Most of the renters were quite satisfied with their lives, referred to as “life satisfaction,” concluded the 2019/20 English Housing Survey report.

Reportedly, the landlords satisfied 83 percent of renters with a reasonable state of repair (related to the age and condition of a range of building components).

Therefore, renters must take care of their property area to keep all things in order. The key is to learn the art of reducing clutter as much as possible, clean up regularly, and store more all over the property with your genuineness.

It was all very rigid in my mum’s day. I remember that Monday was washing day, Tuesday was for the ironing, baking was done on Friday, and I imagine every day had some timetable that I can’t remember.

Then there was the major spring cleaning marathon that makes me wonder just how mucky homes must have been in March if they only got what my mum called ‘a good bottoming’ every April.

That’s too organized for me.

Plus, life isn’t all about cleaning, for goodness sake. But organizing your life, which includes keeping it clutter-free, is.

So here’s my method, inspired partly by my mum’s old-fashioned schedule and partly by my rather hazy knowledge, which I picked up from a Toronto kitchen designer– it might work for you, too.

How to systematize your life in a rental home

Move it Monday

There are lots of articles online that suggest that you create a weekly schedule for yourself. I think I’d die of boredom. But designating the days of the week is a reasonable idea; hence, we have to move it to Monday. Take five minutes or fifty – or however long or short a time you want – to do one of the following:

• Move or arrange something in your home.
• Why are the scissors on the coffee table? (Mine are right now). Put things where they ought to be.
• Rearrange a couple of items in your kitchen to make the cooking flow more easily.
• Move your body – sweep the floors, clean the bathtub (yuck), change the bedding.
• Dust stuff – vigorously (loud music helps, as with all cleaning).
• Are there any pieces of furniture or decor items you’ve considered moving? Today’s the day!

Tame it Tuesday

In my house anyway, things can get out of control sometimes and need to be tamed. These are suggestions for a few things you can organize on tame it Tuesday. Just do one taming task every week:

• The overflowing laundry basket will only get worse. Do the laundry.
• Clear some clutter.
• Sort out the weeds that are encroaching onto the path (note to self).
• The area around my bathroom sink always needs taming.
• Tame tangle – the spaghetti-like computer wires or the tangle of jewelry.
• I know, I know, but that cupboard under the sink…

Wash it Wednesday

There’s no need to go crazy, but if you wash one thing thoroughly every Wednesday, it keeps spring cleaning at bay. You might:

• Wash the windows. Life is worthwhile when the sunlight shines through.
• Spot clean the upholstery (that’s another note to self).
• Wipe the kitchen cabinets or the kitchen floor.
• Wash (or have cleaned) something that gets ignored in the weekly round, such as the duvet, blinds, or area rug.
• Something I always forget to clean until I’m looking for a Wash-it-Wednesday item is the shower curtain.
• Clean your keyboard, screen, and mouse.

Throw it away Thursday

Valerie inspired her Facebook readers to throw something away every week. The first time she did this, I looked around my (organized, I thought) home and thought I didn’t hoard stuff. Ha. It’s a great idea, though. Every Thursday, throw something out or donate it to Goodwill. What about:

• Those dozens of plastic supermarket bags will come in handy one day.
• That lamp broke and can’t be fixed.
• The file containing ‘important’ papers from three years ago that I’ll never need again.
• The cardigan with the holes that I will never repair.
• That thing that I never use/wear because it’s too good to throw away.
• The collection of just-a-tiny-bit-in-the-bottom lipsticks that I’ve not been near for at least a year.

Freestyle Friday

I like having a day of the week to do certain things, but I don’t want to be too rigid. Also, some things don’t fit into the other categories, so on Fridays, I might do one of these:

• Sew the button on the shirt I can’t wear simply because I never got around to putting the button back on.
• Clean all mirrors.
• Check the bottom of the clothes closet for those items that have invariably slithered off their hangers.
• Organize the fridge and isolate the must-use-before-they-go-green-and-hairy foods.
• If I baked (a la my mum), I would do it on Friday so we would have weekend treats.
• Think about cleaning the oven (but rarely do it, of course).

Save it Saturday

Because many of us do the grocery shopping on Saturdays, it’s a good idea to spend the day with savings (money, energy, the planet, water, etc.) in mind. Just one thing a week every Saturday will reap the rewards. I mean things like:

• Fill an empty soda bottle with water and put it in the toilet cistern. This saves water when you flush. (Sorry, but it’s true)
• If you can, put ten dollars into a secret stash. In a year, you’ll have $500 mad money (or savings for when the bathroom ceiling falls in, in my case).
• Recycle or repurpose something and save it from the landfill.
• Before grocery shopping, I look at the supermarket’s website to check on BOGO deals and specials.
• Attend to something that creates extra energy use – clean air conditioning unit filters (saves electricity) or check tire pressures (saves gas).
• Save money by making something you’d usually buy – a pizza, a handmade gift, cut up an old t-shirt to use as rags instead of paper towels.

Savor Sunday

It can’t all be about cleaning, organizing, or saving the planet. So on Sundays, do something to make your home a little bit more beautiful or a touch more comfortable.

• Wander into the yard, down the road, or into the park, and gather flowers, ferns, or other foliage to brighten your rooms.
• Take your shell collection out of that box and display them in a glass vase.
• Acquire houseplants, or give your existing ones some loving care.
• Give your home some fresh air. Weather permitting, throw open the windows and let the air circulate.
• Bake a cake, bread, or some cookies and see how wonderful your home will smell. If you’re like me and don’t bake, make an ice cream sundae instead. You won’t get the aroma effect, but you’ll love eating it.
• Like the ladies in the carefully-selected image above, open a bottle of wine.

Summing up

So, I’ve suggested seven things that you might do on each day of the week. Choose one per day every week (or something of your choosing), and six weeks later, your life and your home will be more organized. Truly.

Hopefully, with a bit of luck and the above tips, organizing daily or weekly tasks will be a lot easier and might even save you some time in the end.