Quick Answer:
Start your Diwali cleaning with the one corner that already feels like home. Clear it, clean it, and light it. Then work outward in 20-minute sessions, from top to bottom. In a PG, skip repainting and drilling. Use lights, fabric, and one fresh scent instead.
Where in your PG do you actually feel at home?
Not the whole room. Just one spot. For most of the Gen Zs we spoke to, it took a moment to answer, and then it came out in a rush.
Diwali cleaning advice assumes you have a house. In a PG, you have a bed, a shelf, a shared room and a landlord’s rulebook. But Lakshmi Puja is on 8 November, and you still want to walk into a room that feels like home.
So we asked 10 Gen Zs which corner of their PG feels most like home, and what they plan to clear out or dress up for the festival. Their answers, and a cleaning plan built around them, are below.
Why Festival Cleaning Feels Different In A PG
Most Diwali cleaning advice assumes you have a whole house, a family, and a free weekend. But to be honest, things are different when you are renting a PG.
As someone staying in a PG, you have a shared room, a cupboard half the size you need, and a landlord who notices every nail hole.
Lakshmi Puja falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026. The festival runs five days, from Dhanteras on 6 November to Bhai Dooj on 10 November. Many of you also pack to go home.
That leaves very little time.
22-year-old Manek told us that he might not be able to go home this year for Diwali. “I have already exhausted all my leave, and no matter how desperately I want to go home, I can’t.”
And when we asked him about his plans to decorate his PG, this is what he said:
“I share my PG with two other guys. One of them is lucky enough to go home, and the other one is doomed like me. But we do have a plan – we cannot keep the room as it is. Last week we bought a few diyas and candles, and there’s fairylights from last year if it still works. I plan to really focus on this one corner in my PG that makes me feel like home. We are going for a good clean-up. Not a spotless one, but a one that would make us feel like we are home.”
So the goal is not a spotless room. The goal is one corner that feels like yours.
Why That One Corner Matters
Researchers have studied how people describe their homes, and what happens to their stress hormones.
In a 2010 study, Darby Saxbe and Rena Repetti asked 60 dual-income spouses to give a tour of their homes. They counted words about clutter and about unfinished spaces. Wives who used more of those words had flatter daily cortisol patterns over the next three weekdays.
Researchers link that pattern to poorer health outcomes. These women also felt more depressed as the day went on. Wives who used more restful and nature-related words showed the opposite pattern [Source: Saxbe and Repetti, 2010].
Read that with care. The study is correlational, so it cannot show that a messy room causes stress. The people were married, working adults, not PG residents.
It reported results for women, so it tells us nothing about men. It does suggest that how a space feels matters, and that is why one cleared corner is a fair place to start.
While talking to 20 year old Avantika about how important having that one corner in her PG room is for her, here’s what she said:
“Honestly, living in a PG can get so overwhelming, especially when you’re balancing lectures, assignments, and zero personal space. But for me, having just that one clean, aesthetic corner is an absolute lifesaver. Even if the rest of my room is chaotic, that one spot – with my fairy lights, a plant, and my favorite books – is where I actually breathe. It’s like my personal mental health reset button. The second I sit there, the daily stress just drops.”
Different People, Different Stories
For some, the corner is less a place than a moment. Charchika, 26, described the end of her day:
“When I finish all of my work at night, weekday or weekend, there’s this corner in my living room where I sit and watch movies or a series. That’s the point in my day where I feel relaxed and think, yeah, this is my home.”
So when you pick your corner, think about when you’ll use it, not only how it looks.
And the corner is not always in the bedroom. When we asked 22-year-old Aditya, his answer was the one place in a shared PG with a lock on the door:
“I would have to say my bathroom, especially because I spend a considerable amount of my time there. I keep my books on the side, so I read while I do my thing. It’s my own self, my own peace. Sometimes I spend more than an hour in there, if I’m in the mood.”
For V, who surprised us by telling us he is from Tanzania, it’s the kitchen.
Different country, same instinct: home is wherever you spend your time doing something that’s yours.
And for Kuhelika, 20, the answer was:
“It’s not a part of my house. There’s a world map on the wall at a friend’s place, and he has written ‘where is home’ on it. I think that makes more sense, because home is where I am with my friends. I don’t stay at my house a lot. It’s the people. Home is places, yes, but with people.”
So the corner may be only half the story. The other half is who you share it with. In a PG, a corner doesn’t have to be pretty. It just has to be yours.
How To Declutter A Shared PG Room In Three Piles
Diwali cleaning starts with deciding what stays. Make three piles on your bed: keep, give away, and bin. Keep what you use every week. Give away clothes you have not worn this year and books you will not reread. Bin expired food, as Housing.com suggests for the fridge. Do this before you dust, because cleaning around clutter doubles your work.
If you share the room, tell your roommate the plan first. Agree on one shelf each and one shared surface. Pick a time when you both clean together. A shared slot makes Diwali cleaning feel less like a chore and more like a reset.
