.
3. KEEP ALL DIRTY LAUNDRY IN ONE PLACE
Are you the type of person whose first step of doing laundry is to search the house room by room and collect the dirty clothes scattered everywhere? Maybe you use the smell test to determine if an item is clean or dirty? This is neither an efficient system nor a good look for your home.
One way to keep your home clean and make laundry day easier is to have a designated space for all dirty laundry and get into the habit of using it. You can simply use a laundry basket or invest in a hamper.
It is a good idea to use your dirty laundry container for dirty laundry only. That way you never have to second guess whether the clothes in it are clean or dirty. No more clothing clutter and no more smell test!
4. HANG OR FOLD CLEAN LAUNDRY IMMEDIATELY
Another laundry tip to beat procrastination and eliminate clutter is to put away your clean clothes immediately. If you leave them in the dryer or piled in a basket for too long, they will wrinkle, and you will have to run the dryer again, iron your clothes or wear them and embrace the wrinkled look. You also run the risk of forgetting which clothes are clean or dirty or having to dig through your laundry to search for something to wear.
Doing tasks as they come up is a good habit to develop. When you finish washing and drying a load of laundry, resist the urge to leave the clothes in the machine or a basket with the intention of dealing with them later. Hang, fold, and put away your clean clothes immediately.
5. PREVENT AND CLEAR CLOGGED DRAINS
No one likes dealing with clogged drains. You have probably put off the task of clearing a drain by rationalizing “It still drains, it just takes a while.” The trouble is a clogged drain will never get better with time. If you let it get too bad, you may even have to hire a plumber, and that gets expensive. It is better to address the problem as soon as you notice it. There are several ways to clear a clogged drain.
You can clear the drain manually using a drain snake. This can be a simple piece of plastic you operate by hand, or you can invest in an electric drain snake that extends and retracts to clear your drain. You can even fashion your own drain snake by straightening a wire clothes hanger with a hook on the end. Whichever you choose, slide the snake down the drain, move it around to catch the blockage, and then pull it back out.
Another method to clear your drain is to pour a cleaning solution into it. You can start with boiling water unless you have PVC pipes, in which case boiling water can damage the plastic and loosen the joints. If boiling water fails or your pipes are not suited for it, mix equal parts vinegar and baking soda. Pour the mixture down the drain, wait a few minutes, and follow with boiling water if applicable. If the drain is still clogged, you may need to try a commercial product, like Drano.
To avoid clogged drains altogether, get into the habit of using a snake and/or cleaning solution on your drain every few weeks. Make it part of your regular bathroom-cleaning routine.
6. CLOSE YOUR SHOWER CURTAIN
It is easy to absentmindedly open the curtain, step out of the shower and carry on with your day, but leaving your wet shower curtain open is not hygienic. When the curtain is left open, wet folds stick together and cannot air dry, making a dank home for mold and mildew. Get into the habit of pulling your shower curtain closed after each use to let it dry and save yourself the future trouble of dealing with a moldy curtain. For more information about cleaning your bathroom, click here.
DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN GOOD HABITS
It is never too late to develop good habits for keeping a clean home, but the sooner the better. If you are a young adult, especially if you are living on your own for the first time, these tips can go a long way toward giving you the clean, calming and pleasant living space you deserve. Keeping these habits also instills self-discipline, setting you up for success in all aspects of life.
Taking care of these tasks on your own is great, but it is okay to ask for help. If you are too busy or want to treat yourself, GCM will be happy to step in and lighten your workload. Get in touch with us anytime to discuss what we can do for you. Request a free quote and get a voucher for $35 off!
