10-second daily habits for a clean & tidy home 

A great tip I got was to daily, scrub you toilet bowI, just with the brush. I do this in the morning every day after I use the toilet. This takes all of 10 seconds to scrub up under the entire rim and in the bowl (you are in there anyway). By doing this daily, your weekly clean goes very quickly and you consume far less cleaning fluid.

Those little habits of cleaning the sink when you're done or putting a towel away fall into the 1 minute rule. If something will take me under a minute to do, I do it right then. Because 1 minute is a negligible amount of time plus if left it will take longer to do later.

OMG! Krist Yu, You made my day. You gave this very busy woman many new, fresh ideas--and old reminders! I am ordering a few items that you suggested. I have been looking at Marie Kondo's organizing tips, and going through her book. I need to downsize and simplify. Your ideas are both simple, aesthetically pleasing, and very doable each day. PS: I *do* make my bed every morning and hang my towels neatly after showering (patting myself on the back). I cannot wait to dig into the rest of your videos. 🙂

I love your sink and how this is matching perfectly and is under the furniture margins (i do not know what is the right word in English, sorry) We are redesigning the kitchen and looking for a good model of sink that is under the table of furniture. How your was done? Is it so beautiful ! Many thanks

Thanks you for these videos . I grown up without any guidance from parents. I seek knowledge on my own , and now with RU-vid i always try to watch video to know how to manage my lifestyle. I am struggling with housework. I hope you also produce video about how to wash stain clothes, period underwear, sock ,etc. How to fold clothes and iron clothes? Many things !

That is such good advice, thanks. :)

I totally agree!! I’ve been on a real journey this year to clean up my space, and letting go of “perfect” was such a huge, huge milestone revelation.

Reckless and wasteful

@@sammoulsdale701 I absolutely 100% understand how this advice, out of context, would seem “reckless” and “lazy”! It’s about choosing feasible alternative habits/use of personal resources in order to increase one’s success rate.

You are right Spot on!!! If finding it difficult to cope These alternatives are good..i too hv issues... Like you. Useful tips

loveee this

Oh I do this one too. We have stairs so I always place anything to go upstairs on the staircase ready and waiting for my next trip!

​@@franceshanna3724 I do the same with things that go downstairs

A super-good idea! So simple. Thank you.

THIS!! Great rule!

It sounds easy But it isn't.. One is always stressed.. This way.. Nd finding out faults in others this way... I. Despise.... People too Clean conscious.. Stress is in the air... 😉😁

@@TM15HAKRN It's not about stress or finding faults it's about doing your part. When one lives in a house it's their responsibility to clean up after themselves, something one is taught at a small age. Nobody is saying that being obsessively clean is normal, but doing mundane and basic tasks such as putting things back where it belongs or washing dishes is something everyone should do.

Im already old but started doing this and teaching my kids and at the end of the day seeing my house clean has helped me with anxiety a lot.

I was raised like this too! I’m a little neurotic about things being clean and in place, so cleaning immediately has reduced my cleaning anxiety manifold.

I appreciate you pointing out not everyone is raised this way. I had never heard of cleaning as you go and didn’t even notice other people did it until one friend actually pointed out the reason why her house is clean all the time was that’s what she did. I then watched her cook and was blown away as she would spill and wipe it up immediately rather than waiting till the end of the cooking experience when it was dried on and more exhausting to remove. She did the same with the tools she used to cook with she didn’t wait and let them pile up in the sink she washed them as she went and even reuse the same tools and multi-tasked cooking staples for a few freezer meals so to make fewer dishes over all and save hours of time. 🤯

Same feeling

Sameee 🫠

Same

Same!!!

Saaaaaaaaame 🤣😩

I'ts just hard then not to leave the stuff in the box forever 😅

I do this too.

Genius

My partner picks a day for everything, eg Wednesdays he does floors. I’ve tried to do that but when it comes round to it I don’t want to 😅 I like your idea - gives a lot more time and takes pressure off yourself no to have to clean every single day.

I need to work on number 3. If I cant do it perfect by my standard I would postpone it or just not do it. I have clutter on my coffee table for weeks now..

​@@vanessasmith6925Yeah, same. I once heard "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing poorly," and I'm trying to implement. Otherwise it just keeps getting put off forever.

“I made it a rule to do everything imperfectly” 🤯🤯 This is life-changing for me!

I still get mail addressed to the people living here before me. I keep sending it back but they don't take note 🤷‍♀️

I've done that for MANY years now. It only took one time cleaning out the nasty, stinky, slimy hair clogged drain to prompt me to find a better way to manage the hair. Now it's my primary mission to prevent ANY hair from going down the drain and this is the easiest way I've found.

@@kristywhited8857 think you replied to the wrong comment

same! the easiest way to spend less time going through mail is to have less of it 🙌 I’ve called companies and asked them to stop sending mail addressed to a previous resident that’s no longer there

That is very helpful advice, the idea of resetting a space makes everything less daunting when you’re struggling. Thanks

Thank you for the book recommendation, ima need it lol

yes, 'mess begets mess'

What beautiful wisdom that can only be procured through living life. Thank you so much. xx

I love this comment. There's so much truth in it.

