LIVING WELL: Neat and tidy

Lifting the veil on how to make your home space spick and span, without spending hours cleaning. These housework hacks could change your life

- ELEANOR OZICH

The three-minute rule

In a nutshell, you put aside three minutes each day to tidy one small area of your home. Surely we all have three minutes to spare, am I right? You could do this while you are waiting for your pasta to boil or the laundry to finish its spin cycle. Clutter weighs down the best of us, and this is particularly true when it comes to the space we live in. When my home is clean and organised, it feels much more inviting. I can’t help but feel a sense of calm that only simplicity can bring. A tidy home gives me a tidy mind.

Start by setting the timer on your phone for three minutes, then choose an area you would like to tackle.

A few ideas to get you started

1 Take everything out of your cutlery drawer, wipe it out, and place it all back neatly. Discard any random bits and bobs that have accumulated.

2 Clear everything off your benchtop. Find a new home for anything sitting out that you don’t use daily; the one exception to this rule is only keeping items on display if they bring you immense joy.

3 Line up your mugs and cups in an orderly row. This should only take a minute or two, so you might as well organise your plates, while you’re at it.

4 Put a few drops of lemon essential oil and a splash of vinegar in your dishwasher, then put it on to a rinse cycle. It smells so fresh and clean.