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The Daily Routines You Need to Survive Studio Living

Taryn Williford
Taryn Williford
Taryn is a writer, editor, content strategist, and homebody from Atlanta. I might have helped you declutter your apartment through the magic of a well-paced email newsletter. Or maybe you know me from The Pickle Factory Loft on Instagram.
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published Aug 11, 2016
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Here’s a survival tip akin to the tagline of “Alien”: In a studio, there’s nowhere to hide your mess. While one-room living demands that you keep a clean home, there is less to clean, generally. That means you can make tidiness just another part of your daily routine and be one of those people who never has to clean because they’re cleaning all the time.

Every Morning

While you’re brushing your teeth and getting ready for the day, add these two tasks to your morning flow.

Make the Bed

Everyone should make their bed every morning (it makes you happier!), but studio dwellers have extra incentive. When your bed is a major part of your overall living space, keeping it tidy will help to set the tone for everything else.

Do a 5-Minute Pickup

Before you leave home, take a few minutes to pick up clutter around your apartment and return small items to their homes. You could do this at any point in the day, but I like to tackle it as a morning routine—nothing will kill your vibe quite like coming home to a mess.

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(Image credit: Emma Fiala)

Every Night

Before you hit the sack each night, make sure you’ve checked these four tasks off the to-do list.

Sort Your Mail

Do this as soon as you walk in the door, actually. Keeping mail from taking over your space comes down to one rule: Don’t put it down. Here’s a three-step plan for tackling the paper pile every day.

→ One Simple Rule Will Keep Incoming Mail from Taking Over Your Home

Clear and Wipe Down the Counters

After dinner is done, take a second to clear the kitchen (however much of a kitchen you have). Get everything that doesn’t live on the counters off of the counters, and wipe them clean. Then…

Handle the Dishes

Take whatever you used that day—even it it’s just a coffee cup and a cereal bowl—and get it out of the sink. If you’re lucky enough to have a dishwasher, they can go there. If not, you’ll want to get into the habit of cleaning and putting away the dishes daily.

Put Your Clothes Away

When you have a true bedroom, you can get away with leaving clothes draped on a bedroom chair. But in a studio, every chair is a “bedroom” chair. Make a pact to put away your clothes—either back into the wardrobe or into a hamper—every day.

Re-edited from a post originally published 8.11.2016 – TW

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