Sparkle, I love this. I delight every day that I still have the capability of doing chores. I just thought of that recently, but it’s true. I’m not getting any younger and my body doesn’t easily get up and down from the floor to Clean things like baseboards and the base of the toilet or the far side of the tub. So I am grateful that I can still do so many things.

Ya Nice suggestions You are right... Person with clean habits tend to admonish people who are not Clean freaks... Its outright Embarassing

Seriously, Chelsea, especially for those of us who live in humid climates! It’s not attractive, but I drape my towel over the edge of the tub after I shower. Then I can hang it up later in the day.

I stretch it out over the shower curtain rod so it can dry while I’m at work.

Exactly

Absolutely! I was shocked that hanging your towel isn't just standard procedure. Crumpled up towel = smelly towel. 🤮

I have to dry my wet towels in the dryer. High humidity near the water. We get lots of bugs in hot climate. They love moisture!

That's so smart. Thx for the idea!

I do the same thing! And because there’s a certain amount of time versus a particular task, if the main parts of my house are clean on a particular day, then I consider what else I can do for part of my cleaning/organizing time - maybe clean out my car… Or clean out my purse… Etc.!

If I’m not motivated to do chores, I set a timer for 15 minutes and tell myself that’s all I “have” to do. I like completing against the clock to see how much I can do. Usually I get so much done that I reset the timer for more rounds, often room by room.

👏👏👏

In Ireland you have to pay for a bag so it's common to see people stacking stuff in their arms and hesitantly carrying them out to the car. Nobody wants to buy a bag if they can help it.

If I forget my bag, I roll the grocery cart out to my car. I usually have a bag or better yet a laundry basket in my trunk! Or jts put the groceries in a pile in the trunk if I have to. I usually get the paper bags though. They cost 5 cents and I reuse them as trash bags. I compost,and recycle, so my trash is dry and minimal.

Stores haven’t had bags for years where I live. It’s actually a law. Some stores offer paper bags but you have to pay .50 cents to $1 for them and they aren’t strong enough to carry groceries in lol So everyone carries reusable bags or bins with handles.

I do the same. It's so silly to me to take a bag for 2-3 items. Usually the cashier looks at me wierd and I make my reasons. :)

With decluttering, you end up creating a place for items to be. Then it’s easy to put them away. Decluttering can be a big job, but it can also be approached in tiny actions throughout the day.

Does the paper not burn?

Fair question …I was a little skeptical too until I tried it. I can attest I’ve had my oven to 375 degree for a hour once a week to bake and parchment paper (make certain it’s labeled parchment paper) doesn’t burn … it does get browned and after a month or so gets fragile and crisp so replace it then.

Yes that’s a good idea!

I have 5 Windex spray bottles. Car, bath, kitchen … couple times a year I buy a refill. Sometimes I need a new spray. I buy the biggesprayglass cleaner and top off all bottles

Me too. I go one step further and keep a featherweight vacuum and swiffer in a closet on each floor so that I don't have an excuse why the floors are not dust free. If the cleaning products and tools are close by, it makes the job easier to do.

That is smart!

That's such a good tip, thanks for sharing

Do you wash that towel every time you wipe the sink? It seems like you wouldn’t want to wipe your hands with a towel that has wiped the sink

Try a Brita water filter over your faucet spout.

@@kristimeyers2221 I use a Swedish dishcloth (sponge) for drying around the faucet & such. I bought a 10-pack of them almost a year ago and I think they may last me forever lol. I've only used 4 of them, which I toss in the washing machine & they come out like new. If you try those, you'll never go back to washcloths or towels for wiping off counters, etc. I do use a towel, but only for drying hands.

​@JamieM470 Can you link to the ones you got?

Yeah we didn't learn it, we just did it!

​@@usehername1

i’ve been doing that as long as i can think and i thought everyone did that but the other day i forgot it on the wall after showering at my mom‘s house and she was like "what‘s happening there??", turns out she has never done that or heard of it before

I've done this my whole life, I thought it was something everyone does

Same here😂

I do something similar, but I just leave my hair fall around the drain. When I'm just about done in the shower, I use my foot to rub the hair in a circular motion until a ball forms and I drag it away from the drain. I usually pick it up later when it's somewhat dried and resembles a tumbleweed. 😄

Omg same exact thing for me, I used to stick it to the wall, but now I just gather it in my hand and roll it into a ball and toss it up out of the shower and onto the floor, then it goes immediately into the bin. Works for me. Otherwise you're fighting to get that last elusive strand that just torments you as it moves around on the tile. Also, similarly, with bags I have a less time consuming and less visually pleasing method which is to take the bottom, hold onto it with one hand, then with the other hand gather and wrap it aroud the bottom as though it were string or twine. It gets the air out, and then just tuck the handles into the hole and it should stay a nice little ball.

good idea! I myself had found that doing a good Brush/comb through right before the shower helps too!

