Tag housecleaning

Living Alone Is Underrated

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Woman sitting on the couch

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Having a space to yourself isn’t just a luxury—it can become a necessity for mental well-being, peace, and autonomy. When you share a living space with someone who doesn’t contribute, the weight of responsibility falls on you, turning your home into a place of frustration rather than rest. This became glaringly apparent with my most recent roommate situation, when I put up with this person’s complete refusal to participate in household cleaning, household repairs, or the purchase of paper and cleaning products which we both used.

I spent 3 years harboring frustration over having to deal with areas my roommate had sullied and selfishly left for me to clean, making me feel like a live-in housekeeper. Then I had surgery in January of this year, and was unable to come home for two weeks. When I returned home, I noticed that my roommate had taken the liberty of rearranging my dining room table, and had also completely taken over my side of the refrigerator. Although I promptly put the furniture pieces back to their original orientation and put my food back on my side of the fridge, I was perturbed. What I didn’t know was that she was planning to give notice that she was moving out. I guess she figured that since she would be leaving, she could encroach upon my fridge space and move my furniture around. That was the last straw for me, so I was actually relieved when she gave her 30 days’ notice.

At a certain point, the financial strain of living alone is worth the trade-off for personal freedom. You get to set your own rules, maintain the level of cleanliness that keeps you comfortable, and decorate in a way that truly feels like home. You don’t have to tiptoe around someone else’s bad habits or pick up their slack. There’s no awkward conversations, no unspoken resentment—just the quiet relief of knowing everything is exactly how you left it.

Peace of mind is priceless. Sure, budgeting might be tighter, but waking up in a space that is yours—where you don’t have to compromise on cleanliness, noise levels, or household responsibilities—makes all the difference. Sometimes, the real cost of a cheap living situation is your own sanity.

My Favorite Bathtub Caulk Cleaning Hack

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Copyright: realiia

I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand the mold and mildew which forms on the caulk in my bathtub after a few months. I went for many years trying to clean the stains, but could never find a foolproof and easy way to completely remove them. Finally, I stumbled on a cleaning hack when I was in the midst of a cleaning frenzy which hit me shortly after the world went into lockdown due to COVID. This method is easy, inexpensive, and works like a charm. I have also included several other cleaning methods, but I honestly think that the method I am featuring is superior to the others.

Using gloves to protect my skin, I soak long strips of Graham Cellucotton Beauty Coil 100% Rayon in regular household bleach, then place the strips over the stained caulk. I allow the strips to sit on the caulk overnight, then remove them the next morning. The caulk is always perfectly white, as if I had laid new caulk on the tub.

Copyright: casamediacasamedia

As an alternative, you can use a bleach pen, but it’s a more expensive method. Other methods include applying distilled white vinegar with a toothbrush and scrubbing the caulk until the stains lift, but you have to use some elbow grease. You could also use equal parts of water and baking soda to make a paste, then scrub with that mixture. Lastly, you could dilute a tablespoon of oxygen bleach in a pint of water and either spray it onto the caulk with a spray bottle, or use the solution to scrub the stains off with a toothbrush.

Murphy’s Law And My Kitchen Floor

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kitchen floor spill

My kitchen floor seems to have a curse on it which causes me to spill something on it within 24 hours of it being cleaned. I’m not kidding when I say that this happens EVERY SINGLE TIME, within a 24 hour window. It is truly uncanny how some liquid substance will always make its way onto the floor right after the scheduled biweekly housecleaning takes place. Never mind that spills rarely occur at any other time.

What’s weird is that I can move very carefully, thinking about how I don’t want to spill something, and yet, I will still manage to drop something wet onto the pristine floor. I will often see the imminent spill occurring a split second before it occurs. The accident plays out exactly as I see it beforehand, which upsets me even more since I get an advanced warning. Whether it is pre-workout formula, cooked egg, coffee, rice, or any other item which leaves a residue or is otherwise very difficult to clean, I can pretty much count on something dropping onto the floor that will mar the perfectly clean, smooth appearance of the floor.

The spills are always extensive enough that wiping them up with a paper towel isn’t enough. I have to break out cleaning solvents and clean a large section of the floor. Sometimes, I will spill something like uncooked rice or oats, or dry cat food, all over the floor in such a way that the substance will scatter beyond the main area, and nestle into the crevices. Fun stuff.

Maybe this is a sign that I should avoid the kitchen for the first 24 hours after it has been cleaned!