After living in both of my college apartments, I realized that initially cleaning and organizing the space was one struggle, but making sure that it stayed that way was another. The first task is a periodic thing, but the second requires more consistency.
To keep your small apartment clean and organized, use multifunctional furniture, clean up after yourself, make a cleaning schedule, become a “shoes off” kind of apartment, buy a coat rack or hooks, refrain from having too much stuff, ask for help when you need it and clean your furniture.
Keeping an apartment clean isn’t always about finding a free day to do so, it’s about putting in a little extra effort every single day.
1. Use Multifunctional Furniture
A hack to keep your apartment from getting cluttered is having multiple places to put away your things. Having furniture that doubles as storage space, such as an ottoman, will give you ample options when it comes to putting your clutter away. Another type of storage furniture is a hollow bench. These are usually used to hold extra blankets and throw pillows. They’d make a great place to keep your cozy fall/winter fabrics during the warm spring and hot summer. Additionally, a hollow coffee table is way better than a normal one.
2. Clean Up After Yourself
One of the easiest, yet, semi-tedious ways to keep the mess and clutter to a minimum is to clean up after yourself. I know this sounds like the same advice you’ve been hearing since you were five, but the truth is, all the adults were right. It’s easier to clean up a little bit each day than take 5 hours to tidy up a big pile of mess. This means putting everything back exactly where it belongs after you use it, storing your dirty dishes in the dishwasher, hand washing them after every meal if you don’t have a dishwasher, making your bed right after you wake up, etc. All of these simple things get harder to do as life gets busier, but ignoring them is exactly how we end up with an intimidating mountain of clutter and mess to tackle.
3. Make A Cleaning Schedule
Even when your apartment is clearly dirty, some of you might tell yourselves “I’ll clean it when I have enough time”, but your schedule never seems to free up. Living spaces can only go a certain number of days without being refreshed before they become unhygienic to live in. Your home has to get cleaned and organized at some point, which is why it’s time to create a schedule.
If you set aside time in advance, it can motivate you to keep that space open no matter what instead of waiting for free time to fall into your lap. Let’s be honest, half the time we catch a moment to ourselves, we’d rather spend it having fun or relaxing, not cleaning. That results in us putting the task off again and again. Plan that day ahead of time so that you’re mentally prepared for the task.
4. Get It Organized In The First Place
In order to keep your apartment organized, it has to be that way to begin with. If your home is looking a bit messy and cluttered, tackle the task of organization first. Here are 11 ways to do just that. Though, this can be a bit hard to accomplish if you live in a small place with no storage space. Here are 11 tips on how to deal with that situation. Maybe storage space isn’t the problem though; the real issue might be that you have too much stuff overall. Here are 11 ways to know if this problem applies to you.
5. Become A “Shoes Off” Kind Of Apartment
One of the quickest ways to dirty up your apartment is by trampling all over the floor with dirty shoes on. This is especially true if you have carpets because the dirt is more visible on them. That’s why, from this day forward, you have to tell your guests to take their shoes off at the door.
I know this can make you seem a little germaphobic, but if you want to keep your apartment looking clean, this is a necessary step. Buy a shoe rack, shoe tray or any other kind of shoe storage and put it right next to the entrance. This will completely minimize the amount of dirt that can get tracked into the apartment.
6. Buy A Coat Rack Or Hooks
During those rainy or snowy days, you don’t want to drop your wet coat off on the couch, on the floor, and definitely not in the closet with your clean clothes. To keep your apartment clean and organized, you’ll want to leave it by the door. You’ll also want to do the same with other forms of clothing that you wear outside everyday. Things such as hats, gloves and scarfs. Doing this will also organize them neatly and in a way that makes sense. If you wanted to buy a coat rack and hooks, then you could use the latter for keys and whatnot.
7. Refrain From Having Too Much Stuff
Like I briefly mentioned in my 4th tip on this list, you’re going to want to make sure that your disorganized apartment isn’t the result of having too many things. There’s only so much you can do for an apartment when it’s filled with a 3 story house’s worth of stuff. Having just the right amount of belongings in a home makes it feel open and inviting. It also makes it much easier to clean and organize. Take some time to pilfer through your things and donate, sell, or toss anything that doesn’t need to be there.
8. Ask For Help When You Need It
Sometimes, you are just way too busy to even think about cleaning. Your place can’t stay dirty and disorganized forever though, so it’s time to call in some help. If you have any family or friends that are willing to come over and help tackle your home’s mess, ask them to give you a hand. It will make the cleaning process go by much faster. If you don’t have this as an option, you might want to hire a cleaning service if you have the money to do so.
9. Clean Your Furniture When Necessary
Even though we don’t have to clean our couch, chairs, carpet, mattress, etc. often, they still need to be touched up periodically. Otherwise, they could contribute to the messy look of an unclean apartment. Make sure to use the correct cleaning method for each piece of furniture though, or else you’ll risk damaging it. As for your carpet, read this post for instructions on how to tidy it up. This is a guide on how to clean your mattress.
10. If You Don’t Have Time, Divide Up The Cleaning Days
Some of you might be thinking that you need to clean and organize your entire apartment in one sitting. This isn’t the case. You can do this over the course of a couple days. One way to divide up the cleaning is by room. On Monday, you organize the living room, your bedroom on Tuesday, your bathroom on Wednesday, etc. If that’s not your speed, you can divide up the cleaning and organization by task. Do the dusting on Monday, do your laundry on Tuesday, sweep the floors on Wednesday, etc. Tackling a little bit each day will get your place clean and keep it that way slowly but surely.
11. Clean The Air While You’re At It
One last place you’re going to want to keep clean is the air in your apartment. Since you breathe it in, you don’t want it to be dirty. One way to do this is by getting an air purifier. Here are a few on amazon that you could browse through. Another way to do this is by ventilating the space. Open all of your windows and let the outdoor breeze fill the place for at least 10 minutes a day. Turn on any fans that you have as well to help it flow all throughout the space. Here are 11 other effective ways to circulate fresh air in an apartment.
