When one moves out of their parent’s house to start a life of their own, the apartments they move into typically are on the smaller side. Chances are, they may not have a lot of items to shift over from the old residence, so they are contented with a small living space of their own to call home.
Many of us would agree that our journey would have started on a similar note. However, we also know that our belongings slowly increase with time, and the amount of space to accommodate them gradually decreases.
At first glance, it seems that the solution to this would be to move to a bigger apartment; however, not only is this unrealistic, sometimes all that your apartment needs is a good declutter of unnecessary personal items or furniture, completed with a thorough spring cleaning. If you are a homeowner with plenty of things to do away with, here are some cleaning tips to help you maximize your living space.
1. Don’t put it down – put it away
One of the many bad habits that we unconsciously do that causes a messy and disorganized home is to use certain items and not return them to their homes right afterwards. Instead, we place it randomly in the house, or we tell ourselves ‘I’ll put it here first and pick it up later when I’m along the way to my room”. As a result, not only would the space slowly be a mess, but you will also be scrambling to look for the item the next time you need it. Kick this bad habit and instill a “don’t put it down – put it away” mantra in your mind. Gradually, the next time you take something off the shelf, you will instinctively put it right back where it belongs once you are done using it, ultimately maintaining the tidiness of your apartment.
2. Keep wall decorations to a minimum
Walls make up the bulk of your apartment’s visual space, and it can be tempting to hang up or decorate plenty of items onto the wall when you move into a house with a clean slate. However, if your walls are filled with too much decoration, it can cause substantial visual obstruction, making the living area feel stuffy and small. Not everything needs to be hung up on a wall; consider using a picture frame that can stand on your television console or have a dedicated feature corner within that entire stretch of wall space. Keeping your walls clean and free from any objects can make the area feel more spacious.
A rule of thumb is to have a negative space within your home, such as having an empty wall free from any decorations or furniture. This allows you and your guests to have a resting visual space for the eyes and better appreciate the existing decorations or pictures.
3. Organize your kitchen countertop after every use
In most apartments, the kitchen countertop is likely filled with appliances such as a rice cooker, an electric stove, and perhaps a kitchenware organizer. While cooking is an enjoyable experience, the clean-up afterwards can be a chore as we leave bottles of condiments and spices out while cooking. Again, have the stowaway mantra as you cook and after that, give both your cooking appliances and the countertop a clean sweep to get rid of splatters and grease. You can also have a negative space in the kitchen by keeping said appliances to one side of the kitchen to keep visual obstruction to a minimum.
4. Clean the floors regularly
Not only should the floors be cleaned regularly because they are the surface that encounters dirt the most, but the floors are also the very foundation of the illusion that you are trying to create of a larger space. Suppose the carpet on your floor is matted, dusty, or manifesting other signs that it has not been cleaned enough. In that case, its negative impact on visuals will bleed into how much space you have, pulling down the room’s look instead of making it look spruced up and organized. Because your apartment floor is not within your normal field of view, make it a habit to lightly vacuum your floors daily and do a thorough cleaning at the end of the week.
5. Keep the windows spotless
The more light you have streaming into your room, the bigger and airier it will appear. Windows are vital because they let natural light in – and while window cleaning is an obvious solution to this, many overlook it because windows are not necessarily a high touchpoint, unlike dining tables and kitchen countertops. Not to mention, because of how it is positioned, windows are tough to clean. Consider using a magnetic window squeegee to get both sides of the windows squeaky clean, fast.
Apart from letting light in, windows provide a great access point to the outdoors – having an outdoor view makes the space you are in feel less boxed up and more connected to nature and outdoors.
6. Wipe your standalone mirrors and rearrange them
Besides natural light, mirrors are also a nifty way of creating the illusion of a much larger space when positioned strategically in your home, such as opposite open windows to reflect more light into the area or against a wall to make the room look bigger than it is.
As such, mirrors should be regularly wiped, especially if you regularly have guests with kids over or pets within the home. A mirror with fingerprints and pet fur sticking onto it is a sure-fire way of reflecting to outsiders just how poorly we upkeep our home.
Conclusion
Finally, once you have taken the necessary steps to make your home feel more spacious, the next challenge is to try and maintain it. Have a schedule to keep track of your cleaning routines and consider making it a family activity for everyone to learn the importance of keeping the home clean and tidy.
While this is the ideal that we should strive to achieve, it is common not to have the privilege of time or family to help with the household chores. But fret not, as at APlus Clean Solutions, we can be the professional help that you need to make your apartment clean and organized. We provide high-quality home and office general cleaning services in Singapore, including carpet shampooing and deep extraction washing to save you the trouble of cleaning them on your own. Give us a call today at +65 8233 6300 to learn more about our customized solutions for you!