The Living Healthy in the Real World Guide to Cleaning and Organizing
Don’t forget to answer this month’s poll!
I’m a bit of a neat freak.
When the sisterroommate was moving out of our old apartment and we were looking for a new roommate for me, she warned our friend Mladen that he could only move in if he promised to be very clean and tidy. Otherwise, she told him, I would kick him out.
It must have been a serious warning, because he wound up being the cleanest roommate ever. He even scrubbed the bathtub several times… without me asking him to. I guess his mother trained him really, really well!
Anyway, even though he was clean enough, I still find it something of a relief to live alone in my condo with only my mess to clean up. There is never any mess left in my condo that I wasn’t a part of. Because of that, my condo remains fairly tidy all around. I tend to put things away immediately and wipe down counters as soon as I’m finished with them. I loathe returning home at the end of the day to a messy space. Because my condo is a bachelor suite, I can’t just chuck things in my bedroom and close the door, either: if my bed isn’t made and people come over to visit, it’s embarrassing because my bed is right there on display for guests to see. I like everything to be in order before I leave for work in the morning.
Although it’s difficult to control someone else’s mess, you can still learn to control your own mess and lead the others in your household by your example. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be hosting a Cleaning and Organizing mini-series to offer advice for organizing your home so that you can live in a clutter-free environment. And as always, I hope that you chime in with your own advice and suggestions throughout the mini-series!
The topics we’ll be addressing include:
Part One: Why You Should Clean (I know. You don’t really need to be told why. But there are some very good reasons, and I think it’s important to keep them in mind before we begin so as to stay motivated!)
Part Two: Starting Fresh (with tips on easy cleaning solutions)
Part Three: Cleaning and Organizing the Bathroom
Part Four: Creating a Welcoming Living Space
Part Five: Working in your Kitchen
Part Six: Making the Bedroom a Relaxing Area
Part Seven: Storage Options and Budgeting
Part Eight: Tying it All Together
What do you think? Is there anything I’m missing? Something you’d like to learn more about? Questions? You know where to leave them!
you nailed it and when I FINALLY tackled number six it changed my quality of sleep entirely!
cant wait to read…
Maybe you might want to consider a post on what to do when you are clean and your significant other is not? I know what I consider clean now is many rungs down the ladder from prior to my husband and I living together.
Looking forward to this series. My former roommate was male and exceptionally clean. Recently, my youngest sister moved in with me to attend a local college, but OMG is she dirty. I give her some slack as she is only 19, but “common sense” has not kicked in yet. Perhaps your series will provide her a more structured approach for keeping our living area clean.
As always, thank you for being insightful!
This will be great to read! I’m looking forward to it
(I need organization in my life!)
Katherine
Looking forward to it, Sagan! I like things clean, but I’m still somewhat disorganized. I’ve actually learned to embrace that and have come up with “compromise” systems that work well. 🙂
I am totally excited about this and looking forward to it!