A wise teenager named Ferris once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” How true those words; life does move pretty fast. But if you don’t stop and clean up once in a while, you’ll end up living in filth.
Making the time to tidy up can be tough, and performing a good deep clean can be time consuming and just plain daunting. Luckily, we live in a modern era with apps that cater to our (cough, my, cough,) unmotivated ways. Here, we guide you through a few of them to help you find the perfect app for making your home a space that you’ll be proud of.
For the “Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That” Cleaner
This kind of cleaner does not have the time to pull out a vacuum, or, perhaps, is simply too lazy. Or maybe he/she would prefer a professional step in from time to time. Thankfully, there are a few smart apps for local cleaning services that cater to all types of cleaners and non-cleaners. Because these apps involve a stranger coming into your home, I am only confident in suggesting ones that I’ve personally tried. I had great luck with “Handy” and “Task Rabbit.” Both apps allow you schedule and customize a service, meet and communicate with your cleaning professional on the app (no exchanging of personal numbers required), and rate your experience. “Handy” is strictly a cleaning service, while “Task Rabbit’s” services cover everything from moving to running your errands.
The “I Need a Trainer for Everything” Cleaner
From time to time, we all need that friend who will verbally whip us into shape. “Unfilth Your Habitat” is the app version of that friend. It’s actually called “Un*** Your Habitat,” but promotes itself as “filth” to get around iTunes’ ban on profanities. While the occasional F-bomb does tend to motivate, “Unfilth Your Habitat” has a lot more going for it than an aggressive tone: The app can motivate you to conquer a big to-do list, assign a random cleaning challenge based on a room in your house, or challenge you with a chore based on how much time you have. Though my favorite feature by far is the “Random ‘Unfilthing’ Motivation.” The app will spout off phrases like “THIS IS NOT DIFFICULT. YOU’RE JUST KIND OF LAZY” or “MY NANA WOULD BE SO DISAPPOINTED IN YOU” to get you to off the sofa an on to your to-do list.
The “I’ll Just Wait for My Roommate to Do it” Cleaner
My two college roommates and I set very loose ground rules when it came to the cleaning of our communal spaces, resulting in a house that was never quite as clean as it should have been. “Chorma” lets you create chore lists that can be divvyed up and assigned to housemates. There’s built-in accountability, too: As a task is completed, “check” it off the list and earn rewards “points.”
The “But Where Do I Put It?” Cleaner
Maybe you don’t actually need any motivation to keep things clean. Good for you! Your organizational skills however, could use a little work. If you’re a visual person, “BrightNest” has wonderful tips and guides on organizing and optimizing your space. The app is beautiful to look at and will give you customized projects around your home along with step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish them. From disinfecting the germiest spots in a house and cleaning your closet, to teaching you how to properly frame your artwork, “BrightNest” helps you make your space the best—and cleanest—it can be.
