For the love of God! From, your housekeeper. Pt.1

Things that are a pain in the ass to clean, plus “organizational hacks” that are wack.

1) Brickwork indoors. You’ll need a hose, a well-placed drain, and a dehumidifier for cleaning that.

2) Piles. I see a lot of clients with piles of things that they consider organized. True, they are easily accessible and all in one place, but it’s an eyesore and you can do better. I make piles during my organization visits and then either deliver them to a final home or discard the items.

3) Stainless steel appliances. Okay, long-lasting, no stains, and beautiful. Also, you’ll see every fingerprint and speck of food that touches it. Just beware of this and plan to clean accordingly.

4) White. When you see white, you think pure, clean, bright, airy. You won’t think clean for long. Life is messy, especially if you have fur friends like I do. Do yourself a favor and pick ANY OTHER COLOR. Especially regarding carpet.

5) Medicine cabinets. I don’t think it’s great to keep medicine in here. Controversial, I know. I think the hall closet is better suited for storage because it is less likely to come into contact with moisture, is centrally located, and won’t become cluttered as easily. Keep oral hygiene, hair ties, and items used daily in medicine cabinets.

6) Plastic bags. I know you have Walmart bags. I know they live under your kitchen sink and I know they are multiplying rapidly. I know because mine are and I’ve finally done something about it. There are cloth bags that are cylindrical in shape that hold and dispense plastic bags so you can reuse them for trash or whatever. Once that tube of bags is full, the rest can be recycled at most Walmart locations.

7) Litter boxes. Put a litter box inside of a tote and cut a hole in the side of the tote. You’re welcome. Litter will be less likely to cover your entire household. Just make sure the tote isn’t too big and bulky so that you still utilize your space most efficiently.

8) Books. Yikes. This is a problem area for me, not going to lie. Marie Kondo can shove it–talking about only owning less than 20 books. Insulting. Cutting down or going electronic is necessary, however. Unless the book holds my sentiment, will be read by me (for sure) in the future, is a favorite, or is instructional, donate to a local library or rehome. It hurts, but totally worth the extra space.

9) Pillows. My mother-in-law, who is beyond generous, gifted my husband and I with blankets and pillows galore. We kept a couple for decorative purposes, a couple for functionality, and donated the rest. We could’ve crafted Rapunzel an escape option from her tower ten times over.

10) See it to use it. Our youngest cat, Percy, gets into literally everything we own. We’ve had to start putting snack items in two of our kitchen drawers out of necessity. Well, we can’t see the snacks readily anymore and therefore a lot of our snacks have gone bad without being consumed. We can’t see it, so we don’t use it. Worried about something like this? Utilize clear containers or put them in the front and center of your space.