Pre and Post Party Home Cleaning Ideas for Stress-Free Christmas Revelry

Well, the Christmas holidays are on the doorstep. Now, with our experience as a reputed house cleaning service in New Zealand and Australia, we know the last minute frantic calls from customers regarding home cleaning before and after Christmas parties.

Getting appointment of an affordable home cleaning company in New Zealand possibly with a seasonal discount for prior booking is perhaps the best option to celebrate Christmas tension-free. It doesn’t matter if you’re receiving guests/neighbours, or hosting a family party.

However, if you have decided to manage it yourself, here are a few home cleaning and organising tips for the season. You can be proud to have a clean, organised house during pre and post Christmas parties, if you pay attention to these tips. They are suggestions for how to stay in control of your housework during the holiday season.

Welcome the holidays with peace of mind. Ensure that you have all the cleaning materials in your home stock got replenished to handle the chunks of dirt, spills and grease, particularly on the kitchen floor that are peculiar to Christmas time!

Festival Cleaning Tips: Get Organised Ahead of Time

A thorough clean up before guests arrive for Christmas celebrations will make you relaxed and you can enjoy the festivities as everyone else. For this, you’ll have to decide whether you’ll do the cleaning yourself or call a professional home cleaner.

Cleaning of shower screen: 

Mixed with white vinegar and a little elbow grease, and turned into a paste baking soda will act as a good cleaning agent. Apply the paste onto the shower screen and let it stay there for a few minutes then rinse off. Dry the screen with a glass cloth.

Keeping a checklist is the easiest way to ensure that you don’t miss any vital clean up. It also helps you to be confident and well organised.

Checklist for Christmas Cleaning

1. Ensure that your oven is cleaned and functioning properly.

Take two glass of water in a bowl and heat it in the oven maintaining around 200 degree C. The steam will soften the grime and dirt. Now switch off the oven and wait for it to cool. Take a damp cloth and sprinkle some baking soda and rock salt crystals into it and scrub the oven interiors. After about two hours, clean the oven with warm water and dry the interiors using a microfiber cloth. 

2. You’ll be using some dishes, glassware, and cutlery set aside for the special occasion- so it’s time to take them out and give a nice clean.

3. To clean your non-fragile Christmas ornaments, use the vacuum cleaner with an old pair of stockings placed over its nozzle. But for the fragile ornaments, never use vacuum cleaner, instead dust them with a toothbrush or soft paintbrush.

4. Use antibacterial wipes to clean up dirty footprints, accidental spills etc. which kill almost 99% bacteria.

5. Wash your glassware in hot soapy water to get sparkling clean glasses.  

6. After the Christmas celebration, it’s necessary to keep your home and the premises clean and clutter free. When removing and packing the decorations, clothes and other holiday items, think of donating the ones you no longer require. 

7. If you are energetic and confident of a home cleaning routine after Christmas, nice; go ahead. You can still take help from family members to make an easy transition back to your normal cleaning routine. However, everybody will be exhausted and you may find it quite tedious to clean all those spills and clutter.

A reliable and affordable home cleaner will be the ideal person to help you out in this difficult situation managing the home cleaning task when Christmas comes to an end.

How to Freshen Up Your Home This Spring?

It’s that time of the year again: Have you booked your Spring Cleaning?!

We survived yet another winter and now looking forward for a warmer weather and beautiful spring blooms. We should bring this bright and awesome feeling of spring in the nature into our doorstep and our interiors too!

The Importance of Professional Home Cleaners

As springtime is around the corner, many people are overwhelmed about having to clean their houses from top to bottom.

It’s been reported that over 50% of New Zealand families feel stressed for time, so the cleaning duties are often put on the back burner. However, you can’t do that to spring cleaning!

We know it is stressful and exhausting job to remove all the dust and dirt of the last season accumulated overtime from every nook and corner of the house. Better to go for custom spring cleaning packages that perfectly suits your needs and budget, but always remember never to rely on cheap, low quality home cleaners!

Every house needs cleaning and maintenance to keep it in good shape, but often small problems are neglected until they turn into big ones. Even though we’re spending an average of two hours on house cleaning chores every single day, our homes don’t look that dazzling!

It takes a little effort to bring spring in even after your home is professionally cleaned. The following tips will help you to give your home a complete seasonal refresh.

Bring In Fresh Air and Kick Dust and Germs Out

Soft surfaces such as pillows, carpets and rugs, blankets, mattresses, upholstery and drapes are also to be thoroughly cleaned as part of the spring cleaning task. Dust, allergens, dust mites, dander, and other unsavoury bits and pieces get accumulated in those surfaces, creating trouble for allergy and asthma sufferers.  

Make sure that the carpet cleaning company you employ removes deep down dirt and allergens. Rugs, pillow cases, duvets and drapes should be given to a professional dry cleaner and cleaned once a year to keep your house odour and allergen free.

Turn off the heating system and open up your blinds and windows on a warm spring day and enjoy the freshness and vitality of the spring. A little fresh air can remove the build-up of stale created due to the windows being shut up during the winter months.

