This happens to the best of us, we get caught up in something called life and zap, next thing you know the year has come to an end and one of the most celebrated festival is here -Diwali, yes Diwali is three weeks away! You have a major panic attack and don’t know where you want to start cleaning up!
Trust me I have been there and have done that. I want to help make cleaning and declutter a fun and easy on the pocket business! You need some easy hacks and to dos and get your hands on these free printables on decluttering and deep cleaning to make the process as easy as checking it off on a list.
Declutter
First things first, protect your hands and wear gloves. Secure your hair and wear comfortable clothing. Trust me these things deter you from being productive during your declutter/ cleaning chores.
Next, touch one room at a time, don’t go ninja turtle on all rooms at once, it will tire you out sooner than you think and the resulting clutter will make you stress more.
Now, empty out contents from shelves, cabinets or wadrobes, whichever is relevant to the room you decide to march in. Make four piles of the stuff you want to keep, throw, donate and rescue. Work through the shelves accordingly and then at the end of it all, pass the contents of the ‘keep pile’ back to shelves neatly. The rest need to go to a donation centre or trash/ recycle bin or a to an electrician/ craft section/ whatever place it is relevant to go.
One key rule I follow is to label all the containers and organizers. Spice containers, cleaning supplies or even knick knacks in the closet can be labeled. It helps in keeping things organized and makes it all aesthetically appealing as well. You can reuse old condiment jars, recycle cardboard boxes and plastic bins as organizers too.
Photo by Jess Watters
Another important trick is to use small S-hooks to hang and organize things in the kitchen, kids room or laundry. Remember that getting rid of things you don’t need is important but it is very important to organize things you want to keep efficiently too. Space is expensive nowadays so if your pocket allows, invest in good sturdy kitchen and wadrobe organizers to make your life easy.
Cleaning
Kitchen
Photo by Jason Leung
Label, label and label
I cannot stress on the importance of labelling contents of any space for the ease of organizing and locating things.
Get creative
Use S-hooks on curtain roads or the one near the backsplash to hang tea cups, coffee mugs, pots and pans. Bring in some plate and shelve organizers to store glasses, crockery etc. To store things that you need frequently but have to go all the way to the back of the shelf, use lazy suzans or turntables to easily access them.
Photo by wu yi
Photo by Jarosław Ceborski
Do it yourself
For places like Kitchen, refrigerator and bathrooms, I always use a homemade vinegar cleaning solution – 1 cup vinegar to 2 cups water and few drops of your favorite essential oil. That’s it, its that simple, pocket friendly, ecofriendly and baby friendly solution to clean your mess in the kitchen or otherwise.
Bedroom
Photo by Manny Pantoja
Wash/Dry Clean
Put all linen and fabrics for wash & move out the furniture, do the usual drill – dusting, brooming and mopping.
Flip the mattress
Get some baking soda from your kitchen and sprinkle it on your mattress, if you are feeling lucky and have some lavender oil, add a few drops to the soda, please don’t go overboard and sprinkle it on your mattress. Let your room breath, open the windows and let the sunlight come in.
Bathroom
Photo by Icons8 team
Start from top surfaces
Dust, mop and wipe down everthing.Dump any trash into a bin or a small bag.
Mirror Miracle
Clean the mirrors with the help of some talcum powder and newspaper. Yes! It works like a miracle
Apply the DIY vinegar cleaner on the insides of the WC and basin and give a good scrub after 20 minutes. Throughly wash them and viola you have a shiny bath.
Clean the floor
I normally steam clean floors, but regular mopping is good too. Just mop it all up in the end to make everything squeaky clean.
Lastly, once you are done with all the cleaning and organizing. You need to relax and boil a pot of water with sliced up oranges or lemon with some cinnamon sticks to make your home smell like heaven.
I hope these tips and tricks have made your chores a little easier and will let you enjoy the festivities for the next few weeks to come. Stay tuned for some more posts on Diwali, the count down has just begun! 🙂
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