More and more people nowadays decide to take up freelancing, or simply – to work from home. For those, who go to the office it seems a pretty sweet deal – you walk around in you pyjamas all day long, you don’t spend money on expensive lunch and transportation, you have the time for everything you want. But the truth is, that being a freelancer requires a lot hard work – making new contacts, finding clients, building your reputation – and even working when you are sick.
It is easy to neglect your place when freelancing – tidying up and cleaning the house are not in your priority list when you are pursuing a deadline. However, working in a messy and dirty house is not inspiring at all! This is why, today we decided to share some tips on how to keep your home nice, clean and tidy without breaking up your work routine.
Tidy Up and De-clutter On the Go
When you are chasing a deadline, or if you want to impress a potential client, the last thing on mind is de-cluttering your home and putting away your stuff. Instead of waiting for everything to pile up and cover your home, try tidying up a little every time you get off the computer.
For example – when going to the kitchen to re-fill your glass of water, take the dirty coffee cup with you and put it in the sink. Take 5 minutes to collect dirty clothes from the bedroom and throw them in the laundry basket, after dressing up in the morning. Or take the trash out while microwaving your lunch. Use every pause for small home cleaning tasks.
Easy Tricks for Clean Dishes
If you don’t have a dishwasher there is a big chance your sink gets before you notice it! When you are working from home you use a lot more dishes every day and they pile up really fast. However, there are some tricks that can help every freelancer deal with the dishes fast and easy.
Try cleaning your plate and cutlery after every meal – it is incomparably easier to wash one dish, than whole sink. Here is another idea – wash a plate or two, while waiting for your espresso machine to fill your cup, instead of staring blindly into your coffee maker.
Check also: How to Clean Your Dishwasher Fast and Easy.
Laundry Pauses
Doing laundry is one of the tasks that you cannot avoid for too long when freelancing. Unlike de-cluttering and doing he dishes you can’t wash your clothes in the breaks, or one-by one. The best way to wash your clothes without interrupting your work process for too long and loosing your focus is to spare time for this task – there’s no way around it!
Add 10 extra minutes to your coffee break to sort your laundry and load the washing machine. Or you can do this right before taking a shower. Load the machine and set the timer – this way you will know exactly when the cycle will finish and you will be able to plan some time to hang your clothes or load the dryer.
Check also: Tips and Tricks for Clean Curtains.
Bathroom Cleaning for Freelancers
When you are working at home as a freelancer you can spend the whole day without going out. This is why rooms that you use most – your work area, the kitchen and the bathroom get dirtier, faster than before. Luckily, there is one trick to help you clean your bathroom, without loosing hours in scrubbing.
After taking a shower spare 10 minutes to clean your bathroom. The hot vapours from the running water will loosen the dirt, making it easier to deal with stains, splashes and built-in dirt. Scrub the kitchen sink with sponge, dipped in cleaning solution, and give a quick wipe to the walls. You will be amazed from the result! Don’t forget to wipe the bathroom after you finish – this will help you prevent mould and condensation in your home.
Workplace Organisation
As someone who has been a freelancer myself, I know, that the organisation of your working area is one of the important, yet most difficult things for everyone who is working from home. But the tidiness and cleanliness of your home-office is essential for the quality of your work. You can delegate all other cleaning tasks to professionals, or to the members of your family, but no one can organise your workplace instead of you!
This is why I always give this advice – take 15 minutes every day to put your workstation in order. Put away all the book and papers you are not using, save all the files that are finished and make back ups. Take a small vacuum and go around your desk. Never leave dirty cups on the desk, take them to the kitchen in the end of your workday. If you do this on daily basis it will have great impact on your work and help you stay focused.
General Home Cleaning
As you stay at home more than before you will probably have to clean more often. Make a schedule for the bigger tasks – like vacuuming around the house, cleaning your furniture and curtains, deep cleaning of the kitchen etc. Ask your family to help you with home cleaning chores in the weekends. If you don’t have the time to deal with everything by yourself you can always hire professional cleaners in your area.
