After a long day of lectures and studying, the last thing most people think about is cleaning. It can be very difficult to gather the motivation to tidy and clean, especially when you're excited to watch another episode of your TV show or play games on your computer or phone. This often leads to a cycle of laziness, as the mountain of clothes grows bigger and the clutter on your desk spreads it takes more and more energy to clean it up.
In this blog, we look at some simple lifestyle tips that can help you fit cleaning and tidying into a busy schedule.
Try an App
Because you're likely to have your phone on you at most times, using an app to help you with planning your tidying and cleaning can keep everything manageable. Apps such as Sweepy, Tody, Unfilth your Habitat, Habits, Habitica, and Focusmate can be great if you struggle with visualising what needs doing and when, especially for people with ADHD.
Using Sweepy as an example, these apps let you set separate tasks for different rooms. Each task can be configured as a one-off or recurring task with either default or customised options, and can then be given a frequency needed to complete each task along with a difficulty. You'll then be given an average level of cleanliness for each room dependent on when you last completed each task.
Have a Place for Everything
One of the biggest causes of clutter build-up is a lack of places to actually store items. Picking up some storage boxes and labelling them can help you keep clutter to a minimum because everything should now have a place to live. You'll also be able to actually find what you're looking for because you've labelled up each box!
You can use any cardboard boxes that you may have from ordering things online, or you may find that buying cheap and handy storage boxes would be best for you. The Really Useful Storage Boxes range is a great choice that gives you plenty of options when it comes to size and combinations. It also makes it much easier to pack when you need to move out.
Clean and Tidy Early, Not Late
A tried and tested method for boosting motivation is to do your tasks in the morning, rather than leaving them till the end of the day when you're tired. Start by making your bed when you wake up, and you should find that you then naturally start cleaning other places. Starting the day by being productive and cleaning your area can have a tremendous impact on how you're feeling, boosting your mood and reducing your stress. This sets you up to have a great day, where you know that you won't be coming home to a messy room.
If it Only Takes 5 Minutes, Just Do It
This cognitive behavioural technique helps tackle procrastination, by breaking each task into just 5-minutes. Here's how the 5-minute rule works: set a timer or time yourself for 5 minutes while you do a task, after this time if you want to stop, you can. This means that each task is broken down into manageable chunks, and will often be done in those 5 minutes anyway.
Make the Most of Motivation
Motivation can be hard to come by, so when you do have a sudden urge to get things done, make the most of it and get as much done as possible. You may find that once you've finished one task you'll have the motivation to carry on and finish other tasks. As previously mentioned, you can do a lot in just a small amount of time, starting is often the most difficult part!
Listen to Music or Watch a Show
Cleaning and tidying can be boring, so to make it a little more exciting you can stick on some music or watch your favourite show. You could try playing one of your favourite albums and setting the challenge of only stopping once you've finished the album.
What is Unihousing?
Unihousing is a student accommodation provider near the University of Birmingham, operating since 1984. All of our accommodation in Selly Oak is owned by us, so we can respond quickly to any requests using our qualified team of tradesmen. Our property office is located on Bristol Road, only a short walk away from all of our accommodation. This means we can deal directly with our tenants.
Unhousing was selected as the Number 1 Student Letting Agent in Birmingham by the UK's biggest fresher community, Unifresher.
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