The daily chores of home maintenance often take up too much time than we would like. While maintaining and cleaning our homes is part of healthy living, there are methods (or should we say shortcuts!) to cleaning up and organizing faster than we could have thought. Here are some different household chores that can take up less time in your everyday living.
Dusting Shelves
Stop doing this with the quick trick of lining up the spines of your books with the edge of the shelves! This creates less of a ledge on your shelves, eliminating one dust-collecting area in your home. And if you polish your furniture, you don't have to make that a weekly task, instead opt to do it every two or three weeks.
Hand-drying Dishes
Even with a dish rack, sometimes when we pick up our plates they are still wet. Utilizing a towel to dry our dishes, however, is way LESS sanitary than letting your plates and cups dry by sunlight. If that's the case, invest in a drying mat and place it in an area in your kitchen that catches sunlight. Another thing that you could try if you use your dishwasher is to run it every other day, rather than every day. Not only will you be saving money on your water bill, but you will also be helping the environment.
Laundry
It is probably a habit for everyone to wash all their clothing after one wear. Other than our undergarments, however, not every piece of clothing needs to be washed after every wear. The only reason you need to
wash your clothes after one wearing is if you stained it or sweated through it. Here, you will not only be saving time, but also money on your water bill, and time wishing you hadn't thrown your favorite pants in the wash.
Another thing that takes up time that you don't necessarily
have to do is fold your underwear. Plus, since these are the things you will be washing the most, what's the point? Most underwear does not wrinkle, so if anything you could just throw them back into your drawer. However, if you crave a more organized approach, you could also easily stack them flat on top of one another, or roll them up with the
Kondo Method.
Scrubbing Stains
Tupperware and other plastic items that we have become stained so easily with our zesty and flavorful meals. Food discoloration on these items can be removed by bright and direct sunlight! Instead of scrubbing them, leave them out in sunlight either indoors or outdoors, saving you a good amount of time and energy
Oven Spills
Cooking those juicy meals or sweet desserts in the oven can sometimes
make a mess on the bottom of your baking appliance. Instead of needing to scrub the inside of your oven following meals to remove any caked on and hard to remove spills, use aluminum foil to line the bottom of the oven while in use! The foil will not only catch these spills, but you could then just ball it up and throw it away.
Ironing
Another laundry tip for the plethora of clothes we have is to look for more wrinkle-resistant clothes or remove your clothes immediately from the dryer after washing. Immediate folding or hanging will keep your wrinkle-prone garments crease-free and wearable when you need them.
Bathroom Cleaning
The place where we do our business is the one we need to maintain the most. That being said, a way to lessen your efforts and maybe clean your bathroom less frequently is to rinse your sink after brushing your teeth, getting rid of most sink grime. You could also use a squeegee on glass shower doors or walls and a deodorizing product on your toilet to keep it sanitized for longer.