Simple tricks from a seasoned housewife to make you love cleaning and do it faster

Ever since my mother and I moved into a new house, tidying up has become a nightmare for me. After all, cleaning a private house is not the same as cleaning a two-room apartment. But the worst thing is that a huge amount of things accumulate in such a large area. Previously, it was not possible for me to keep everything clean, so life in a rented apartment as a student at first seemed like paradise to me.

Years passed, my mother had already retired, and my sister and I, from old memory, still went to visit her to “put things in order.” Imagine our surprise when, during our last visit, we still couldn’t find anything we could help with. Everything is clean, everything is in its place, it’s a joy to the eye. My first thought was that a well-deserved rest with my husband would do my mother good. It turned out that it was not so much a matter of relaxation, but rather her new hobby - konmari .

How to make cleaning a private house a joy

Unsplash It's hard to believe that cleaning a two-story home can be a joy. This is probably why my mother was so interested in konmari - the art of cleaning, which literally means the name of its creator Marie Kondo. It was she who wrote the book “Magic Cleaning”, which even found its continuation in the TV series on Netfli. But my mother did not stop at this journalism. After all, Regina Reeds' method turned out to be much closer to her spirit.

Regina Reeds claims that the space around us is capable of creating special vibrations. Chaotically scattered things and dirt vibrate at low frequencies, plunging us into depression. While simplicity and ease in the environment can inspire us to do good deeds. To achieve harmony with your home, the writer suggests going through the following steps: deleting, sorting and organizing.



Unsplash Let's look at the example of my mother, what cleaning rules , based on this theory, she uses. And I must say, the house has become much fresher!

How to clean a private house: cleaning the space Cleaning a private house (and not only) begins with decluttering. You need to get rid of old things, and this is the most difficult thing! It’s quite difficult to do this the first time, so my mother developed her own technique. It was always a problem for her to part with an old photo frame, dried flowers, cracked saucers. Over the years, there have been so many such things that even my mother realized: this cannot continue.



Unsplash But she also felt sorry for throwing it away. So she decluttered the rooms one at a time, collecting items in the center and starting to carefully select. First, necessary and valuable things are put aside, things that are needed for every day. Then items that are absolutely not needed and can be thrown away or given away. Then you discover that 40% of what is left are quite old items and clothes that you no longer use . However, they are not old enough to be thrown away. Perhaps out of fashion. Perhaps a little worn or no longer needed. Mom put these things in neat boxes and hid them on the closet.

Every couple of months she goes through those boxes again, coming to the conclusion that she didn't even remember about most of these things. And it becomes much easier to part with them. The realization comes that she doesn’t need these items at all . As they say, separation takes time.



Unsplash Regina Reeds also points out in her book Perfect Order: You don't have to throw things away or give them away. Sometimes it is enough to repair them or give them a fresh look. After all, sometimes we are just too lazy to put some things in working condition and we continue to store them.

Everything has its place: how to organize space in the house In order to properly store things , first of all you need to organize the storage places themselves. How many hangers do you think you need so as not to catch one shirt on another? The average wardrobe should have up to 30 hangers so that all the items that need to hang finally find their place. You shouldn't skimp on this.



Unsplash What about the drawers? If you divide them into convenient sectors for storing socks, underwear and other small wardrobe items, it will become easier. My mother decided to do something even more interesting. She bought boxes (those that are usually placed in offices) for everything she needed. She has laundry boxes that she puts under her bed. Boxes for all sorts of little things like combs, mirrors, hair ties and barrettes. Towel boxes and even magazine boxes.

When you open the door of her closet, you realize that nothing catches your eye and nothing falls from the top shelves. Each item has its own sector, and this is very convenient. The same thing happened in the kitchen: mom bought transparent containers for cereals and other bulk products. And I distributed the spices into neat jars. No plastic bags or torn packaging! And the products last longer.



Unsplash Only my mother admitted that with her memory, at first it was difficult for her to remember where everything was. And she even attached labels to some of the boxes.

There is a time for everything: when to do general cleaning The main rule of the Regina Reeds method is frequency. Each item has its own season, and should not be mixed with others. Therefore, with the onset of warm weather, the down jacket is sent to the dry cleaner, and the sweaters are sent to the distant shelves. To a place where you don’t have to think about them for six months. However, the change from a cold season to a warm one is not the only reason for cleaning .

According to research, general cleaning should take place once a quarter. That is, every 3 months all the boxes need to be wiped, checked and put back in place. Freshness in the house comes first! And it’s much easier to deal with this when the entire space is already organized.



Unsplash There are many techniques to help keep your home clean. Among them are Marie Kondo and Marla Sally with her FlyLady system. In their books you can learn several good life hacks when you need to clean a private home without sacrificing your weekend. My sister and I are very proud that our mother has finally found harmony with the house. And we are happy to see her new methods of cleaning when cleaning a private home.