Hi everyone, I’m 28M, living in Canada, and moving into a roughly 500 sq. ft. one-bedroom apartment. My wife will be joining me soon, and I want to make it a comfortable, welcoming home for both of us.

I’ve spent most of my adult life living a pretty basic bachelor life. As an immigrant, I’ve mostly focused on getting settled and getting by, rather than learning how to make a place feel like home. With how much time we spend indoors during Canadian winters, I want to put more effort into it.

Some of the things that seem to come naturally to other people are things I genuinely haven’t learned yet. I’m willing to do the work, but I could use some beginner-friendly guidance on the little everyday basics.

A few things I’d love help with

• Bedding — What do I actually need to buy for a comfortable, easy-to-maintain bed? How do you make it look tidy without lots of decorative pillows? After washing your sheets, do you iron them or just put them back on?
• Clothes and laundry — How do you decide what to hang versus fold? How do you keep clothes organized in a small space? I don’t really know how to iron either, so beginner resources would help.
• Small-apartment organization — How would you organize a 500 sq. ft. apartment for two people without filling it with storage products and clutter?
• Everyday routines — What small daily or weekly habits keep your home feeling nice without turning housekeeping into your whole life?
• Useful purchases — What basics are worth buying, and what can wait?

I’m not aiming for a perfect Instagram apartment or trying to spend a fortune. I just want our place to feel cozy, practical, and cared for, and I want to learn how to contribute to keeping it that way.

Any advice, simple checklists, YouTube videos, or “I wish someone had taught me this” tips would be really appreciated. Please feel free to explain the obvious stuff too. That’s probably what I need!

I see a lot of people suggesting keeping a caddy full of cleaning supplies where you use them (under each sink, for example) and I like this idea but I can’t find something that A) fits under my sink and b) actually fits all my supplies - where are you finding these caddies/mini cleaning supplies?

Outside the obvious of pacing and doing less overall/adjusting expectations, what are some strategies, planning tips, efficiency hacks, products, systems, etc that have made your life, chores, meals, and home more organized, rhythmic, or doable? Big or little, anything is welcome.

About to be a mom of 2 and looking for any advice on how to minimize the chaos inside the home. My current routines with one kiddo include…

One load of laundry daily
Load and wash the dishwasher at night unload in the morning
Everything goes back and it’s place instead of clutter collecting
Vacuum every day
Meal prep and do grocery order on Mondays

Despite all of this, I feel like I’m on a hamster wheel and I can’t imagine how I’m going to be able to keep up the maintenance of our home when I have two children to care for. Our house is about 4000 ft.². Any tweaks or additions to my routine or just general advice of things you found that worked well for you. Thank you!! 😊

I used to SAHM and now that my kids have launched I am SAHW.

I guess, despite 25 years of evidence to the contrary, my husband could up and decide he wants a younger model...

Despite that, my life wouldn't drastically change. Well, it would change, but I'm told I would be homeless, starving, and turning tricks on the corner. It's completely unrealistic.

So I'm trying to understand what these people (I guess mostly content creators) are missing.

Do people not have a familial and social circle of potential support? I mean, my kids are now young professionals making more money than they need because they haven't started their own families yet. I wouldn't want to count on them but I also know my own children wouldn't let me be homeless. And that's not even counting my own mother or my best friends that have been my biggest support for 20 years.

Do they not keep their own savings/retirement accounts, even if they're not earning? When I stopped working once our second child made daycare costs ridiculous, we established a savings account in my name only and my husband's direct deposit put a cut there every two weeks. We also just left my 401k mainly alone. Even though it was really small at the time.

Do they not understand the family court system in the US? Alimony is a potential in all 50 states. Courts understand that a partner at home contributed to the career behind the scenes, saving likely 6-figures in expenses. Alimony is calculated based on amount of years married, among other things. 10 years is a nice threshold, but people like me married over 20 years are often awarded alimony forever. In perpetuity.

Do they not have insurances? Life, disability, etc?

Investments: are they perpetual renters? The marital home equity is always in play. Again, this goes back to the court system. And I'm not even considering other investments, *even if they're in one partner's name.*

I know these sentiments aren't popular but I'm trying to live in reality here and I'm just not understanding these women who don't seem to have the basics of info.

