How to Maintain Cleanliness in Your Apartment: Tips from Professionals

Deep cleaning is not the most pleasant task, especially when it requires spending long-awaited weekends on it. However, if you maintain cleanliness in your home regularly, cleaning won't take up much time or energy. We tell you how often to pay attention to different corners of your apartment to keep it always clean.

Kitchen Counter

To maintain order in the kitchen, you should wipe down the countertop with a damp cloth and soapy solution after each cooking session — this will take only about two minutes. Once every 1–2 weeks, use cleaning products.

Areas to Focus On: junctions with walls, area near the sink, places where appliances and dishes are stored.

What to Use for Cleaning: eco-friendly creamy cleaning products. They are safe for children and leave no scent.

Refrigerator

Store different types of food in sealed plastic containers to prevent odors from mixing. Once a week, wipe shelves with a soft sponge soaked in soapy water. Once a month, perform a deep clean: unplug the refrigerator and remove all food items. Occasionally, you need to dust the condenser with a vacuum cleaner using a fine nozzle.

Areas to Focus On: far walls, all corners and recesses.

What to Use for Cleaning: baking soda dissolved in warm water. Do not use aggressive cleaning agents on the refrigerator: they may damage rubber gaskets or get into food.

Microwave Oven

The easiest method is to use the steam cleaning mode. If you don’t have it, do it manually: mix 0.5 cup of water and 0.5 cup of vinegar in a heat-resistant dish and bring to boil. Afterward, just wipe the microwave with a damp cloth.

How Often to Clean: once every one or two weeks.

Bedding

Sleeping on freshly washed bedding is much more comfortable. To avoid chemical odors from laundry detergents, choose the most neutral detergent for bedding and set your washing machine to double rinse.

Store sheets with sachets of fragrance—such as lavender scent, which promotes calmness and deep relaxation.

How Often to Clean: once a week.

Rug

You can vacuum a rug every day, but it’s much more effective to do regular steam cleaning. Alternatively, you can hire a professional rug cleaning service, but it’s more economical to buy a steam cleaner.

Just make sure that your rug can be washed (for example, handmade wool rugs shouldn’t be washed). Also, don’t overuse water to prevent mold growth from excess moisture.

How Often to Clean: once a month, more frequently if you have pets.

Bathroom

To make the toilet shine, apply a stain remover around the rim and let it sit for five to ten minutes, then clean with a brush.

It’s just as important to clean the tank and flush button, which are hotspots for microbes. To avoid doing it by hand, spray the cleaning product from a dispenser and then wipe with a damp cloth.

How Often to Clean: after every use, thoroughly once a week.

Do not clean the bathtub with hard sponges or scrubs to avoid damaging the enamel. Eco-friendly cleaning products in paste or gel form work well. For acrylic bathtubs, there is a special range of products (using aggressive cleaners can cause yellowing).

How Often to Clean the Bathtub: once a week.

What About Towels? If you have sensitive skin, it’s better to use paper tissues to avoid changing facial towels daily. Towels for hands are easier to manage—change them every three days.

How to Easily Maintain Cleanliness in Your Home? + 5 Rules from Marie Kondo

Let order become your lifestyle—then you won’t have to force yourself to clean. Easily get rid of unnecessary items. If an item doesn’t bring joy, it’s no longer needed. Clear not a specific room, but a category: for example, start with all window sills, then wardrobes. This speeds up the process. Don’t postpone it: it’s easier to do small cleanups regularly than wait until there’s enough trash to make a big mess. Use vertical storage systems so that your wardrobes are always organized.