Swap Out Wintry Decor and Linens

Ensure that all winter woollies and boots etc. are neatly packed away. If it’s noticed that you no longer use some clothes because they are out of fashion or worn out, then put it in the donation pile. Don’t keep on storing garments that you won’t be wearing anymore! Categorise your clothes into donation, throw away, and pack away so as to keep your wardrobe well organised.  

Now is the time for putting some fresh and elegant new bed-linen in place of heavy blankets. New sheets are apt for heralding spring as they smell great and also look great. And introduce some brightly hued clothes and accessories too to have the feeling of welcoming the wonderful colours of spring. 

It’s recommended that you get your home professionally cleaned every spring - don't allow any dust, steaks, or smears spoil the beautiful feeling of spring visiting your home!

Bring in Some Plants and Blooms

Once the professionals have given a great spring clean to your home, next step is to energise it with gorgeous indoor plants. Also put a bunch of freshly cut blooms next to your bed, and change it daily because spring is all about flowers and freshness- enjoy every minute of it in style!

The SelectCleaning team can deliver a consistent high-quality home clean, including spring cleaning, at a cost effective price. That’s because they won’t be supplying just a normal house cleaner, they’ll supply you with a SelectCleaning Franchisee owner – and that makes all the difference! Call now for a free quote:0800 000 907.

Easy Tips to Keep Your Home Sparkling Clean & Germ Free

Kitchen Cabinet Goo & Gunk Remover

A lot of grime and grease get collected on your kitchen cabinets as time goes by. Here’s a magic solution to make your kitchen cabinets shine like new. Take one part vegetable oil and two parts baking soda and mix together using a spoon. This will form a thick paste and apply it onto the dirty spots, especially near the handles. Scrub the area with a toothbrush to get the gunk out of the cabinets!

Always remember to wipe out the cabinets as soon as spills and drips occur. This will reduce the formation of thick layers of dirt.

Dishwasher Cleaner

Make sure that the dishwasher is empty, then pour one cup of distilled white vinegar into the dishwasher and run a heavy clean cycle. Now sprinkle one cup baking soda in the bottom of the dishwasher and let it stay on overnight.

Next day morning, run an empty cycle to remove leftover food, grease, and soap scum. During cold season pour ¼ cup of bleach to the normal dish cycle to prevent bacterial infection.

A damp sponge sprinkled with baking soda can be used to wipe around the edges of the dishwasher. Do this on a weekly basis to clean all food particles and stain on the machine.

DIY Shower Head Cleaning

The idea is to soak your shower head using vinegar for about 15 to 30 minutes. Take a plastic bag (which will just fit over your showerhead) and fill it partway with equal parts of distilled white vinegar and water. Now wrap the polythene bag around the showerhead so that it is dipped fully in the vinegar. Ensure to tie a piece of string tightly around the plastic bag and the shower pipe so that it won’t fall off.

Take the bag off after 30 minutes and scrub the shower head with a toothbrush. Turn the water on and again clean with the old toothbrush.

How to Clean Shower Door Tracks

White vinegar can remove all traces of mould and mildew on tile grout. When handling vinegar, it’s advisable to wear cleaning gloves to prevent your skin absorbing the vinegar.

Spray the white vinegar on paper towels and lay them along the shower door tracks. After 30 minutes, you can remove the paper towels. Now use an old tooth brush to clean the loose grime.

Make a weekly and monthly cleaning schedule for your shower door and the door tracks respectively. And avoid soap scum build up by giving the shower door a quick wipe down after every shower.

Homemade Drain Cleaner

A mixture of baking soda and vinegar can perfectly clean the drains. First, pour two cups of boiling water down the drain after removing all water from the sink or tub. Now pour one cup of baking soda down the drain followed by a mix of one cup of white vinegar and one cup of hot water right on top and plug the drain immediately.

DIY Mattress Cleaner

Mix half cup baking soda with 12 to 15 drops of essential oils. Now spray it over the bed and rub the mixture into the bed. Leave it for one hour for the mixture to work on the dirt, residue and stains. Lastly, clean the mattress with a vacuum cleaner to remove all traces of baking soda and dirt. Now enjoy a good night’s sleep.

It’s also recommended to flip the mattress every six months to extend its life and prevent sagging.

Homemade Carpet Cleaner

Add one tablespoon of dish soap (that doesn’t contain bleach) to four litres of hot water. Then add one and a half tablespoons of distilled white vinegar and a quarter cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Your carpet cleaner is ready. To get a lovely fragrance on your carpets, you may add five to six drops of lemon essential oil to the carpet cleaning mixture.

This carpet cleaner will also work well for cleaning your mattresses.

Always keep in mind that these DIY techniques and easy tips are for assisting you with normal house cleaning chores. However, for removing stubborn stains and ensuring perfect cleaning, you should consult a licensed home cleaning company to work around your schedule for weekly/fortnightly home cleaning or one-off house cleaning.