Messy Mistakes Guys Should Avoid: 5 Ways to Clean Up Your Act

Gentlemen, if you are waiting for the perfect relationship to come along before you invest in your surroundings, it's high time you clean up your act. The following cheat sheet will help you transform your pigsty into a zen bachelor’s den.

- No Need to Reinvent the Wheel: A couch that came out of your parent's basement sends off signals of arrested development. Your home is a reflection of where you are in your life, and furniture companies like Ethan Allen will even send over their design consultants to provide you decorating tips at no extra charge. If budget is an issue, pick up some catalogues from your favourite home furnishing stores. The perfectly designed spreads you see inside have already been carefully laid out by a professional designer and are meant to be copied, so go ahead and grab the items you need to replicate the look you like.

- Hire a Home Pro: There are several advantages to enlisting the services of a professional designer. For one, they tend to have access to items and objects that are not unavailable to the general public and are able to get them at a special discount. Plus, they manage the entire process, from product selection and ordering to final layout and if needed installation. In the end a professional can save you time, effort and a significant amount of money to get the look that is unique and exclusive to you. 


-    Clear out the Clutter: If your closets are akin to Fred Flintstone’s, i.e. filled with junk you’ve amassed since the Stone Age, it's time to tidy up. If you cannot motivate to do it yourself, you can always hire a helping hand to get things in order. There is a new breed of professional organizers, some like Erica Eckert, founder of the Spacialist, who will even talk you through the process of taking your space from chaos to calm. And remember, this is not show and tell so keep some of those intimate and discrete items out of plain view. –

-  Understand a Lady’s Standard of Clean:  Despite what you guys may believe, we are not so picky that your pad has to measure up to Felix Unger clean. But there are certain things that freak us out like an uncontrollable amount of dust bunnies, or plain ol’ dirt, grime, hairs and/or grease in places that come too close to where we sleep (the bed), pee (the toilet) and eat (the fridge). Greasy dishes in the sink, mold on food in the fridge or in and around the toilet/tub must be eliminated. And if you are a pet owner be sure to clean out the fish bowl or kitty litter regularly and remove stray hairs that may be hanging around your house.

-  Replenish and Refresh:  No matter where you use them, home cleaning and personal care products should be changed before they disintegrate. That’s right, those grimy kitchen sponges that you use to clean the dishes must be replaced every month, and the same goes for your toothbrush! Be conscious of odors that pervade in small spaces by keeping air fresheners and deodorizers handy.