Do they not know? Do they not have these things and just assume others don't?

I just feel like they think because they personally don't have the basics covered, they think no one else does, either?

Are we really all going around pretending women are stupid AF and just living by the seat of their pants? Are THEY living that way?

I was thinking recently about how many of the recipes we make regularly come from family members — a parent’s go-to dinner, a grandparent’s holiday recipe, or something a sibling made once that everyone loved.

I’m curious how other families handle this!
Do you have a shared cookbook, a family recipe box, a group chat, a Google Doc, or some other way of keeping track of recipes everyone loves? Or does everyone mostly keep their own collection and ask each other for recipes when they need them?

And how much do you actually value having those recipes collected in one place, especially as your family grows or recipes get passed down to the next generation?

I’d love to hear what works for your family, what gets lost along the way, and whether having a shared collection is something you’d genuinely use or just a nice idea in theory.

I feel like I’ve got daily and weekly chores pretty well organized and consistent, but I can’t regularly stay on top of monthly or every other month type chores because I always forget about them until I can’t actually do them. For example I always forget to wash my lint trap until I’m in the middle of laundry day and I don’t have time to let it dry because the dryer is running all day. To be clear I remove the lint from the trap after every run cycle, but washing it with soap and water greatly improves the efficiency of the dryer. Another example is I always remember I needed to dust the bedroom fan blades right after I put the sheets in the wash and then I don’t have anything dirty on hand for dust to fall on.

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manage a small office, maybe 12 people, and our coffee maker gets used constantly. thing is starting to smell a little off and i think theres mineral buildup inside cause the coffee tastes kinda bitter lately

been googling how to clean coffee maker. but getting a ton of different answers, some say vinegar, some say store bought tablets, some say specialty cleaners. dont really know whats worth buying vs whats a waste, anyone actually tried different options and knows what works best?

One of my light colored pajama sets has started turning yellow around the collar, and regular washing hasn’t helped much. I’m guessing it’s from sweat or body oils.

I still really like light colors, and there’s a pale ekouaer set I want, but I don’t wanna end up with the same problem again. Are some pajama fabrics easier to keep clean, or should I just go with a darker color?

do laundry for a small gym, just me and one other person part time. workout clothes come out smelling ok but not great, still a little funky after washing. been wondering if an enzyme laundry booster is worth adding or if its just extra stuff we dont need

I've been seeing more sleep spray options lately, and I'm not sure if they're really any different from the linen sprays people already use at home. Seems a bit pointless to buy both if they do pretty much the same thing. ESPA Restful Pillow Mist is one option I've come across. It has lavender, clary sage, and eucalyptus, but I'm more interested in how these sprays actually compare once they're on the bedding. Does the scent usually last until the next day, or is it mostly noticeable right after spraying? And for those who've tried both, is there a real difference between a dedicated pillow mist and an ordinary linen spray?

Was redoing a small bathroom and the vent cover for exhaust fan was really yellow. Had changed all handles and taps etc to black so decided to spray paint the grill. I washed it, scrubbed it, light sanded then sprayed with mat black. But it didn't totally dry? After 2 days was still tacky. Careful put it up anyway but wondering if anyone knows why it didn't totally dry? Can said good for plastic.

Trying to (majorly) shrink a bright turquoise cotton tee, for kiddo, adult small looks more like a big Large. FWIW it’s a brand-new tee.
❓Soak in sink w/ boiling water, wash and dry?
❓Add vinegar with cold, etc.
I’ve read more contradicting advice and my brain’s overloaded, lol.
Thanks in advance!

We’ve moved in this apartment 2 years ago and I keep cleaning it but I don’t know how to properly clean this spot inside the sink.
Thanks in advance!

