Cleaning tip of the weekThe house could use a major overhaul once in a while. Cleaning expert Marja Middeldorp therefore helps to solve everyday problems. This week: student houses.
On the phone, Marja says that she is very happy about tips to students. ,,Mama and I have in the TV program How clean is your house often visited student houses. Then we were addressed after the broadcast: ‘What filth and rubbish there!’ But I thought it was the easiest thing to do. The smell of freedom still lingers in student houses. Young people have just left their home and are trying to make something of their lives. There is still little sadness.”
Or does that explain why it’s so much fun? She also seems to like the challenge. “Of course you think, how do we get this over with? Half-drunk bottles of beer, sweat socks and pizza boxes or other remnants of convenience food lay or stood in men’s houses.
But don’t think women’s houses were neat! They are often even worse. Especially all that hair in the shower. They also use the razor more often than men, so they swing around everywhere. And then Liselore thinks: Joselijn’s razor – yes, they have those neat VVD names – is a bit less blunt than mine, so I’ll take it. My mother and I were ashamed of what we encountered.”
A few tips from Marja:
– After showering, wipe the walls with a squeegee and dry the tap. Then you prevent lime and dirt that sticks to it, which saves cleaning.
– When you buy socks, buy one color. Otherwise you keep looking for sets.
– Gentlemen, put those pee glasses up. That splash on the glasses is not to be seen and that’s how your relations think about it too!
– Do you want to clean the toilet? Then throw some leftover cola in the toilet. This dissolves limescale and poop marks.
– Did you clean the gas stove? Then put aluminum foil on top. That saves a lot of cleaning. You replace the foil when it is dirty.
– Put the burners that do not get clean in a pan with leftover cola and let it bubble over a low heat. Do they get clean?
How can you keep your student room clean and cozy? The experts of vtwonen give styling tips†
Trash can and garbage bag
If you, as a parent, are concerned about the hygiene of your child who lives away from home, Marja has one tip: buy a garbage can for your offspring. “I hardly ever see a garbage can in those rooms. It is then in a communal area, but of course they are too angry to take their mess there. I say to students: make sure you put the new bags under the old ones. Then you can see when you change the garbage bag whether you still have enough and you can immediately put it in.
Now I hear people thinking: isn’t changing a garbage bag something that makes a student turn his nose up? The nice thing is that at some point everyone will be disturbed by their own behavior. Where’s those clean underpants, where’s my textbook? You waste so much time that that discipline comes naturally. Sounds like a dirty word, just like “responsibility.” But you’re not a toddler anymore when you go to college. And what if a love comes your way? What do you think it will look like if your room is a pigsty?”
Cleaning day and cleaning schedule
Marja herself lived in Delft in a student house with only men. “We had a regular cleaning day every Thursday evening. Then you knew: from seven to nine o’clock we are all busy with cleaning. At nine we took the bottles away and ate apple pie with whipped cream. Everyone completely happy.
That might work a little better than a cleaning schedule. I would put more daily chores in that. For example, make someone responsible for unloading the dishwasher for a week. Otherwise, the dirty dishes will pile up on the counter again.”
All in all, Marja thinks that students will eventually learn. “Enjoy the smell of freedom. It only lasts a moment and then the grown-up life comes for you. It also rhymes, so it can be done on a tile.”
Do you want to ask Marja Middeldorp a question? Send an e-mail to this address ([email protected]) with your name. Check out more cleaning tips below:
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