It takes us almost 2 hours a day to clean, cook, do the dishes, and manage other things around the house, according to American scientists. But you could spend this precious time on other more interesting tasks.
We despise it when things are strewn about, but we believe that life is too short to waste time cleaning. Furthermore, many domestic activities can be completed less frequently than we are accustomed to, and others are absolutely unnecessary.
1. Carefully folding your underwear
Thin underwear is easily damaged, so it’s better to fold it carefully and keep it separate from other things, but regular underwear can just get thrown into the drawer.
2. Washing the kitchen stove and oven after every use
Fresh spots and stains are easily removed with a wet cloth. It’s enough to wash the surface with a detergent once a week and the grills inside the oven, once a month. Aggressive cleaning agents can ruin the surfaces, so it’s better not to use them at all.
You can wash the oven just 3 to 4 times a year since the food doesn’t come into contact with the surfaces and the high temperature destroys most of the bacteria. You can also put tin foil around the inner surface of the oven to avoid having to clean the grease more often.
3. Polishing wooden furniture often
Experts say that only furniture that’s already been covered with oil and wax should be continually covered with these elements. Most of the time, this is for antique furniture and expensive designer furniture. On all other types of furniture, there’s a certain finish coat that gets removed by cleaning it often. The surface gets dirty and duller faster.
Polishing agents can be applied twice a year. The rest of the time, just wipe the surface with a wet cloth and remove any stains instead of cleaning the entire piece.
4. Washing curtains before holidays
On average, we should wash curtains once every 6 months, but not more than that, as many families do. If you don’t have pets, or if you don’t open the windows very often, the curtains may remain clean and fresh for a longer time.
Washing curtains too often may lead to fading color. This is why you can actually vacuum clean the curtains from time to time. A steam cleaner is another great option to freshen the curtains quickly and easily.
5. Washing all your food
If a pack of celery says that it’s ready to be eaten, you don’t have to wash every little piece. The washing won’t make the food cleaner, but there’s a big chance of “infecting” them with pathogens from the sink and other surfaces.
There’s no need to wash meat. Water won’t help battle germs and bacteria — you need a high temperature while cooking to do that.
It’s better to just wipe mushrooms with a dry paper towel. Washing them makes them go bad faster, and the taste can become compromised.
6. Ironing bed sheets and clothes often
Just imagine how much easier your life would become if you bought things made of materials that didn’t need to be ironed, like denim, spandex, wool, cashmere, and lyocell. There are also so-called “permanent press” materials.
But even if you’re using a fabric that needs ironing, you can still avoid doing it. You can hang wet clothes on hangers or roll dry laundry.
7. Wiping washed dishes with a towel
Even visually clean kitchen towels may have germs on them, and there will be a lot of fibers that get transferred onto the plates. A simpler and cleaner way is just to let the dishes dry on their own.
Another pointless task is washing the dishes before putting them into the dishwasher. All you have to do is remove the pieces of food from the plates.
8. Manually washing dirty surfaces
To finish cleaning faster, we put detergents on surfaces and start cleaning the dirt. But if you give the detergent more time, you won’t have to clean that hard. That’s what professional cleaners do in hotels and in restaurants.
More serious stains on clothes require the same approach: you should soak them in detergent and put the pieces into the washing machine. It will save you lots of time and effort.
9. Cleaning the pipes “just in case”
All cleaning agents contain aggressive compounds that don’t care about what they dissolve, whether it’s a clog or the inside of pipes. Of course, if the pipes are clogged, you should use these, but doing it “just in case” is pointless and even dangerous.
10. Cleaning coffee makers and teapots very thoroughly
Experts believe that coffee leftovers on the inside of the coffee machine make the drink taste better, and many coffee fans agree. The same is true for tea — the taste becomes better. Just wash the appliances with water but don’t use any cleaning agents.
11. Regularly vacuuming and washing the floors in the entire house
To keep your home clean, all you have to do is vacuum and mop the floors once a week and clean some localized dirt right away. For example, if you have one stain on the floor, you can remove it with a cloth instead of mopping the entire room.
It is pointless to vacuum the carpet under the table or mop the floor in an empty room all the time. The dust needs enough time to get there. If you don’t visit some rooms, you can clean them 1-2 times a month. But if you have small children or pets, you’ll have to do it more often.