11 things that make an apartment look messy

1. Ironing board and dryer

How to clean up your home: put your ironing board in the closet

There is a great temptation to leave the board unfolded after ironing - suddenly there will be some wrinkled clothes that need to be tidied up. The same applies to the clothes dryer: sometimes it is too lazy to put things out right away, and it just stands there, open and full. It is convenient, but it looks sloppy.

What to do

If you do not have a special room for washing, drying and ironing, it is better to immediately fold the board and dryer after use and put it out of sight. For example, behind a closet or in a pantry.

2. Furniture spoiled by animals

Cats, if not accustomed to scratching posts, will scratch upholstery on sofas and armchairs. Dogs and rabbits can easily chew or tear something. After their claws and teeth, the furniture can still be used, but it doesn't look good anymore.

What to do

Some elements of the interior - for example, curtains in puffs from cat's claws - would be best simply replaced. But there is no need to throw away the sofa. Try to repair the furniture yourself.

If the textile upholstery is damaged and there are no large tears, you will need scissors, an awl, and clear glue. Carefully cut off the filler that has come out, and then fill in its remnants using an awl greased with glue. The process is shown in more detail in the video:

In the event that the upholstery is torn and hanging in tatters, you will first have to carefully sew it up. Or contact a specialist.
If you want to restore leather furniture, stock up on tweezers, liquid leather to match the color of your sofa or chair, a brush and a sponge. First, carefully remove the loose filler with tweezers. Then dip the brush into liquid leather and apply the substance to all holes and scratches. Use a sponge to spread the liquid skin evenly. Repeat several times until all damage is invisible.

3. Household supplies

Brushes, brooms, mops, sponges and rags are very convenient to keep in sight: we use them several times a day, and every time we don't want to go into the closet or closet. But put on public display, they create the illusion of disorder, even in a clean house.

What to do

Set aside a special place for household utensils - accessible and convenient. For example, a separate narrow cabinet in the kitchen, where all the brushes, buckets, rags and cleaning products will be hidden. To prevent the mops from falling out of it, they can be attached to the door from the inside. If there are small children in the house, such a cabinet should be locked.

4. Blankets on furniture

How to clean up your house: change a blanket to furniture covers

Many are afraid that the upholstery of furniture will get greasy, frayed or dirty, and to protect it, throw a blanket over it. It looks good on beautiful interior photos. But in reality, the coverlet frowns and slips all the time, and it looks sloppy.

What to do

If you are worried about your sofas and armchairs, buy or order a special removable cover. It can be washed and looks neat.

5. Sports equipment

Yoga mats against the wall, exercise equipment in the middle of the room, dumbbells folded in the corner - as a rule, it all looks alien and it seems that the room has not been cleaned, even if in fact it is not.

What to do

For sports equipment - at least for some - it is better to set aside a dedicated space. The rug can be stowed away in the main compartment of the wardrobe, and the dumbbells can be placed on the lower shelf.

6. Wires

How to clean up your home: tame wires and cables

Cables hanging from the ceiling, bundles of wires gathering dust under the table, extension cords stretched across the floor interfere with walking, moving furniture and cleaning. And they are constantly confused and greatly spoil the appearance of the room. In addition, dust and small debris get stuck in these tangles of wires.

What to do

The best thing that can be done is to figure out where the sockets are needed at the stage of renovation and bring them out in all strategic places. But if you live in a rented apartment, bought a second home, or simply did not foresee everything from the very beginning, there is still a way out.

Long wires that cannot be gotten rid of (for example, an Internet cable) can be hidden in a box, fixed under the ceiling or under a baseboard.
An electrician can remove additional outlets and save you the trouble of using extension cords.
The rest of the wires - from a laptop, printer and other household appliances - can be arranged using holders, zip ties, and Velcro.

Here are some more creative ideas on how to tame wires and cables:

7. Blockages on dressers, bedside tables and chairs

Horizontal surfaces attract books, pens and notepads, keys, jars of cosmetics, children's toys, cups and other items. These blockages grow every day, become covered with dust, make the room untidy.

The same applies to clothes thrown on the back of a chair. Yes, after work it can be terribly lazy to put every thing in its place and you just want to hang it on the first thing that comes across. But if you do not remove it immediately, then it will be even more difficult to do it. And the next day, the temptation to throw things on a chair or sofa will increase. As a result, the furniture will be buried under several layers of clothing.

What to do

Marla Scilly, creator of FlyLady's policing system, calls these hot spots "hot spots" or "hotspots." And he advises to "extinguish" them - that is, to put all things in their places - several times a day, spending 5 minutes on it.

8. Open shelves

There is nothing wrong with them. Books, photographs or souvenirs beautifully placed on the shelves make the interior lively and cozy. But if you throw things at random, forget to dust off and don't know the measure, the picture turns out to be depressing.

What to do

Keep your shelves tidy: arrange books, dust regularly, and remove items that should be elsewhere.

9. Baskets and boxes for small items

You probably have one too. It can be a basket, a vase, or a small box. It is usually placed on a chest of drawers, on a shelf in the hallway, or in some other prominent place - to put various trifles. And as a result, checks and notes, coins and beads, torn off buttons and wheels broken off from children's cars can accumulate there for years. All this lies dead weight, collects dust and is terribly annoying.

What to do

Get a nice piggy bank for coins, take pictures of important notes and receipts on your phone and throw them away, and get rid of broken things and other unnecessary junk without regrets.

10. Shoes in the hallway

How to clean up your house: put your shoes in the closets

In Russia, the weather is so capricious and unpredictable that you often have to change sneakers, autumn boots and winter boots in one week.

As a result, shoes and sandals do not fit on the shoe rack, stand randomly, get tangled underfoot and look very sloppy. And if the family is large, a real shoe disaster can happen in the hallway.

What to do

Try to wipe your shoes straight away and put them back in place. Buy a roomy wardrobe or a comfortable shoe rack for this.

11. Rag in front of the door

It is usually placed on top of the rug to wipe your feet and not bring dirt into the apartment. But it gets dirty, crumpled and spoils the overall impression of the hallway. Especially if you use an old towel or a torn T-shirt as a rag.