Get your home in perfect order. Cleaning of various surfaces. How to put things in order in the apartment. Basic Rules

05.05.2019

Cleaning the apartment ... This is where every Saturday begins with a real hostess.

How to do everything so that the cleaning goes quickly and efficiently, and at the same time leave strength for yourself? Cleaning specialists assure that this is quite possible. After all, well-established secret methods will help. All the necessary equipment can be found in.

Important Strategies

In order to make general house cleaning efficient and enjoyable, you must first choose a specific strategy:

First strategy: clean one room at a time. essence this method is to allocate one day for cleaning a particular room. So, if you have two, three, four or more rooms, then, accordingly, the cleaning will take the same number of days. It is thanks to this method that you will not notice severe fatigue from a long cleaning process.
The second strategy: cleaning by zoning. It is necessary to divide the apartment or house space into certain zones. For example, kitchen - bathroom, bedrooms, living room - hallway. Other categorizations are also possible. It is important that every day certain time you were able to clean one of these zones.
The third strategy: alternate cleaning. Objects for cleaning should be distributed alternately in the degree of first importance:

Fold things in closets and wash curtains, curtains, tulle (wash textiles, as they say, “in one fell swoop” and put things in order). can be found here.
Wash dishes, sink and tiles in the bathroom, kitchen (clean all surfaces, including the toilet and bathroom).
"Deal with" the dust and wash the floors (thoroughly vacuum up the upholstered furniture, carpets, wipe the dust on each shelf and the trinket standing on it, of course, wash the floor).

The fourth strategy is to say goodbye to the past. It is necessary to throw away the accumulated rubbish, because without this main component spring-cleaning will not be effective.

To do this, you need to find big box or bag, and each broken, broken, torn or unnecessary thing send it to the box, and it, respectively, to the trash can. Also review your old things: maybe they are already tired or out of fashion for a long time.

Try to sell them online or give them to charitable foundation. So, there will be less unnecessary things in the apartment, and more free space.

Fifth strategy: "flying lady in Russian." Thanks to this competent strategy, the hostess does everything according to the timer and it takes only 15-20 minutes a day to clean. The main thing to consider the basic principles of this strategy:

Start work immediately.
Do all the work according to a clearly set time.
If you are behind schedule, you should still stop working.
Be sure to protect your hands (you need to work with gloves).
Don't "cheat".
Be positive.

Quick cleaning rules: where to start?

In order to competently organize the process of quick cleaning, you must clearly set a goal, not be distracted by extraneous matters and follow certain rules:

Compose detailed plan scheduled cleaning. You should describe in detail which surfaces should be wiped, where to vacuum and wash. The list must be compiled taking into account from the largest to the smallest, and removed - on the contrary: from the smallest to the largest. Start small, then big.
Be sure to put everything in its place. This rule will help you visually create the illusion that the first cleaning step is done.
You must first prepare cleaning products: detergent, sponges, household appliances, brushes. It is with this "cleaning" set that it will be easier to deal with annoying dirt.
Choose the most polluted place in the apartment and start from there. Usually the kitchen is such a place, because in the process of cooking, fat settles on the surfaces, which needs to be “removed” in time. However, this is misleading.

Then you can go to the bathroom. Here, cleaning is focused on the basics: washing the tub or shower, mirrors, sinks and toilets. We should not forget that dust and cobwebs also accumulate under the bathroom.

Wash the tile, because a raid from water settles on it, and rinse the tile seams. During cleaning, for the purpose of disinfection, treat the bath with a spray gun. Fluid must contain at least 3% hydrogen peroxide. It must be sprayed into places where water often lingers.

After that, you can proceed to the second most polluted place in the house - the kitchen. And, as you know, the face of the hostess is the kitchen itself, and the queen on it is the stove. Therefore, it must be perfect.
Cleaning in each room should be carried out on a top-down basis. Therefore, first we wipe the chandelier, the upper shelves from dust, then the cabinet itself, paintings and furniture. The most difficult is the battery. They need to be cleaned with a steam generator or a vacuum cleaner.
Washing windows. Many wash the glass first, and then the frames. This is the main mistake many people make. As a result, a double unnecessary work. After all, while washing the frames, glass is splashed, so the glass needs to be washed again.

Don't wash your windows when the sun is shining outside. So, Sun rays the applied detergent dries quickly and stains appear. Most right time- in the evening.

Stories from our readers!
"I found information about clog sticks and drain cleaning sticks on one of the forums. I ordered it. I'm delighted! They are suitable for all types of pipes, one piece is enough for a month or even more!

