I have to make some seriously change in my life. Here’s a confession: my apartment is a mess. I think I clean it every weekend, and then during the week, the clothes and dishes and paper and shoes just pile up. Mess, clean, repeat. Now that I only have one day off a week, I really need to reevaluate how I spend that time. The last thing I want to do is spend it cleaning. And when the rest of my life is busy and stressful, the last thing I want to come home to is a busy and stressful apartment…this does not help my sanity.
So I need to make a change. I need to learn to not make a mess. Prepare my outfit the night before so I don’t try on every dress in my closet every morning and don’t hang them back up. Wash my coffee cup before I leave for work. Read and sort my mail each night. Just maintain my personal space so it’s inspiring and comforting.
Have any other tips for keeping a clean house without really thinking about it? How do you keep your space inviting for yourself? Please share…I’ll absolutely try it out and report back.
Yes, picking out clothes the night before helps. I don’t know if you take a lunch or eat breakfast at home but I’ve found that doing that on Sundays or the night before helps immensely. We’ve been trying to be really good about cleaning the kitchen right after dinner so that I don’t have to do it when I want to cook (is there anything more annoying than that?). I’ve also stopped bringing up mail that I don’t need, which has helped a lot with clutter!
I do my best to keep individual messes in their respective spaces/rooms rather than lazily transferring it somewhere else when the piles get in the way or become too big… Like moving a pile of clothes from my bed to the couch when I’m ready to turn in for the night. By refusing to push the problem to another area of the apartment, I force myself to either clean or sleep on top of the contents of my closet, which no one wants to do.
I do a mini housekeeping chore in the morning before work. 15 minutes to 30 minutes max. Just one item only. You would be amazed by the time you got to the sacred day off, how much that will help keep your spaces ready for you to enjoy
You know me really well, so know that I spend time on this every day. Therein lies my suggestion. Create patterns of behavior, and follow them every day. Clear horizontal surfaces every night before bed. Pick outfits every night. Go through the mail, toss and sort everyday. Make your bed every morning, it will make your apartment look cleaner. The minute it takes is long enough for you focus on breathing to de-stress before you leave. Double benefit. Try these or others that work for you. Speaking of work, one day off a week? Is your apartment sending a message? “Home”work and rest each need their own day. <3 Love you.
I struggle with this all the time. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve always been messy. My dad constantly reminded me that the key is to keep up with neat behaviors, but maybe I’m just too lazy. I actually invite people over in order to force myself to clean…but then most of the mess ends up behind the closed door of my bedroom ;)
It’s an endless battle, keeping a place tidy! Every night I play one song, and race around trying to get as much done as I can before the song is over — I usually end up repeating it a few times, but somehow this makes the nightly ritual a bit more manageable — and a little less miserable.
I read a great tip in “The Happiness Project” which was to clean up for ten minutes nightly before bed, sometimes it’s the last thing you want to do but really makes a drastic difference in the organization and tidiness of an apartment (when I actually do it).
Nora
I have a great idea. try putting up your apartment up for sale – like my house. Everyday, you have to leave it perfect. No cups in the sink, no clothes out, no dirt, no mail out, and a quick wipe of the sink with windex.
it is maddening….. ask you mom, she did it all last week
but also, when you walk in….
it is clutter free, clean and beautiful.
xxoo love you nikki
Apartment Therapy has been of great help to me, as I struggle with this too. The suggestion that has helped me immensely is to clean for 10-15 minutes every day. When I get home from work I spend 10 minutes (sometimes less) picking up clothes, moving dishes to the dishwasher, etc. It really doesn’t feel like that long but you can get a lot done. Doing a little every day versus dealing with an extremely messy apartment on the weekend is much easier, less overwhelming for me. Give it a try!
This is really hard, but I just have a rule that I do not go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink, and I try to put everything away as I go (don’t let clothes pile up, make a concerted effort to put your outfits away every night after you wear them). It makes going to bed so much easier when you know you won’t be waking up to a mess in the morning!
Oh I so understand this post. I travel a LOT for work and my MO is pack, travel, unpack, toss on floor, pack, travel, unpack, toss on floor until I have a free day to do laundry. Mail is stacked up. And there are piles of whatnot…I feel like I just can’t catch up!
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Would you mind sharing where you purchased the lights over the island? I found this picture on Pinterest and would love to duplicate the lights over my future kitchen’s island! :) THANKS!
Love, Love your kitchen Island Pendants and as Katie asked, I would Love to know where you got them!
Lovely project! I have the same question: from which brand the lamps above the island are?
Thanks fro sharing best project. I love kitchen Island ..!