Image by dawnella66 via Flickr
Do you lead a pressured life? Perhaps you are a working mom who has to leave the house
two minutes after the kids in the morning and only gets home again in the evening. Or
you are a doctor working long shifts at unusual hours. Or you may be a home worker, and
even though you are physically in the house you are so busy with your work that you
don’t get a chance to do any of the standard
household tasks that need to be taken care of.
The uniting factor between all of the individuals mentioned above is that they probably
do not get too much time to do the housework. One option is, of course, to hire household
help. But anyone who has children will tell you that the nice, tidy
living room that is left
does not stay that way for very long. Unless you hire a live-in slave, you will therefore
have to at least fill in the gaps between your cleaner’s visits.
So how do you keep your living room looking neat when you have so little time
available? Here are some useful tips to help you:
- Tidy up as you go. For example, if your child has been playing a game in the
living room you must make sure that every single piece is picked up as soon as
they have finished. And depending on the age of the child, he or she should be the
one to pick it up and put it away. Don’t leave it till later, or the mess will only get
worse!!!
- Every single thing needs a home. Therefore, there should be a rack for magazines,
a shelf for books, a drawer for papers, and a bin for garbage …
- Similarly, educate your Significant Other to hang coats or jackets on pegs or
hangers, rather than on the backs of chairs because this always looks untidy and
also creates the “have you seen my best jacket” scenario that most of us try to
avoid.
- Create a list of things that you will always make sure are done before you go to
bed at night. For example, this could include making sure that any dirty cups left
lying around are washed and put away, that the table is clear, and that the sofas
are left with nothing on them. These are small tasks, yet they make a huge
difference to how a room looks.
- Write down in your personal calendar one day a week when you do a thorough
clearing up of the living room. Again, if you have been trying to keep basic order
through the rest of the week, this should not take too long or be too difficult.
Here, tasks would include vacuuming the
carpet flooring or
washing the
laminate flooring, dusting surfaces, clearing out the mess
under the sofas and in the corners, and making sure that the bookcases and
sideboards are orderly and clear. You can also make a bi-weekly list that would
include cleaning the windows, and a monthly list that would include washing the
drapes. Planning is everything, and just as you plan a business meeting, you can
also slot certain household tasks into your personal schedule.
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