I got rid of the smell from the pipes, the water leaves very quickly. If your drainpipes are clogged in your bathroom and sink, and your kitchen bad smell then this will help."

Emotional mood, action planning

Our life is filled with various bright events that require emotional and physical commitment from us.

Therefore, the approaching weekend threatens us not with rest, but with constantly postponed cleaning. What to do if you need to remove it, but there is no mood?

Psychologists assure that if you mentally tune in correctly, then this is 50% of the success and effectiveness of any business. Cleaning is no exception.

Therefore, in order to properly configure yourself, you should:

Relax to pleasant inspiring invigorating music.
Tune in to a positive “wave” of mood.
Mentally divide the house into zones.
Schedule the upcoming cleaning step by step.
Feel free to get to work.

Having done these simple rules, you will be surprised that you spent much less time on cleaning than usual. In addition, following the plan, you will not be able to be distracted by unnecessary petty things, but will act according to what is written. Of course, your favorite music will support your mood and cleaning will be only a pleasure.

There are a few more life rules, which were formed on the basis of personal experience many housewives:

you should start cleaning as soon as the thought came to mind;
if you can’t force yourself, then invite friends to dinner;
cleaning with the whole family will only strengthen it with joint activities;
cleanliness is the key to your health, and dust and dirt are carriers of infections - an excellent motivation for cleaning through personal understanding and concern for yourself.

Kitchen cleaning

Start cleaning your kitchen with right side, and move clockwise.

The stove is the dirtiest part in the kitchen.. Where do you start washing it? In order to quickly get rid of dirt and grease, it is necessary to moisten the stove handles in warm soapy water and leave for a few minutes.

You need to start by washing the inside of the oven. The main mistake, which almost every housewife allows, is washing the glass immediately after the funds have been applied. As a result, more time and effort is spent, and efficiency is achieved with difficulty.

Therefore, you should apply detergent and leave for literally 15 minutes to Chemical properties worked. After the specified time, you just need to wash off this plaque and enjoy the cleanliness.

Remember that behind the stove is concentrated great amount mud. It is necessary to apply a cleaning agent and leave for a few minutes, then rinse well.

The sink must be disinfected. It's hard to believe, but a dirty sink contains more bacteria than a toilet seat. It is necessary to disinfect the sink with special certified means.

You can cook them yourself. So, you need to wash the sink with soap and water, then spray vinegar, followed by hydrogen peroxide with an aerosol. The main thing is not to mix vinegar and hydrogen peroxide together. Spray them one by one. After, apply on soft tissue a few drops of mineral oil and polish the sink.

Sponges are also a "nutrient" environment for the development of bacteria. Therefore, treat the sponges daily, squeeze them well from the water.

Cleaning the bathroom and toilet

Shower glass doors need to be cleaned twice a month with a teaspoon lemon oil.
Curtains often "attack" fungus and mold. They also need to be washed.
A teaspoon will help "tame" the toilet citric acid. It must be left in the toilet bowl, then rubbed and flushed. The tool is non-toxic.
The sewer must be cleaned monthly with baking soda. It needs to be poured into the hole, and after 15 minutes turn it on hot water. So, the unpleasant smell will disappear.

Bedroom cleaning

A quick cleaning in the bedroom will not take more than 15 minutes.

It is necessary to collect dust from the ceiling and walls. Do not forget about the vent, switches and door handles - dirt is concentrated in these places.
Start cleaning your chandelier. Use wipes, water, gloves. Don't forget to remove the shades. If the house has a crystal chandelier, it was described here.
Curtains should be cleaned according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Wipe the dust on the windowsills, then wash them.
Get to the windows. Start with window frames, then with glass.
Wash bedding. And the mattress on both sides should be vacuumed. Remember that a lot of dust and debris is concentrated under the bed.

How to clean up the living room?

It is important that the living room is always in order. After all, just as the kitchen is the face of the hostess, the living room is the mirror of the whole family. Moreover, the living room is the place where all family members gather to relax, relax and chat.

In order for the living room not to become a source of stress, it is necessary to heroically fight against dirt and dust.

There are only five rules to follow:

Determine: for what purpose do you spend the most time in the living room.
Remove everything not necessary items, which are not related to direct use.
A specific place for each item.
Decorative decorations - in moderation. Do not litter the living room with unnecessary souvenirs. Leave only those that are truly dear to you.
Take a picture of the cleaned living room and take a closer look: what is stopping you? Accordingly, immediately remove.

