Many people find it difficult to maintain a clean and tidy home, especially when balancing multiple jobs and other commitments alongside daily household tasks. One person turned to Reddit for help, explaining that they and their partner, who are both neurodivergent, work three jobs each while caring for three dogs, which often leaves cleaning "out of hand."
Reddit user shares photos and asks for advice
Sharing several photographs of their home showing clothes and various items scattered across the floor, they explained: "We mainly struggle with dishes and laundry, but overall dirtiness and clutter too." They revealed they had tried numerous strategies to stay on top of household chores but found them all "difficult to keep up with."
One user, who said they are also neurodivergent, shared a list of five tips they claimed had helped them maintain a clean home, as reported by the Express.
Five tips for a cleaner home
The first tip was straightforward: "Don't put it down, put it away," they advised. "Make this your new habit with EVERYTHING."
The second suggestion was to "quit buying things," avoiding trendy decorative items and "trinkets." They added: "Get rid of all the extra stuff you don't use or want either."
Tip number three involved tackling the dishes every evening before bedtime to prevent them from accumulating. "Just load the dishwasher," they suggested. "Who cares how dirty it is - you can always run it a second time! Alternatively, empty it EVERY morning so it's ready to go that evening!"
Their fourth suggestion was to dedicate five or ten minutes each evening to tidying up clutter while listening to music. They added: "[This means] future morning me can wake up refreshed and motivated for the day ahead - NOT overwhelmed the second I open my eyes!"
For their final tip, they said: "Think about your future self. Do small micro cleaning habits that your future self will thank you for. Examples that come to mind are doing my hair and makeup before an outing and coming back to a clean counter vs an explosion of makeup everywhere."
Additional suggestions from other users
A fellow user added two more suggestions. The first was: "If it takes less than two minutes to do, don't wait and just do it." The second was: "Everything has a place and purpose. I don't buy anything any more if I don't know exactly how I will use it and where it will go."
Another commenter recommended tackling one particular chore per day rather than attempting to do everything at once.
In a follow-up to their original post, the initial user wrote: "Thanks for all the tips! So many comments were very helpful and I'm taking notes (literally)!"
They continued: "We are going to get rid of some stuff but I'm sorry, getting rid of half of our things just simply isn't possible and wouldn't bring us joy. We love our decor. We love our books. We obviously need to declutter and purge, but getting rid of everything we own isn't helpful or a solution we can get behind. Hundreds of you have suggested this. I'm happy you're all living minimalist lives but we aren't minimalist people, we just want a functional life and that's possible without getting rid of everything we know and love."