I always brush my hair before going in the shower but still have loads of shed hair to deal with either way 😆 I’m also autistic and haaaaate the feeling of a loose strand of hair stuck to my body somewhere (and I always know… worst superpower) so I feel like I spend half the time in there wrangling my shed hair, and those suckers are going straight on the wall and getting off my body. My tactic is to wait until the end of my shower (or sometimes also at an intermediate point if the looming wall-hair is getting a bit too much), then swirl it all together into a ball (this catches almost all of the stragglers determined to live forever on the wall - just keep swirling until you catch them all… somehow I’ve made this into both a Finding Nemo and Pokemon reference), and throw it away (I’ve actually been flushing the hairballs, but this seems like not the best choice now I’m thinking about it out loud, and I probably need to get a little bathroom bin and find it a home…). Then at the end of my shower I rinse the wall down to get rid of any conditioner residue… and then I have a bonus tip! 💡 Get yourself a shower squeegee - you can either get ones that are like a big Y shape with a gap in the middle you can put over your shower head (or I’ll sometimes put it over the end of my shower bar control dial things), or flat ones that hang off the edge of the shower (which look a lot more sleek and minimalist tbh) - just make sure it’s something you can comfortably grab and use with wet hands. Right after grabbing a towel to wrap around 1. me and 2. my hair, my final shower step (after dealing with the wall-hair monster) is to get the squeegee and sluice all the water off the two tiled walls and then glass wall of my shower, then the floor, and scoot all that water into the drain (I have a walk-in shower and technically a “wet room” bathroom). It’s maybe a 30 second habit I guess, but once it becomes automatic you don’t even think about it and it’s just a thing you do when you shower. The benefit is the whole room dries out a LOOOOOT quicker than if you left it all wet, and it drastically reduces any kind of humidity/condensation/damp/mould issue in the bathroom, or in your home more generally*… plus it means you have to do dramatically less full-on *cleaning* in your shower/bathroom! Between rinsing the walls and floor (or bathtub/shower cubicle floor) and then squeegeeing them straight after, you don’t have any leftover soap/product residue, and no dried on water marks with drips/streaks/runs etc, so it’s a double bonus tip 😀 * I should add that I live in the UK - if you live somewhere with low humidity then maybe your shower dampness is a good thing that you don’t want to get rid of quickly 😂. I lived in my previous flat for 10 years - a Victorian terrace conversion, where each original “unit” (behind one front door) was sub-divided into 4 separate flats with paper-thin dividing walls (2 upstairs, 2 downstairs), and not enough ventilation to deal with 4 separate bathrooms and kitchens, so between that and overflowing gutters full of leaves/moss/etc and insufficient building maintenance to deal with those things or repointing the mortar between the bricks in the wall or repairing the flashing to stop the torrents of rain runoff from getting in through the walls, I definitely had an issue with condensation and mould. A simple shower squeegee isn’t going to solve all those problems, but when I started doing this it definitely helped reduce the part of the issue I had any control over. I’ve lived in a flat that I own for the past 3 years, in a new building so it has none of the same problems I was dealing with before, but I’m now more motivated to take care of preventing any issues that might either be expensive to fix or deteriorate over time (and reducing necessary cleaning time/effort is always a goal) 😅 (in both my current flat and my previous one I don’t/didn’t have a window in my bathroom - just a ceiling ventilation/extractor fan)

I just imagine the cat jumping into the litter box and being frightened when it rolls

@@rrrrrfffff haha that’s a good point

I roll up my used bags into a ball. First straighten bag lengthwise, then wrap it around my fingers and tuck end into opening after fingers are removed. Neat small bag balls!

My area of the world went one step further and single use plastic bags are no longer allowed to be distributed here. So if we forget a reusable bag, we have to buy a new one. That gets expensive, let me tell you!

Regular Windex will work in place of daily shower cleaner. Just squeegee then mist the Windex, then go about your day.

After I dry myself off, I use my towel to dry off the tiled shower walls & tub corners. I rarely have to scrub those walls, a chore hate. It keeps the humidity level down in the bathroom as well. I hang the towel over the shower curtain rod to dry while I’m at work.

I keep papers, including credit card offers (thieves love these!) in a bag, which, when full, I bring to Staples. They have secure shredding bins on site. For $1/pound of paper, problem of sensitive paper disposal is solved.

And clean your brush after every use! Nothing grosser than a hair monster that you run through your hair every morning/night.

I finally had to move out of my house and into my own apartment because my best friend and his son, who I lived with, have a different mindset about cleaning and clutter than I do (I’m being very polite).

I do this too 😂 I’m always pulling hair off of my clothes and furniture and making little balls of matted hair

Yes! I was thinking the same how I do a lot of these things already because my mum had taught me or I would see her do it. It’s helped a lot!

I do it too 😅!

You do a separate load of laundry for each family member?

I absolutely believe in the power of using a timer! If you are not familiar, please check The Organised Mum Method (TOMM). Her cleaning system could work for your lifestyle.

😊

I have an over-the-door hanger on my bathroom door. I drape the wet towel over two or three hooks, speeding it out to dry faster.

This a my favorite tip!