If the house has home pet who sheds, then upholstered furniture cover with covers or bedspreads that are easy to wash.
In order to remove wool from the carpet, it is necessary to grease the brush on the vacuum cleaner with glycerin. Clean the carpet with a solution of water and ammonia(for 1 liter of water 2 tablespoons of alcohol), then wipe dry with a rag.
Place a nice decorative basket next to the sofa to store small things like books or glasses.
Start your day clean and pleasant emotions: clean the kitchen in the evening.
Water the drains in the bathroom with boiling water weekly, so they will not clog.
Leave on heavily soiled surfaces. chemicals for a few minutes. After 10-15 minutes, the dirt will be washed off easily.
You need to "generalize" 1-2 times a month. When cleaning, wear gloves, because detergents noticeably dry the skin of the hands.
Confusion is the path to purity. While talking on the phone, wipe the dust or remove the plates from the table. Dust can be removed with .
You need to vacuum from the far corner and move gradually towards the door.
A cloth soaked in a solution of 2 tbsp will help clean the glass. vinegar to 1 liter of water.

How to keep order?

If you have a small apartment and all things do not stay in their places, then equip a special place for storing them:

steps on the stairs - as;
install drawers;
use the free space in the niche above the furniture;
sort things by single principle(for example, shoe care products in one box).

If you are constantly at work and surrounded by worries, then a sticker sticker with written planned tasks is exactly for you. Thus, you can plan cleaning for several days.
Save space - determine the place in the closet taking into account seasonality.
Order is a habit. The most difficult but effective method. Don't put off small things for later. For example, after washing the dishes, immediately wipe the tap or after watering the flowers, wipe the window sill from dust. The same applies to clothes: do not scatter them on the sofa or armchairs, but immediately put them in the closet.
20 minutes daily is the perfect order. If every day you allocate only 20 minutes for cleaning one room, then you can always keep things in order.

Adhering to these simple rules, cleaning will turn for you from a routine into a pleasure. The main thing to remember is that positive attitude is the key to the success of any undertaking. Clean with love and live clean.

It is better to start organizing your life with little things, then more global ideas will be carried out much easier.

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On the picture:

Do you know such people who always have order in the house, and in general everything in life is captured? It's your turn to be one of them with these simple and cost-effective ways to organize, clean up and prevent chaos.

1 Collect bags and other packing materials. Use magazine holders to store bag rolls vertically in the cabinet, aluminum foil, plastic packaging film.

2 Twist the cords. Roll up spare chargers, cables, extension cords and place each in the cardboard tube left over from the roll toilet paper. If you store these tubes vertically in a box, you will avoid tangles in the wires later.

3 Double the space under the sink. Cleaning products will always be organized and at hand if you hang them on the railing by the "trigger" of the spray gun.

4 Organize a clothes folding system. To keep your drawers tidy, try stacking them horizontally, filling each one from front to back. This way you can see all your belongings, including your favorite T-shirt that you thought you lost two years ago.

5 Store your kitchen utensils wisely. Who said that a paper organizer is only an office accessory? Use it for quick access to baking dishes and cutting boards.

6 Hang scarves like a pro. Thread the scarves through the shower screen rings and hang them on a hanger so they're all wrinkle-free and in plain sight.

7 store bed sheets kits. Don't waste your pillowcases anymore! When you fold your laundry, tuck all the pieces into one pillowcase so they'll be right there when you need them.

8 Place toys in plain sight. Hang toy baskets at child's height. You can use wire garden beds for this purpose. Agree, seeing the floor in the nursery is wonderful!

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9 Store accessories upright. In boxes and caskets, jewelry comes into a state of chaos. And if you put bracelets on, for example, a holder for paper towels, then all of them will be in sight, and it will not be difficult to choose the right one.

10 Keep everything you need in sight. Keep things that you usually take with you when you leave the house (keys, umbrella, leash) in a transparent wall cabinet.

11 Collect invisibles. Usually you have to look for them at the bottom of the bag. Meanwhile, a Tic Tac box is perfect for keeping stealth in one specific place.

12 Tame the extension cord. Attach labels to identify the power cords on a fully occupied surge protector.

13 Stop paper flow. Sort incoming correspondence into important (bills, invitations, notices) and unimportant, which can be used for various household purposes (advertising booklets, free newspapers). Go to billing for utilities through the Internet.

14 Pack your instruction manuals. Do you have perfect order in the house, and you know exactly where everything is? Can you tell me right now where the instruction manual for your microwave is located? Next time buying new technology, seal technical documents in a ziplock bag and attach it to the back of the device.

15 No more split socks. The fact of the abduction of earthlings by aliens is easier to explain than the general disappearance of single socks. To avoid this, wash them in a special zippered bag.

