The Apartment-Dweller's Guide to Cleaning

Cleaning an apartment can be a real hassle. All of those small spaces make it easier for clutter and dirt to hide. I'm thankful to now have a larger house but I learned some great cleaning techniques in my apartment-dwelling days. I only wish someone had helped me out back then.

Here are some tips to help make apartment cleaning less of a hassle:

De-clutter

It's easy for smaller spaces to get cluttered and in apartment living, clutter equals mess. To de-clutter, you need to get rid of anything that you don't really need and try not to bring new junk into your apartment that doesn't have a purpose. If you don't remember that you have it, then it's probably not important enough to keep.

Cleaning out the clutter will free up your space for tidying up and keeping it neat and clean in the future.

Get Organized

Organization will help you keep a small area clean. Use bins, baskets, and other organizational tools to help you organize your things so they do not clutter up the apartment. Organization helps you prevent the clutter. If everything has a place, then it should be in its place and not thrown all over the apartment. Sometimes you get a mess because you don't have the proper organizational tools in place to help you sort your stuff.

Clean as You Go

One big problem with apartment life is that smaller spaces can mean messes go unnoticed until they get really bad, or until you decide to move some furniture. Eek!

So "clean as you go" is a great policy that you can adopt today. Don't leave that mess in the kitchen for "later" no matter how tempting it might be and when you get back from the laundromat with those clothes, put them away right then.

If you spill something on the floor, clean it up then before it gets sticky, or hardens and starts growing eyes. Apartment messes are a hassle but when left untreated, they become downright frightening!

Use Multipurpose Cleaners

When you live in an apartment or other small space, you already have issues with space. The last thing you need is a bunch of cleaning products cluttering up the place. You can simplify cleaning with multipurpose cleaners and tools. There are devices that act as a broom/sweeper/mop in one as well as cleaning products that are used on everything from counters to appliances to windows and mirrors. The more you can consolidate, the easier it will be to get your cleaning done.