I've come to realize that having a job as an adult doesn't just mean working 9 to 5... it really means working 24/7- because when you’re not at work, you’re home- also working on the house. After 5PM, there’s a whole other list of chores. After all, the dirty pile of laundry, the stack of dirty dishes engulfed in gnats like in the “Sims” games, the muddy floor, the grimy toilets, and the dusty cabinets aren’t going to clean themselves!
If you do nothing during the workweek, when Friday rolls around and people ask what your weekend plans are- GUESS WHAT YOU’RE GONNA SAY, “Just a chill weekend you know” which is “adulting” code for “cleaning my entire fucking house because it’s a pigsty.”
Sometimes it’s easier to clean when you keep things tidy throughout the week, you know? In the way that a preventable mess is less stress! I mean, would you rather spend an entire Saturday cleaning or just a couple of hours? - this is not a trick question. Again, if you have a regular Monday through Friday type of job, do you really want to spend ONE out of your only TWO days OFF at home doing some cleaning? Absolutely not.
Thus- our weekly breakdown plan: my husband and I tackle cleaning together. We formed a tried and true plan of attack for our tiny two-bedroom apartment, which we can barely handle. Side note here: we both have a workout plan that we adhere to during the week as well- so time is very scarce.
Our master plan involves incorporating cleaning as part of our everyday life! That way, when the weekend rolls around- we still have this said “life.” You can break it down however you want, but this is what works for us:
Since my hubby cooks (thank ALL THE GODS), I do the dishes after dinner or when I come home from the gym. I try to keep up with them as much as possible but if I’ve had a crazy work week, they tend to pile up so my husband helps out when he can. We take out the trash and recycle together on Sunday since our neighborhood’s trash & recycle day is Monday.
I try to disinfect our bathrooms at least once weekly, and I do a deep-cleaning every two weeks.
As far as the floors, they drive my husband crazy- they are "off-white" tile and when ANYTHING falls on them-you can tell. He HAS to sweep at least once a day if he wants them to stay polished and fresh, however, sometimes he sweeps every other day.
For our laundry- we’ve narrowed down to washing clothes once every two days- I know this uses way too much water and electricity and I understand if this isn’t doable for you- but our neighborhood’s water costs are covered and using the machine so often doesn’t hurt our monthly bill. The task that where we tend to really procrastinate the most is folding the laundry once it’s finished. I guess because it can be really time-consuming, however, we agreed to do it on our weekly “date nights” while we are catching up on our Netflix series-of-the-month consuming a mix of scrumptious dinner & Malbec.
We usually hang most of our clothes in our respective closets. We only fold a couple of things like shirts, underwear and the rest of it is workout clothes. Folding laundry can take us up to an hour (or one Netflix episode) which is really not that bad- we just have to actually sit down and do it. I fold my workout clothes because they did not fit in my set of underwear drawers. I used to work out every single day and the amount of sports bras and gym pants I went through were too numerous to store along with my swimsuits, regular bras, and undershirts, etc... So that’s when I decided to get the TomCare 9-Cube Storage next to my closet. If you are not familiar with how to build one of these I did a fantastic video (if I do say so myself) showing this process step-by-step called How to Build TomCare Cube Storage 9-Cube Closet Organizer Shelves. They’re easy to build once you know the instructions and they're stackable too, so you can always add more if you need. I purchased the cubes in black to match the rest of the furniture in my bedroom, but they come in different colors I believe.
The cubes are like cupboards for my clothes and they have completely simplified my life when I need to go out for a quick run to burn off stress. All I have to do is reach into a cube and pull out my sports bra, next I grab anything from the "sweat pants" cube and finally I go through my "gym shirts" cube & I’m good to go, it doesn’t require much effort- I am no longer rummaging through my set of drawers (underwear pun intended) to fish out the ONE sports bra among the pile of panties. I mean, working out is hard enough right? It is so much more convenient to separate out these items from my regular clothes because again it makes life so much easier when I need to work out since I already lack the motivation (most of the time) to gym- I don’t want to ADD to the stress by not being able to quickly access what to wear.
As I mentioned already, my underwear is stored in a set of drawers underneath my hangers where I only have space for three drawers, therefore not enough room for ALL of my shoes and workout clothes. This is where the real efficient use of space comes in.
Besides the cubes, I ALSO bought a shoe rack that I could place next to my bedside table that wouldn’t crowd my bedside space. I got it in black, of course, so it would match, and I didn’t get one of those "metal-tube" ones because for some reason none of my heels can stay put in those- if you watch my YouTube video you'll see what I'm talking about. So I got stackable black shoe racks from a local retail store that have a "grill-like" surface where I can safely place all of my shoes, neatly. Again, see my " 'My House is a Disgusting Mess' Here are Easy Ways to Keep a House Clean plus Schedule" for reference. If you go for a shoe-shopping spree, you can always add more shoe rack levels which is ideal for more and more levels of space. You also get an extra level underneath the rack to place extra shoes.
As far as my closet goes, I really love the way I’ve organized it. It’s very functional for me and makes my life so much easier when I get dressed for work in the AM.
I’ve never been one of those people that diligently chooses their outfit the night before for two reasons: #1) I live in Florida so the weather could change literally overnight: from cold fronts to hurricanes to sunny days- the ever-changing weather of Florida is definitely not like a temperate summer day. AND #2) My moods are almost as fickle- I never know what I’ll feel like wearing that day and I don’t want to live in a world where I can’t decide what to wear two seconds before I have to run out the door! Therefore, I have to keep my closet really organized for those last minute #OOTD decisions.
I know keeping your closet clean and organized can seem impossible, but once you’ve got it down-pat it is LIFE-CHANGING. I even managed to color-code the items at some point to help keep my sanity.
The way it all started was by “Marie Kondoing” my entire wardrobe. I asked myself, “Does this denim mini-skirt spark joy?” And so on and so on. This was a sad moment for me because I realized my clubbing days were behind me- but I didn’t have the heart to rid myself of ALL clubbing clothes- I mean what if I ever went out dancing again? What if I ever needed to look slutty for just one day a year- like Halloween? After all, these are the only opportunities I'll have left to relive my college years! So I took my best dresses to the guest room closet where we had the extra space... and they have been gathering dust ever since- I should list them for sale on apps like "OfferUp" but then again, what if I have a dress emergency?!
Anyway… Every practical outfit I use on a weekly basis got hung up in my closet. I knew I needed work clothes to be the most accessible so I placed them at the front of the space where it was the most easy to grab. I gathered my designated office-appropriate sweaters and hung them up first to create a buffer between the rest of the clothes and the wall, I hung up my tougher work shirts after those, then my delicate work blouses, and finally my work pants to complete the office-wear section. I began my “casual Fridays” and weekend clothes section with blue jeans- a clear marker of leisure. After the denim came the “night out with friends” tops, and finally the “really nice night out” with friends tops and jackets, plus I added jewelry organizers to hang my current jewelry and any other accessories for an efficient use of space.
So that’s pretty much how I keep my closet clean and organized, guys, as well as the rest of the house (and my sanity). I hope these tips help you somehow whether you have an easy time with chores or if you suffer every time you need to fold laundry and reorganize your closet in one weekend- make sure to do small amounts throughout the week, that way laundry doesn’t “pile up” on you! Too much? Okay, pardon my cheesy puns. Until next time- from Lazy Girl official!