16 Line up the knives. Replace your clunky, bulky knife holder with a sleek, wall-mounted magnetic strip that keeps them clean and out of the reach of curious little hands.

17 Save children's creativity in limited quantities. Children bring home a lot of crafts and drawings. Give your child a big Plastic container where he can store all his creativity. And when the container is full, select the most interesting projects with it. Throw out the rest to make room for new work.

18 Place the plastic bags in the box. Usually an endless number of such bags from supermarkets lives somewhere under the sink. Put them all in one box.

19 Optimize apps on your smartphone. Finally, order has reigned in your house, but if you organize your life, then in everything. Tidy up your smartphone too by categorizing apps (there are even special free programs for these purposes). Let frequently used applications be displayed on the home screen. And those applications that you have not used for several months, it's time to delete.

20 Do away with the mess in the trunk of your car. Eggs will never break, but a jar tomato paste will not run away if there is a laundry container in the trunk of your car. It is perfect for packing grocery bags during transportation, and also facilitates the process of unloading purchases at home.

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Perfect Order in the house - is it a dream or a reality? Surely you have been in apartments more than once where cleanliness reigns, there are no blockages on the shelves, and every thing lies in its place. Why do some succeed and others don't? What needs to be done to put things in order and maintain it constantly? You can find answers to your questions in this article.

Planning

AT ordinary families it is not customary to do it once a week. Ideal cleanliness is induced everywhere only a few times a year and, as a rule, is timed to big holiday. So, for example, before Christmas or an anniversary, housewives clean windows to a shine, throw away unnecessary rubbish and involve household members in work. But think about what happens in between these planned rush jobs? Often people relax and nullify the results of their grandiose work.

Putting things in order

To solve this problem, try to set aside 15 minutes in your daily routine to spend them cleaning your home. Do you think that this time will not be enough and soon the usual mess will become an integral part of the interior? Leave in the past. If you systematically put things in order every day, then in a few weeks your house will shine with cleanliness. On weekdays you will be happy home comfort, and on the weekend you will have time to pleasant trifles and entertainment.

Identify the places where the most trash appears

There are corners in every home where rubbish accumulates as if by magic. The first can be found in front door- that's where we throw the keys, hats, gloves and advertising from mailbox. The second place where blockages of clothes are often found is in the bedroom. It can be a chair, an armchair or a sofa. Miraculously, jeans, socks, T-shirts and other wardrobe items accumulate there. The children's room is generally a separate issue, since “necessary” things, toys and magazines have been stored there for years. Looking closely at your apartment, you can notice a few more local points of disorder and start fighting them.

Do not try to deal with this problem in one day, as this is unrealistic. Better put things in order gradually. And don't forget about preventive measures. Soon you will achieve excellent results without spending a lot of effort and time.

Schedule

Set up a cleaning schedule for the week ahead. For example, plan to clean the stove on Monday and the mirrors on Tuesday. Do not worry if you have urgent business and you cannot complete some item. Just forget about it before next week and just go about your business.

Involve family members in housekeeping

If all the responsibility for cleanliness in the apartment lies on your shoulders, the children do not know how to use a bucket and a rag, and your spouse only criticizes your activities, then you urgently need to change your lifestyle. On the family council Divide household chores and schedule cleaning of common areas.

It is important that each member of the family take up duty in turn. Keep a diary in which you will note the contribution of household members to neatness and cleanliness. Over the weekend, analyze the results of your work together and decide who deserves to go to the movies and who will be forced to stay to finish their work.

How to organize your wardrobe

It is no secret that in every home the wardrobe is a repository of old, unnecessary, but very beloved things. Few people can boast that they know how to store their clothes correctly and keep them in perfect order. Read following tips and try to implement them in practice:

Down with everything superfluous! Get rid of items you don't use more than a year. To make it easier for yourself, do an audit in bad mood- so it will be easier for you to throw away all unnecessary.
Get the same hangers and place them at the same height. This simple technique will allow you to quickly deal with confusion in clothes. The most daring can go further and sort things by color and texture.
Leave in the wardrobe only the clothes that you use at this time of the year. Wash the rest, iron and arrange in organizers for things. Before the onset of the next season, you will only have to get the right items without wasting precious time looking for them.
Accessories should be stored separately. These include belts, gloves, hats, umbrellas and bags. If you haven't purchased a drawer organizer yet, do so as soon as possible.
How to put things in order First of all, install additional shelves in it. Now you don't have to store shoes in factory boxes, and you can easily find the right pair.
bulky things and winter clothes fold in Note that this rule does not apply to fur.
Buy storage organizers underwear than save free place on shelves.
Dust the shelves frequently and don't forget to lay out moth repellents.

