Think Your House Is a Mess? You’re a Neatnik Compared With These Pics
Think Your House Is a Mess? You’re a Neatnik Compared With These Pics
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Over on Instagram you’ll find a lot of cute selfies and gorgeously designed homes—as well as a whole lot of incredible messes. That’s right, many Instagrammers are aware that their house is in shambles—and hashtag it as such. And so if you care to search, you’ll find #messybedroom, #messybathroom, #messykitchen, and beyond.
And so, in honor of the end of the holiday season and all the chaos that lies in its wake, we’ve rounded up the worst messes social media have to offer. And to help out, we also tracked down expert advice on how to make sure you never have to use this #messy hashtag yourself.
#messykitchen
The kitchen is the main problem area for many people, says Mike Wills Jr. of New York’s Maid Marines Cleaning Service.
Rule No. 1? “Never leave dishes in the sink—they make a place appear really messy,” says Wills. (Picture above is Exhibit A.)
Take a few minutes to wash them right away or chuck them in the dishwasher. Return food to the fridge as soon as you’re done with it. And take out the recycling at least every other day—so empty bottles don’t pile up on tables. (Make it a habit to also sweep the floor every time you take out the garbage.)
Next up, countertops and kitchen islands tend to collect clutter. Instead, put random items—think mail and medicine bottles—in an organizer hidden in a drawer.
#messylivingroom
Your living room can get disorganized quickly, what with Netflix tunnel vision. The main areas you want to keep tidy are the couch and coffee table. Place a basket next to the couch for your magazines, toys, or other items that collect in this area, says Wills. Clean out the basket by returning the items to their proper place every other day or so.
And be sure to vacuum the carpets regularly. It’s easier to keep a carpet clean than cleaning a really dirty carpet, says Lily Cameron, a cleaning professional. Vacuum the entire carpet at least once a week. First run your vacuum cleaner forward and back, then repeat the process going left to right. Using that cleaning method ensures that every part of the carpet will be cleaned.
#messybedroom
The bedroom is one of the messiest rooms in the house because 1) you spend a lot of time with your eyes closed (aka sleeping) in this room, and 2) you can usually shut the door on the utter chaos in the morning. But your bedroom should be a sanctuary and deserves some attention! After all, you do spend a third of your life there.
Reduce the mess by making the bed each morning to get the main surface in the room in order, says Wills. Next up, get clothes off the floor! Put dirty clothes in a hamper as soon as you take them off—it’s almost as easy as throwing them on the ground. Put wastebaskets on each side of the bed so everything from used tissues to water bottles go into them instead of piling up. Finally, clear your nightstand every week and wipe down the surface, says Wills.
#messybedroom (kid edition)
Creating a routine children can stick to is really important in getting little ones to help keep their rooms tidy, says Debra Johnson, a cleaning expert at Merry Maids, one of the nation’s largest home cleaning services.
Clutter is what usually makes a child’s room look messy, so Johnson recommends splitting a child’s cleaning schedule up by daily tasks. For example, put laundry away on Monday, empty the trash on Wednesday, and make sure all the toys are put away before bedtime. This makes the task of cleaning less overwhelming for a child while reinforcing routine and responsibility.
#messybathroom
. Cleaning and organizing takes place in 3-2-1. #messybathroom #spaceutilization #needtoorganizemymakeupNo one likes to clean bathrooms, but this small space can quickly get out of hand if you don’t clean it regularly, says Wills. For starters, use your bathroom cabinets and drawers! Because the best way to keep your bathroom tidy is to not let things pile up that can be hidden away.
If you run out of storage space, organizing containers are your best friends, according to Wills, especially for makeup. Once you’ve cleared the counter, wipe down your sink every time you wash your face or brush your teeth to easily keep the bathroom looking picture-perfect.
#messygarage
When tackling an area like a garage, it’s all about purging, says Wills. This isn’t easy because the garage is where all the junk you don’t want to deal with ends up, usually shoved into some precarious mountain of stuff. But if it’s in the garage, chances are you don’t need it. So pick a date and hold a garage sale. You’ll get rid of the mess and make some cash. Going forward, just remember garages are all about floor space. So keep it clear with shelving that will keep boxes off the ground.
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