A Lazy Person's Guide in Maintaining a House

If you have a spirit animal, what would it be? Most people will probably say a wolf or a lion, but me? I definitely think that I’m a former sloth in my past life. Don’t get me wrong; I can be productive. It’s just that I also do enjoy my time doing nothing.

 

However, if you’re lazy like me,maintaining a house on your own is an eye roll waiting to happen. I don’t want to spend more for help in household chores, and part of me also knows that I can do those tasks myself. 

In my attempt to make household maintenance more lazy-friendly, I discovered these 5 ways on how you can keep your home looking and feeling pristine, even as a sloth. 

Prevent Potential Clutter

You’ve heard the phrase, “Prevention is better than cure” when it comes to health, but this is also applicable when it comes to maintaining our homes. I think this is a fair comparison since it’s a disease to see your house get nasty and untidy just because you hate cleaning.

But don’t worry, I’m not judging you because I get lazy as well. Oftentimes, I make excuses and more excuses after that before actually doing stuff around the house. What you can do to save your future self some trouble and shorten your to-do list is by simply preventing the build-up of clutter itself.

I have a hobby of leaving items on tables and chairs, then I end up losing those things. This will then cause more chaos on my previously organized cabinets and drawers when searching for them since I forgot where I put them. You can prevent this from happening by simply organizing your items.

It wouldn’t cost you that much, and perhaps you have some drawers that are empty anyway. You can even organize the inside of those drawers more by putting divisions using old cartons and boxes.I know that you’re probably rolling your eyes from the thought of how much effort it sounds, but trust me, it’s even fun to do. You’ll even get to discover items that you think you’ve lost! 

Other than drawers and cabinets, you can save space at home using cheap storage tubs and baskets. Putting various items inside also saves you the effort of needing to clean and search for them when you need them. I recommend transparent boxes with labels so you can easily find your things, but opaque ones look more modern and stylish. You can even layer these boxes or use them as tables or support for other items. 

If you have old bags, you can use these to keep perishable items like make-up and toiletries, while those with a lot of pockets work great for organizing gadget accessories. You’ll be elongating the lifespan of these items and preventing damages from the environment. 

Every Space Counts

Another hack that you can do to save your lazy self from too much housework is also related to making a clutter-free space. Are you really maximizing your use of space? For example, I switched to using a bottom loading water dispenser like these.

The free headspace it gave me also makes it easier for me to squeeze it right beside the fridge. Less open space and surfaces, less places that will get potentially messy. You can also use the surfaces and sides of closet and cabinet doors for holding other items. Item hooks are pretty cheap, and the finished result looks amazing to the eyes. 

Another thing that you should consider is lessen the appliances that you have in your home. Do you really need a separate oven and microwave? A separate juicer from a blender? If you think about it, all these things just add to the list of items that you’ll have to maintain and clean. Perhaps you only live alone, and you don’t need a very large fridge. And since you aren’t home most of the time, do you really need to have a separate television in your couch and bedroom?

Let (Some) Things Go

The third tip I have here for you is somewhat related to our previous discussion. Not only should you limit yourself in adding items to your home, but you should also start limiting the items that you should keep.

Before you protest, I want to say that I am also a very sentimental person. I understand that it’s hard to let some items go, but are the things we keep really worth the extra space and mess? A compromise that you can do to start with is to have a cabinet dedicated to keeping things that you don’t use anymore. If some of them are broken, you can place them in bags away from the items that you’re currently using.

You can also donate pre-loved clothes and other things to those that might need them. Wouldn’t you’ll feel more fulfilled if you know that your previously loved items are going to be loved again? Keeping it dirty will just damage it, which is the opposite of what you want to happen on something you value.

For other things, you can start a garage sale and earn some extra cash from selling them. You’ll be lessening the items that accumulate in your home, and you’ll be earning instead of cleaning them from time to time. You’ll also have more space for items that you will need when you get rid of some things. 

Inspire Yourself to Clean

The fourth tip that I want to mention is to inspire yourself to clean. Yes, you might hate the idea, and the tasks might be asking too much of your time throughout the day. However, you can also find joy in maintaining your home.

If you live in an organized, clean, and clutter-free home, you’ll find yourself to be in a better mood for a more productive day. You can find joy in cleaning and maintenance by making these tasks quicker and easier.

What you can do is place some cleaning paraphernalia close to the areas where you’ll be needing them. For example, the bathroom mirror needs some cleaning, but you have to go upstairs to get your towel and spray. You’ll probably just shrug the idea off and say that you’ll do it some other time. You can also leave a broom at your room, the vacuum cleaner by the living room, and a handful of towels in the kitchen. 

Do it Now

You can cut the number of chores in half or more by simply not letting them build up. Maybe you aren’t as lazy as you thought, but you are just used to letting things pile up. Instead of not immediately making your bed upon waking up, why not do it already? It will take under 2 minutes, and you can check your social media afterward as a reward.

You will also feel more hygienic if you don’t let the dirty dishes piled in the kitchen, and you don’t have to run awkwardly downstairs when you found out you have no toilet paper in the bathroom. The point is, most of these “tedious” chores are avoidable, and won’t even take much time and effort compared to when you procrastinate.