How to store documents and securities

Do you spend several hours to find your birth certificate or apartment passport? Can't tell you exactly where the policy and insurance of your husband are now? Then you urgently need to store documents.

Divide all papers into three categories:

Official - passports, diplomas, contracts.
Technical - warranty cards for equipment, operating instructions.
Payment - checks, utility bills or rent.

Arrange all documents in folders with transparent files and leave them in a visible place. Now you can be sure that you will find the paper you need in a minute.

Tidy up the kitchen

The kitchen is perhaps the busiest part of the house. Relatives and friends gather here to drink tea and chat on all sorts of topics. A variety of dishes are being prepared on the stove all the time, and people who want to enjoy something tasty are constantly flocking to the refrigerator. If you want to maintain the neatness and tidiness of this room, then improve it, use the following items:

Bathroom

All owners of small apartments know how difficult it is to fit everything into the bathroom. necessary items. Try to take a fresh look at this space and learn how to store the right things in a new way:

Tidy up the bathroom with the help of sections for storing small items. Soaps, shampoos and washcloths in beautiful baskets. Tanks can be hung with hooks on the rails, or can be attached directly to the wall. The main thing is that they are made in the same style and harmoniously matched in color.
Hang open shelves on the walls and place jars of cosmetics, scrubs and body creams on them.
If the bathroom has cabinets, then use the inside of the door. You can attach hollow cylinders of different diameters to it and store a hair dryer and a hair curler in them.
Use another simple and economical solution - sew a canvas with pockets and hang it on the inside of the door. You will be surprised how many little things and hygiene items will find their place here.

Toilet

To save space, build an accessory rack directly above the toilet cistern. To keep a supply of toilet paper always at hand, attach a metal shelf with holders to the side wall of the tank.
Use the space above the door - attach a shelf above the entrance and put items there that are rarely used by family members.

How to keep order in the apartment

Do you have a small apartment, and despite your best efforts, things just can't find their place? Use one of the ideas and equip a place to store them.

Podium - built-in wardrobes do not have to be adjacent to the walls. Use the space in the niche under the furniture and store everything you want in it.
If your home has stairs, turn them into boxes for clothes or shoes.
Don't forget the benefits of sliding cabinets that can be placed next to the doorway. For example, in the kitchen in such a narrow cabinet it will be convenient for you to store bottles and spices.
The order in things will ensure their sorting according to a certain principle. For example, put all your shoe care items in one box and choose the right place for it.

It is very important that the house was comfortable for both the owners and guests. Do not accumulate broken things in your house, faulty household appliances or cracked dishes. Never buy new furniture until you have decided what you will do with the old one. This approach will allow you to maintain order without spending a lot of time and effort. Do not forget about the close people who live with you. Perhaps they do not share your desire for perfect cleanliness. Due to too stringent requirements, conflicts and disagreements can arise. Therefore, do not turn your house into a museum and let your family relax after labor day. Remember that you are not created for cleaning, but it is for you. Therefore, do household chores with pleasure and experience a well-deserved sense of joy and pride in yourself every day.

Can house cleaning miraculously change the life? Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo promises: if you're ready for big changes, the result of cleaning will be a real miracle

Bestseller by Marie Kondo"Life-Changing Magic Naveordering: Japanese art getting rid of unnecessary things and organizing space "truly changed the life of Emily Clay, the owner of a home in Oregon. She said she got rid of "tons" of clothes and books after reading the book, and although she loves to shop, Marie Kondo's advice has kept her from restocking her shelves and closets. “This book completely changed my view of things,” she says. “If I don’t like some thing, if I have never used it, haven’t read it, haven’t worn it, I get rid of it without hesitation.”

The designer from San Francisco shares the same opinion: “I myself follow the main tenets of Kondo's book and I advise everyone to do the same: only what brings pleasure is worth keeping,” she says. - This rule helps me determine the place of things in my heart and my home. It's amazing how much cleaner my house has become since I threw out all the junk."

We are waiting for changes!

However, the definition of "life-changing" is perhaps too bold. Life is changed by such events as marriage, birth, death, moving. Cleaning, even capital cleaning, does not fall under my idea of global changes, but Marie Kondo's ideas change the attitude to the house without a doubt.

It doesn't matter how you feel about magic, which is constantly emphasized in this book. However, the volume of sales of this book around the world can indeed be called supernatural. It spent 23 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in the Advice and practical guides". On the Amazon website was named best book 2014 in the section "Needlework, home and garden". Since its first edition last fall, the book has been in print 13 times and has sold two million copies. Looking at these numbers, one can conclude that people are really desperate to change the existing order of things. Let's see if Marie Kondo delivers on the promise made in the bold title of her book.

