1. Make your bed first thing in the morning so your bedroom instantly looks neat and tidy, no matter how messy the rest of the room happens to be.

Natalie Brown / BuzzFeed

I lived in a tiny studio for about four or five years, and nothing made my entire space look more neat and put together than quickly straightening my sheets out a bit and throwing the quilt over them. It's the first thing I noticed when I got home in the evenings, and helped me ignore whatever other little mess I had going on elsewhere in the room.

I still endorse making the bed today, as long as you minimize the number of pillows so it doesn't like, become a chore (we have three decorative ones). These days my partner does it most of the time because he likes it done even more, but it still has the same calming, put-together effect on our room despite my corner pile of Space Bags left over from moving.

2. Stash a pack of under your bathroom sink, then swab things down once a day so you never have to deal with a buildup of dust or mildew.

municipally compostable cleaning wipes

Amazon, Natalie Brown / BuzzFeed

Try to go in order of least-germy to germiest surface. Maybe: counter, faucet, toilet tank, top of toilet lid, toilet handle, sink, toilet seat. They won't disinfect (which — disinfecting wipes won't either, unless you consistently wipe down the surface so it stays wet for four minutes or so), but they will eliminate dirt and grime with just a few seconds of work.