Monday 25 March 2013

Autume home cleaning



As we head into Autumn now is a good time to be looking at a few extra things you can do in your home to set the house up for winter.  We have had a great summer so why not take advantage of the good weather to get some of theses extra chores done?

Here are a few extra things to might want to think about (assuming that your home is being cleaned regularly):

  • Move heavy furniture and clean under and behind (don't forget the cobwebs on the back of the chest of drawers!)
  • Turn all the mattresses in the house - end to end and front to back. This will help to even out wear.
  • Wash all the bed coverings - duvets, blankets, pillows etc
  • Get the carpet cleaned while the weather is still fine and the carpet will dry quickly. You should think about doing this twice a year - it will help to make the carpet last longer.
  • Clean all light fittings - if the coverings will come off take them down and wash them in warm soapy water.
  • Clean out kitchen cupboards - move everything out and wash down the shelves.  If you have some sort of shelf protector replace the worn ones.
  • Move the stove and fridge out and clean behind & under them.
  • Clean out the lint etc from the dryer (if you use one)
  • De-clutter - get rid of the "stuff" you are not using. Either put it in storage or get rid of it altogether.  You will be amazed at how much you can get rid of and how much easier the normal cleaning of your home will be.
  • Clean out the pantry - through out all old food.
Okay - too much! Sure but remember - it's all about planning. Don't try to do it all at once. Work out a plan on what you will do over the next two or three weeks then break it down into daily tasks. I would suggest no more than 1 hour at a time.  You will be surprised how much you can get through in small spurts.

Have fun....

Of course the other option is to prepare a plan with your cleaner and get them to do it....maybe a whole lot less stress this way!

Thursday 14 March 2013

Some simple cleaning ideas

We are always looking at the best ways to clean a house. Over the years we have found a few simple things make all the difference.  Whether you are doing you cleaning yourself or using a service like ours I think the following ideas may be useful:

  1. Always work from top to bottom and left to right - start in the same place in each room and try to only go round once and then do everything in the middle.  A systematic approach to cleaning means you can do it quicker and still not miss anything.
  2. Think carefully about using wet cloths.  If you find this easier then you must go over a cleaned area with a dry cloth to make sure no water marks are left.  Better, I think, to use a slightly damp cloth and only go over the area once....saves time!
  3. Glass (showers & mirrors etc) are really hard to get right. When you have finished make sure you look at the surfaces from different angles so you can see anything you might have missed.
  4. Use your eyes to work our whether a surface is dirty - only clean what is dirty. There is no point in wiping a door if there are only marks around the handle.  BUT this takes practice.  You must get this right otherwise it is just an excuse to cut corners
  5. Make sure you take everything with you that you need to clean a room. Use your cleaning apron and have plenty of spare cloths as well as white pads etc.  Again, not having to return to your cleaning bucket saves you time.
  6. Try to look at the job from the point of view of someone who has come in to check the job (E.G. The Customer!). What do they see when they first enter the room?  What will the lady of the house see when she is sitting on the toilet?  The "visuals" are really important.
  7. When you have finished the job walk around the house in the opposite direction that you cleaned in looking for anything that does not look right. Take a cloth with you.  Clean anything that is missed. Pick up any bits of fluff etc that stand out on the floors.
Have a go and see what time you can save by following the above - you might be surprised.