Two key rules

After many years of practice, a Japanese space organizer has developed her own method. The essence is simple, but applying it can be incredibly difficult (I speak own experience), because people never want to part with their own things.

So, the two key premises of Marie Kondo's method boil down to the fact that that only those things that fill the heart with joy should be kept at home. And in the process of cleaning, you need to work not with rooms, but with categories of things.

Keep what you love

Kondo often uses the phrase "sparkle with joy" when talking about things dear to his heart. Summarizing what has been said, we can draw the following conclusion: if you do not like a thing, get rid of it. The difficulty lies in, as they say, separating the wheat from the chaff and distinguishing between the concepts of “happiness” and “attachment”. In his book, Kondo offers a rather hard way to do this.

Deal with things, not rooms

One of the main ideas that distinguishes the Kondo method from all others is that you should sort things into categories. For example, instead of cleaning out the dressing room, you need to deal with all the clothes that are in the house.

Usually it is stored in several places: in the dressing room, chests of drawers and wardrobes in bedrooms and children's rooms, in the hallway and even in the attic. Marie Kondo's work experience has shown that if you clean each room separately, it will be an endless process. Therefore, everything that is in the house must be divided into categories and deal with each of them. On the first page of his work, the author writes: “First, you need to reject everything unnecessary, and then clean up the whole house once and for all.”

And this is only the first tip, and the book is quite large - as many as 216 pages. We asked Marie Kondo for an interview on e-mail and she succinctly formulated for us basic principles of his method .

Cleaning step by step

Meet Marie Kondo at the beginning of cleaning the dressing room of one of her clients. In her world, the path to cleanliness and order begins with an idea of how you want to live. In her interview, she described this process in stages.

1. Think about what is ideal life . In other words, how do you want to live.

2. Collect things of the same type and put them together. For example, put all your clothes on the floor. Kondo suggests starting with clothes, then books, and finally documents.

3. Ask yourself if each item exudes joy.“Take the thing in your hands, feel it and try to feel if there is joy in it,” writes Kondo.

4. Sort and put things away. Appropriate place for each subject determine in advance.

Seems too easy, doesn't it? But Kondo finds the method difficult because many of us fill things with emotion. Sometimes we get attached to things we don't like simply because they were given to us. We let books and papers pile up on the table in the hope that someday we will read them. We flatly refuse to throw away unsuccessful purchases, because we regret the money spent. “The essence of my method is to take an impartial look at your good and decide what is really important from everything accumulated over many years,” writes Kondo.

Now you understand how difficult it is. In response to all doubts, Kondo quotes the words of Princess Elsa from Frozen: let go and forget.

BEFORE:

This is a photo of one of Kondo's clients' room before cleaning. For many of us, shelves filled to capacity and endless bags of things are a familiar picture.

And Marie Kondo has seen it hundreds of times. She encourages people to forget those things that fill closets (since they are hidden there, then no one needs them), not to become attached to items that may be needed “someday” (for Kondo, “someday” means “never”), and be sure to give your things to those who need them, so as not to feel guilty about getting rid of them.

AFTER:

The same room after the Kondo cleaning. The publisher was worried that photographs of the homes of Kondo's Japanese clients might frighten Europeans. Indeed, after the table has been moved to another room, and most of the things thrown away, this room seems empty.

However, what seems spartan to one person may be called ideal by another. This is how Kondo describes his own house: “At home I feel a sense of bliss, even the air seems fresher and cleaner. In the evenings, I like to sit in silence and think about the past day over a cup of herbal tea.

Looking around, I see a painting that I love very much and a vase of flowers in the corner of the room. My house is small, and there are only those things that have a place in my heart. This lifestyle brings me joy every day.”

AFTER: The same kitchen after Marie Kondo. Radical transformation, right?

But what about considerations of necessity?

“A lot of people find it difficult to follow the rules of Marie Kondo,” says Kaylie, a San Francisco space planner. ─ I like some of her ideas, but not all of them work.” How, for example, to put into practice the idea that you need to keep only those things that cause joy? “Any home is full of things that have nothing to do with happiness, but are simply necessary,” says Kaylee.

Kondo talks about the right things, but her definition of the necessary goes beyond the usual notions. For example, what to do with textbooks and manuals for the operation of equipment? They can be found on the Internet.Books you haven't read? Give it away, you'll never read them anyway. Gifts from loved ones that you don't use? Free yourself from them too.

