Yes we know it’s April, but do we really need yet another spin around the sun to say to ourselves, ‘yep this is the year I change things around in this house.’ Time’s an illusion now anyway, so it’s never too late for a new year resolution to come to life (or be implemented in full swing.) Good changes and good habits are always welcome.
The idea is to start with something tiny and super easy, so you feel like you’re getting somewhere with this. A simple resolution that motivates you to follow through with the rest. Ensure they’re SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. But we are only here to talk about cleaning resolutions for your home, it’s what we do best. There will be zero judgement on our end if you don’t cut ‘Yoga every day’ off your list.
For the cleaning side of things, read away -
Declutter, declutter, declutter
Everything begins with a clear space, as they say, a decluttered space is a decluttered mind. Do away with things that ‘don’t spark joy anymore’ (any Marie Kondo enthusiasts in the crowd?). Be methodical and go room by room, say one room a day. Dig out all the things you don’t use anymore - be it an unused utensil or a dress you just never seem to get around to - and keep them aside. Ask yourself a series of questions - have you used it in the past 6 months? Does it hold sentimental value? Is it broken and can you fix it?
Your answers will lead you to decide whether you want to donate them, give them to a friend, or even sell them. If you can upcycle them somehow, even better. It’s all about being eco-friendly in this house. It’s okay if you want to store them or keep them anyway, just be sure to do something about it hereon.
Surface cleaning
Begin with the smallest and easiest cleaning task and keep the most dreaded corner of the house for last. Increasing order of dread is the way to go.
Flat surfaces are the simplest and often all they require is a good wipe. Start with your living room table, move to the office desk, windows, appliances and then move onto kitchen cupboards and (wait for it) your closet. As they also say ‘you gotta do what you gotta do.’ Put your Multi-Purpose Cleaning Agent into overdrive and commence! Koparo’s All purpose cleaner will come in handy, your friendly neighbourhood organic house cleaning product.
Dedicate 5 minutes to cleaning before you hit the sack
Everynight before going to bed, take out five minutes to sort some things out around you. Sort out the kitchen or the drawing room, take one space and go at it. If you have kids, make them do the same, it’s a wonderful habit to keep and better if they start young. Ensure 5 minutes are dedicated to putting away all the toys and crayons in their respective places.
More importantly try keeping away the clothes piling up on the chair the same day itself, trust us you’ll thank yourself in the morning.
Cut down on your carbon footprints
This might also help you cut down on your bills. Indeed this is an essential part of your house clean up.
- Ditch the incandescent lights and switch to LED
- Switch off unwanted fans, heater, AC (run on eco mode when possible), lights when leaving the room. Unplug devices when not in use, energy gets consumed when you leave them on
- Take shorter showers, and don’t leave your geyser on hours before.
Switch to Organic House Cleaning Products
Now that’s something we can help you with, in an instant. So, consider it checked off. With a range of eco friendly and plant-based home care cleaners, Koparo ensures that zero toxins enter your house.
Maintain a Cleaning-Supply bag
Use a tote or a canvas bag to keep all your everyday cleaning products such as your rag cloth, brush, all purpose spray, floor disinfectant etc. It’s the lack of ease and accessibility that causes a lot of us to break our resolutions. When we find our go-to equipment all in one place, we end up smoothening the process out for ourselves. It’s neat and organised way of going about things.
Divide the work
If you share spaces with people, even your family then divide the work. You can’t and shouldn’t be expected to do it all. Divide chores among your kids or your partner, assign them areas of the house. This will ensure efficiency for you and responsibility for them.
Work out a system for cleaning - you can’t do everything everyday!
Take this as an addendum to the previous point. Divide different cleaning tasks according to frequency. Some will be daily, weekly, fortnightly and some monthly. You decide what suits you best. For instance, while sweeping is an everyday deal, wet mopping can be for weekends, microwave fortnightly and your closet monthly.
Finish what you have before buying
Ensure you keep an inventory of what’s left in every storage cupboard and pantry. More often than not this is a major source of clutter in our house. We end up purchasing identical items to an extent where it borders on hoarding, now that’s a habit to unlearn. Use up all the extra soup packets, soap bars and moisturisers before getting more into the house. This will also help in reducing your waste by helping you calculate your consumption habits.
Check before leaving a room
Before leaving a room take a second to look around you and see what you’ve left behind or if there is something out of place. If there are cups left behind, take them out every time you decide to move out. If there is something you’ve taken out of the shelf or a cupboard, put it back. Those tiny efforts will save you from one giant clean-up at the end of the day.