A Five-Day Diwali Cleaning Plan For A Pg Room
This might sound wrong or completely impossible, but trust me, that’s not the case. Just ask Babin, 24, who hates cleaning as much as the next guy, but got a call from his mother in Malda, his hometown:
“Look, I hate cleaning as much as the next guy. If it were up to me, this mess wouldn’t bother me at all. But my Ma called from Malda and gave me the ultimate Bengali mother ultimatum: ‘A dirty house attracts Alakshmi, Babin! Do you want bad luck and no wealth?’ I definitely don’t want to test the wrath of Alakshmi, or my mother. So I’m breaking this down into a 20-minute daily routine to satisfy Ma without ruining my week.”
Like Babin, spend 20 minutes a day, not a whole weekend. Urban Company mentions that it is best to work from top to bottom, so dust settles on the floor, which you clean last. This is the order that works in a small room:
- Day 1, clear the corner. Take everything off one shelf or desk edge. Put back only what you use every week.
- Day 2, dust high, then low. Switch off the fan, then wipe its blades, the top of the wardrobe, and the shelves. Use a dry cloth first.
- Day 3, wash your fabrics. Do your bedsheet and pillow covers. If you have a balcony, air your mattress and pillows in the sun for a day (Berger Paints).
- Day 4, clear the bathroom shelf. Bin expired toiletries and wipe the sink and shelf. If your bathroom is your quiet corner, like Aditya’s, give it the same treatment: keep one book or one small light on the shelf, and make it a place you want to be.
- Day 5, do the floor. Sweep first, then mop.
Turn The Cleared Corner Into Home
A clean corner is not yet a home. Something has to make it yours. Put one personal thing in your cleared corner first. Then add one Diwali touch: a diya, a string of lights or a small rangoli by your door.
Not everyone has a corner to claim. Anjali, 26, has one room in her PG, so her answer was simple: “My bed, because I only have one room in my PG.”
S gave the same answer: anywhere is fine, especially the bed.
If your bed is your corner, start there. Clean sheets, one string of lights and a cotton throw go a long way. For many PG residents, the bed is also the desk, the shelf and the sofa, so it makes sense to treat it as the heart of the room.
Keep your Diwali cleaning small, and let the corner carry the festival.
Decorate Without Drilling, Painting Or Losing Your Deposit
Most people will tell you to repaint. No Broker suggests light pastel shades, and Berger Paints suggests easy-clean paint.
You cannot do that in a PG.
Read your agreement before you touch the walls. The Model Tenancy Act, 2021 is a central model law. It caps a residential security deposit at two months’ rent. States decide whether to adopt it, and your PG may run on its own terms. So treat the agreement as your rulebook, not the law.
Use things that leave no mark:
- String lights on a plug point, hung over an existing hook or curtain rod
- A diya plate on a shelf or desk
- Fresh marigolds in a glass by your bed
- A dupatta or cotton throw over a chair or the bed
- One scent, such as incense or an oil diffuser, if your PG allows it
Test any adhesive hook on a hidden corner first.
Keep The Fire Risk Low In A Small Room
Everyone wants the glowing, candle-lit room. 23-year-old Priya was no different, until her parents stepped in:
“I love the festive vibe, and honestly, I wanted to turn my room into a literal sea of candles and fairy lights this Diwali. But my parents instantly hit me with the reality check: ‘it’s a tiny room, don’t turn it into a fire hazard.’ As much as I want that perfect, glowing aesthetic, they’re right. A small space catches fire fast. So this year, I’m being smart about it: keeping the diyas away from my curtains, checking the extension boards, and switching to LEDs where it gets too cramped. You can still have a stunning Diwali without risking a call to the fire department.”
She has a point. A tiny room fills fast with lights, diyas, and extension boards. Fire services feel the result. According to News On AIR, Delhi Fire Services received over 269 fire calls on Diwali night in 2025, and rescued seven people from one blaze in Janakpuri.
Those calls cover all fires, not only decor.
You can still lower your own risk while you do your Diwali cleaning and decor. Keep candles and diyas away from curtains and bedding. Check your sockets before you plug in lights. Blow out every flame before you sleep or leave the room. If your room is very small, pick LED diyas.
Before You Leave For Home
Many Gen Zs travel for Diwali. End your Diwali cleaning with a last check. Before you lock the door, take out the bin and any food. Unplug your chargers and lights. Shut the windows. When you return, you will find a clean room, not a project.
Diwali cleaning does not need a free weekend or a new coat of paint. It needs one corner, 20 minutes a day, and a plan that fits a PG. Start with the corner that already feels like home. Let the rest follow.
Sources
- IBTimes India, Diwali 2026: date, five-day festival calendar
- Saxbe, D. E. and Repetti, R. (2010). No place like home: home tours correlate with daily patterns of mood and cortisol. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(1), 71 to 81. PubMed
- Mondaq, Model Tenancy Act: security deposit to rent hike
- All India Radio, Delhi fire department responds to 269 fire calls on Diwali night
- Urban Company, Ultimate guide to Diwali cleaning (top-to-bottom order)
- Berger Paints, Diwali house cleaning tips (airing mattresses)
- Housing.com, Tips for Diwali home cleaning (discarding expired food)
- Dettol, Diwali cleaning tips (candles, diyas and sockets)