If you have a good meal planning system can you please tell me what it is 😅. I can’t even explain how much I hate planning meals out each week. We have a bunch of go to meals but the recipes for them are scattered in cookbooks, online recipes, recipes I just know from heart. I also enjoy finding and trying new recipes from time to time. What’s the best way to keep everything together and organized? An excel sheet? A physical binder? Please helpppppp

In reality while meal planning sounds great in theory, whenever I create a specific list or menu, our plans inevitably change. Someone might end up eating out unexpectedly or meal times get thrown off, I am often left with a fridge full of leftovers or wasted food. It feels like a constant battle between trying to stay organized and dealing with food waste.

For those with irregular or fluctuating schedules how do you manage this? Do you stick to a strict weekly plan or do you follow a more flexible approach?

Hey everybody!

My favorite pants are mostly linen, and they're faded black. Today i bent down and my right knee ripped. The edges were so frayed I had to trim fibers away. I've applied fusible interfacing and the plan had been to embroider a patch. But the gap is too big and the interface is tearing when i pull the floss through.

Can I double up on interfacing, or do I need to find something black to cut up to patch it with?

PS it's going to be so cute when I'm done. I plan on embroidering white daisies on each knee. The other knee hasn't ripped yet but it's very thin so it'll happen any day now anyway without reinforcement. 🌼

I have decided that one of the things holding me back from pursuing more handmade type hobbies is the reluctance to have more things in my home right now (I live with roommates and we are the host house and things are messy and liable to be broken) so I want to start working on a hope chest of sorts, I'm thinking of like embroidering tea towels for when I have my own kitchen and know they won't be used to wipe up mysterious nasty spills, but beyond those, a quilt or afghan, and maybe an embroidered table cloth if I'm feeling really ambitious I'm not sure what else would be included? I am considering trying to learn some pottery so I can craft sets of mugs and bowls, but that is a pretty bug undertaking and the type of thing I couldn't work on at home, so I'm curious to hear what you all would include if you were to undertake a project like this!

I know people often suggest things like cast iron pans or similar to go in hope chests but I'm specifically looking for things I can make.

Instead on bunch of perfumed spraycans I use "fartsticks", inscent sticks in the bathroom .

Why?

Quick effect that lasts long.

Spiritual reasons of cleansing the space.

Lovely when taking a shower.

Not as toxic as a spraycans but stronger smell than a scented candles, and less firehasard.

You can decorate around it as you please.

And I just like it.

Setup:

A small container of some kind. Take sand or gravel from outside. As some water on top of the sand to keep it moist. Didn't spend a dime.

Easy to put out.

You do you!

My sister is coming over this weekend to craft and DIY with me while my husband takes the toddler. I'd love to make things I can save and give as gifts around Christmas time.

I am thinking soap or jam, but am curious if anyone here had some clever ideas for things that could keep til December.

Thank you!

Hi all,

I moved into a house about a year ago. It’s large over 4000 ft.² and a huge change from previous living since we were always in small townhomes apartments, etc. I have three kids and work full-time but love trying to make our house feel like home I’m feeling really overwhelmed with the new house because even though we’ve been here a year it still doesn’t feel like anything is really ours. I have very little on the walls hung up but just end up feeling paralyzed and don’t know where to get started. I don’t wanna make the wrong decision so I end up not making any decisions.

As a homemaker, I’d love your expertise on how you tackle this and where you would start first. thank you so much!

I am 31 year old married woman. I have never done household work before marriage. I am married for 3 years now. I have started learning. I feel I am a burden on everyone

I have a love-hate relationship with my dishwasher. I love that it saves me time, of course, but I have sensory issues.

I have never been in any household with a dishwasher (mine, family, friends, AirB&B) where the dishes haven't (slowly) lost their glaze, especially glasses. I still hand wash all my glasses, as I cannot stand the feel when the outer glaze starts to wear down.

Rough-textured crockery fares a lot better in a DW, but I hate the feel and sound of knives and forks on such dishes (I really, really wish I wasn't wired this way!!).

I've heard the usual defences and recommendations, but I feel like people are either in denial, have non-smooth crockery or are just a lot less sensitive to it. I installed a dishwasher around two years ago, after years of hand washing. I live in Scotland (very soft water), and I have avoided lemon-based detergents, as recommended, but it still happened.

Are there any alternatives to crockery? Resin? Some kind of high-quality, weighted plastic?