Real example from California

Kaylie is sure that many people find it difficult to follow Kondo's advice in everything. In order not to be unfounded, we turned to Susie Schoaf, a San Francisco resident, who won free consultation Marie Kondo. In this picture you can see Susie (left) in her 84 sq. m during a meeting with Marie Kondo.

This is a photo of Susie's living room after Marie Kondo's visit. “You can laugh, but I really wanted to clean things up for a long time,” says Susie, who has heard of Marie Kondo's method but hasn't read her book. - I inherited many things from my parents, and I myself like to collect finds from flea markets. Things accumulated until it became difficult to move around the house. Something had to be done about this.”

AFTER and BEFORE:

Although Susie usually borrows books from the library, she has a soft spot for art and design albums and guides to foreign countries. This is what her bookcase looked like before she started cleaning with Kondo.

The prospect of getting rid of a lot of her things scared Susie a little, but she knew that she could keep what she truly loved, and this thought calmed her.

“She started by removing all the books from all the shelves on the first and second floors,” says Susie, who herself was shocked at how many books she actually had (Kondo gives many such examples in her book). “She didn't judge me,” Susie continues. “But when I saw how many books I had accumulated, I realized that I wanted to cope with this avalanche and wholeheartedly accepted the method of Marie.”

“Before debriefing, Kondo patted each book and said that was how she wakes them up,” recalls Susie. - Then we sat on the sofa and began to take one book after another. Through a translator, Marie asked me about each book if it radiated joy. If I said "yes", we put the book in one pile, if "no" - in another. We looked through 300 books that day and got rid of 150.”

When all the books were taken apart, Kondo offered to bow to the books with which it was decided to say goodbye and thank them.

In his book, Kondo says that thanking things for their service is an important part of saying goodbye to them. “When you say thank you to the things that have served you faithfully, you are relieved of the guilt of throwing them away and feel grateful for the things that were allowed to remain,” she writes.

AFTER: The very thought of throwing away so many books is embarrassing to many. But whatever you think, admit it: this bookcase looks much better now. “I donated seven boxes of books to the Library Friends Foundation. It means a lot to me. And I'm sure that, as paradoxical as it sounds, going through each individual book has sped up the process and helped me understand which ones are really important,” Susie shares.When Susie and Marie sorted out the books and left only their favorites, there was enough space on the shelves for photographs and decorative items. And, importantly, now they can be seen better.

“The books you liked when you bought them may become useless over time. Information in books, articles and documents doesn't stay relevant for long, says Kondo. ─ When you put on the shelves only those books that cause joy, it is easier for you to understand that you no longer need the rest. And then everything is simple: than fewer books on the shelf, the easier it is to keep organized.

“Now my drawers look beautiful inside and out,” Susie laughs.

Cleaning as a path to success

How to become an international star in the field of space organization? In the first part of her book, Kondo tells how she started her path to success. Since childhood, she has been obsessed with cleanliness and clearing debris. “When I was five years old, I read my mother's magazines about home economics, and this sparked my interest in everything related to the house,” she says.

At school, for the first time, she realized what her main mistake was. Before Mari discovered The Art of Throwing Things by Nagisa Tatsumi, her experiments sooner or later turned into a vicious circle. She cleaned one room, then moved to the next, to the next - and so on until she returned to the first, where everything started all over again. “It seemed to me that no matter how much I cleaned, it didn’t get better. AT best case the process of removing the rubble came later, but it still came,” she says.

However, after reading Tatsumi's book, Mari realized that she urgently needed to reboot the entire system. She returned home and locked herself in her room for several hours. In her book, she writes: “When I graduated, I had eight complete packages with clothes I never wore, textbooks from elementary school and toys that I haven't played with in years. I even threw away my collection of erasers and stamps. I honestly admit that I forgot that I have all these things. After the analysis, I sat on the floor for an hour and wondered why I even kept all this junk. ”

This very question started own business with clients who wait for their turn for several months. As a result, he also led to the writing of a book that became a bestseller in many countries.

Does it really work?

So we return to the question posed in the title of this article: can cleaning change our lives?

Of course, Kondo thinks he can. “The whole point of my method is to teach people to understand what is important in their lives and what is not,” says Marie. ─ Following my advice, you will understand what things make you feel happy, which means you will know exactly what you need to be happy.

Readers like Emily Clay agree: “The book made me think about how much stuff I have and how much I really need. I don’t regret at all that I got rid of a bunch of unnecessary things, although it’s unpleasant for me to remember how much money I spent in vain. Getting rid of unnecessary things to some extent freed me, - admits Emily. “Now, instead of buying new bags or shoes, I save money for a trip to Italy.” published

It happens like this: a day off, no business, you are relaxing in front of the TV. And then it is distributed phone call. My beloved mother-in-law is coming to visit today. Manicure wife. The house is a mess. How to be?

