Housekeeping for Those Who Hate Cleaning (a guest post)

Housekeeping for Those Who Hate Cleaning

Not everybody enjoys cleaning. In fact, no matter how much they might pride themselves on interior design, some people simply can't stand the routine of housekeeping. Sure, cleaning can be a boring, tiresome and mind-numbing task. But do you know what's even worse than cleaning? Stressing out at the fact that your house looks like a dump. So, despite the fact that every inch of you might detest the notion of picking up a scrubbing brush or a cloth, cleaning is one of life's unavoidable activities. So why not at least make things easy for yourself with these top tips.

Effective Storage

One of the best ways to avoid clutter and keep your home in order is to utilise effective storage. Most people's houses, no matter how organised and well designed, will always gather a host of random objects which don't seem to have a designated home. Where can you put all of these various possessions? Fortunately there are many options. Drawers or storage boxes are a great start. We're not talking about cheap and ugly plastic boxes here; there are countless designs available to suit the décor of your home. Or if you don't like the idea of taking up extra space, storage beds such as the ones available from Metal Beds Ltd are an even better solution. 

Make Cleaning Fun

Cleaning doesn't need to be an arduous task. We often build it up in our heads as such, but there are plenty of ways to make it a relaxing and even enjoyable experience. Perhaps you've got a big stack of dishes to do? Or maybe the whole house needs a good vacuum? Well there's no reason why you can't get on with these task whilst enjoying a nice glass of red, even with some music in the background to get you going. Provided you do actually get the work done, it's almost like a reward in advance for keeping on top of the chores. 

Set A Timer

image

The biggest setback that you're going to encounter whilst cleaning is your own negative attitude towards it. If you really don't like cleaning, the chances are you are going to stall the process, become easily distracted, and generally draw out the experience through your unwillingness to simply get the job done. Easy solution: Set a timer. Give yourself an allocated timeframe to complete all the jobs, clean like mad, then relax into the rest of your day. 

Simple Solutions that Work

Doing the chores doesn't need to be a chore. By implementing some of the simple ideas listed here, you can get the cleaning done in no time, and maybe even start to enjoy the process as well.  

this guest post was brought to you by metal beds ltd.

(stupid?) product review: duvet donuts

i was recently at bed bath and beyond, and came across a product that i thought could potentially be life changing. we have 4 beds in our house, and every one of them have down comforters and duvet covers on them. there are two beds in particular (my bed and my sons bed) where the duvet is always misaligned with the duvet cover and it drives me nuts! 

i saw these, and i had a coupon, so i decided to give them a try:

THE CLAIMS:

"easy to use"

"attaches in seconds"

"keeps your comforter from bunching and shifting inside your duvet"

too good to be true? i was about to find out!

as instructed, we laid out the duvet cover (the malou from ikea) inside out on the floor, and put the duvet on top of it.

next, we put one side of the duvet donut on the top, and the other side on the bottom, and the pieces locked together . easy enough for a 9 year old.

so, yes. the claims of "easy to use" and "attaches in seconds" were pretty much accurate.

after the donuts were all attached, we flipped the entire thing right side out.

hmmm. not really loving the way that is is looking! (and sorry about the NON vaccumed carpet!)

(i tried again to get the rings to the very edge of the duvet, but it still looked the same...not pretty, to say the least, BUT...if it worked, then i thought that i could live with it. at least for my sons room...)

now---to see if they HOLD the duvet cover in place...

***i came back a week later to find that two of the donuts had come loose. i asked my son if he had pulled them out, and he hadn't. i snapped them back into place, and a few days later, one of the same ones and one different one was loose. (in fact, after 2 weeks, only one remained in place)

VERDICT:

in my opinion, these are pretty much worthless. (sorry duvet donut people) they made the duvet bunch up at the corners, which i found unattractive, and they didn't even hold the duvet together, which is what they claimed to do. maybe other people who have used them think they are great and love them, but i would not spend money on these again.

this item was purchased by me, and the review is my opinion about my experiences with this product.