Every time I think of ways to keep my house clean and organized, I just tend to look back at the time when my Grandma was alive. She always used to tell me that life as she knew it was much simpler in her time than how it is today. She used to tell me that there were less distractions back in 1930s and 1940s and that people were actually living in the moment while keeping their lives and homes as organized as possible. But the one thing that still surprises me when I think of it is when she told me that homes back then were far more clean and organized despite the limited availability of resources.
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I feel bad to admit that a mere thought of cleaning the house makes me anxious and if it wasn’t for my Grandma, I would never have been able to learn some very basic cleaning hacks revolving around dusting, stain removal and deep cleaning.
As someone who is always on a lookout for some old-time cleaning hacks and techniques, trust me when I say that no amount of modernity can beat the effectiveness of these cleaning tips from the Great era. Be it the bathroom, kitchen, living room or bedroom, these vintage cleaning hacks can be implemented easily in no time while giving you the best results. So here are some of them as you go about organizing and cleaning your home this year:
1. Keep Clearing The Mess
The biggest mistake that most of us are guilty of committing is waiting for the mess to pile up before we start cleaning or decluttering. Instead of putting it off for that one day, you should tidy up your house every single day. It’s easy to spend 15 minutes a day cleaning your house than wasting away an entire weekend clearing the mess.
2. Do Not Waste The Cleaning Products
Instead of buying a floor cleaning duster, my Grandma always advised me to use old towels to mop the floor. And it certainly works better than the modern cleaning supplies. You can simply cut the towel into two or more pieces and use them to clean the windows and flat surfaces. Similarly, cleaning sponges can last much longer if you cut them into a couple of smaller pieces before using them.
3. Dust With A Moist Cloth
My Mom always says that no surface in the house can really be cleaned properly without water. Dampening the cloth is important before using it to mop or clean any surface for a long lasting effect. Besides water, you can spray a few drops of cleaner or lemon juice for glass finish.
4. Use Salt And Lemon For Sanitizing
Everything in your house that is made up of metal should be cleaned using salt and water. Be it those special kitchen vessels, bathroom/kitchen taps or other metallic surfaces, all you need to do to clean them is sprinkle some salt on the stain and rub the surface using a half cut lemon. As an Indian, I have been using this cleaning hack for years now to clean the religious idols sitting in our in-home temple.
5. Dedicate A Day Every Week To Laundry
I used to hear this from my Grandma that it’s important to have at least a day every week dedicated to doing your laundry depending on the size of family. But this hack really came handy when I left home for higher studies. Having a laundry day ensures that you get done with the entire process, right from washing the clothes to folding and organizing them, within the dedicated day of the week instead of having to do it every day. It saves time and efforts apart from eliminating the need to worry about doing your laundry multiple times a week.
6. Do The Dishes After Every Meal
The one thing that is bound to scare every person is the mountain of dirty dishes overflowing the kitchen sink. Right from my childhood, I have seen my Grandma and my mother doing all the dishes immediately after having their meals. They did it mainly because of the two reasons. One, because they didn’t want it to be left for the night when they would be too tired to do it and second, because they always believed that an overflowing sink makes the entire kitchen look dirty and cluttered.
7. Clean The Kitchen Before You Sit To Eat
I’ve seen my Grandma (as well as many of my friends’ grannies) ensuring that the kitchen is clean before she sits to eat. As someone who is always hungry and can barely wait to grab the food after it has been cooked, I find it hard to follow this hack. But at the same time, I feel relaxed while having my meal when there’s no mess waiting for me in the kitchen apart from the dishes.
8. Use Sun To Your Advantage
I used to be so obsessed with the inbuilt wind dryer of the washing machine that the quality of my clothes suffered in the process of using it on a regular basis. I had to go back to sun drying the clothes after realizing how important it is for clothes to get some exposure to sun. If possible, you can also use natural air to your advantage for drying your clothes to save money and to retain the quality of your clothes. If you don’t have a regular access to sunlight, use a clothes stand indoors for drying your clothes.
9. Use Natural Deodorants
Nature can help you share your workload with the freshness it possesses. In order to make your home smell amazing all day long without using air fresheners, you can keep some indoor plants like lavender, jasmine and mint. You can also use lemon to clean the dishes and other surfaces in order to eliminate the bad odour.
Although we live in a world where new kinds of house cleaning tools are being launched every day, the efficacy of house cleaning tips from the Great Era can’t be ignored. These techniques won’t eat up a big chunk of your salary and will make the process of house cleaning much easier.