Is it possible to spend a minimum of time and put things in order in the apartment? Indeed, for many, cleaning is associated with a lost day off, or even several. In fact, such extended terms are a clear exaggeration. More precisely, some can do cleaning for a whole week. But this does not mean at all that you cannot do all this much faster. The fact is that with a competent approach, high-quality general House cleaning may take 2-3 hours, no more. To do this, you need to concentrate on the process, make a to-do list, not be distracted by any extraneous events and act! Along with this, there are a number of tricks that make the task as easy as possible. They allow you to organize the most meaningful things and interior items in a residential apartment. Thanks to these tricks, complex cleaning is quick and takes a minimum of effort.

Furniture upholstery

A mixture of soap, ordinary sparkling water and table vinegar allows you to quickly and, most importantly, efficiently clean the upholstery of all the furniture elements of your apartment. With such a solution, you don’t even need a special tool. A standard brush is sufficient. By the way, this mixture will also be effective in cleaning car seats. If the soap-vinegar solution is not enough, then you can always use steam. However, there is another trick. You can quickly prepare a solution consisting of distilled water and alcohol. Try using the same brush or a piece of cloth to apply it to the surface of the sofa or the upholstery of other furniture elements, and you will see for yourself the effectiveness of this method.

Tables and other surfaces

It is often not so easy to clean the working surfaces of the kitchen room, including tables, with high quality. At the same time, their purity should be given a paramount role. This is due to the fact that this is where you cook food. The solution will help us again. This time it is necessary to combine water and hydrogen peroxide. In what proportion? Use a 2 to 1 ratio. This ratio will allow you to quickly and efficiently clean up the house. If there is a spray bottle in the house, then applying to kitchen surfaces will become even more effective. Be sure that your tables and work areas will not contain even a hint of greasy spots And so on. Moreover, this solution is also considered effective. prophylactic against the appearance or removal of mold fungus.

Along with this, such a solution has a serious competitor. Only the ingredients of the solution change, while the quality and speed remain high. AT this case you need to use a mixture of essential lemon oil and baking soda. Applying such a mass to kitchen surfaces will not only clean them qualitatively, but will also allow for a disinfection event.

Glasses and mirrors

If it is necessary to clean mirrors and glasses, then the following algorithm is very effective:

prepare a solution of 3 parts water and 1 part vinegar;
apply this mixture using a spray gun or spray on a mirror or glass surface;
then, using a cloth, wipe the surface.

A mixture of vinegar and sodium bicarbonate or baking soda is also quite effective. If there are hard-to-reach places, then it is convenient to use simple cotton swabs.

Oven

An indispensable assistant to any hostess requires special approach. However, there are also secrets that speed up the process. In order to efficiently and quickly clean the oven, you should first spray its functional walls with water and pre-apply to all surfaces present. a small amount of baking soda. Do this ahead of time and leave overnight. The next day, you can easily and very quickly wash off the dirt that has accumulated in the oven.

Fridge

Everyone knows that quite unpleasant odors can appear in the refrigerator. This is caused by multiplying bacteria. After all, it is difficult to avoid food crumbs and stains. If your plan is to clean the refrigerator, then prepare a simple mixture of water, baking soda and peroxide. The ratio is 2 to 1. This mixture must be treated with all the working surfaces of the refrigeration unit. Literally 10 minutes later. just wash everything off with a regular sponge.

Work cabinets

Do you want all home cabinets to be pristine clean and doors to shine spectacularly? Then you need a paste of water and all the same baking soda. You can add a little table vinegar. This will get rid of the most difficult stains. The mixture is simply applied to the surfaces of the cabinets and removed with a cloth after 5-10 minutes.

Home floors

It must be understood that dirt and grease settle on the floor. fresh spots very well removed with talc. It is enough to wait 10 minutes. and sweep the floor. You will not notice even a trace of past stains. As for old stains, a simple dishwashing detergent is optimal here. Having processed problem area, enough of the same 10 minutes. and can be washed off with plain water.

Bath and toilet rooms

Lemon juice is considered the best remedy for removing lime particles and harmful mold in these rooms. It is enough just to moisten a sponge with it and sequentially process the tiles and objects of the rooms. You can also use medical peroxide. To treat the toilet, it is recommended to mix lemon juice with table soda. Vinegar will also be appropriate. Thus, as we see, everything is not so scary. We hope these practical tips will help you during the next cleaning. It will pass quickly and there will be an opportunity to do your favorite hobby or just relax.