Why cleaning up after yourself is so important and how to do it

Working full time, having a social life, going to the gym and keeping your apartment tidy definitely sounds overwhelming. However, it has been proven by several studies that living in a clean and organized home can improve your health, that is why today I want to introduce you to the habit of cleaning up after yourself. 

For years, my main philosophy was “If I don’t use it, then I don’t have to clean it.” So basically I lived in a never-ending game of trying to figure out how to make that yummy recipe without using more than two cooking utensils. Or worse- sleeping over my duvet cover set to make sure that my bed was always made.

As you can imagine, that was a really lousy philosophy because whenever I failed to apply my crazy rule I simply let things pile up until I had the strength to clean it up. Thankfully, when I moved to my first apartment I quickly realized that this method wasn’t doing me any good, and instead I decided to simply enjoy my stuff and start cleaning up after myself. 

Why’s it important to clean up after yourself?

Cleaning up after yourself is important because it helps free your time. Nobody wants to spend an entire day off from work cleaning their apartment or house. If you can just clean things up after you use them and are consistent, you won’t need to dedicate an entire Saturday to cleaning and can actually go out and enjoy it.

If you are living with roommates or with your partner, cleaning up after yourself is a must-follow rule in shared spaces in order to keep a good coexistence and maintain good relationships with those you are living with. 

Did you know that if things get really out of hand and messy, your landlord can tell you how clean to keep your apartment. Now this is only in extreme measures where things are smelling and/or dangerous, but it’s also just common courtesy especially if the landlord has a tour scheduled for prospective tenants.

9 Easy tips to practice how to clean up after yourself

Cleaning your bedroom

• Before going to bed, make sure to put all the clothes that you used during the day in the laundry basket/hamper.
• Set your alarm 5 minutes earlier every day and make sure to make your bed and put your pajamas (or whatever you sleep in) in the correct place. Be sure to leave your room in good condition every time you head out in the morning.

Keeping the kitchen clean

• While your food is cooking or heating up, clean all the appliances that you used to cook your meal. Do the same with the dishes once you finished your meal. If you have a dishwasher, load things as soon as you finish using them so they don’t pile up (and don’t forget to run it at night!).
• Check the perishable food in your fridge and cupboards once in a while to make sure you can eat them before they go bad. Pantries and fridges can get pretty messy when you don’t realize they are slowly accumulating food you’ll need to throw out anyway.
• Clean your countertops before you leave the kitchen, just a quick wipe!

The bathroom

• Once per week, take your cleaning products to the bathroom with you and clean your shower while you are in there and done showering yourself.
• Keep bleach gel stored in your bathroom and throw some gel inside the toilet before flushing it for the last time before you go to sleep.

The Living areas

• Pick up after yourself by returning things to where they go before leaving your living room.
• Have a place for your remotes, books, and anything else you use frequently.

Are you ready to start decluttering your life and try new habits? Clean up after yourself for a week and come back to tell me how it worked for you, I am sure you won’t regret it!