Home Cleaning Tips, Tricks and Hacks for Parents of Toddlers and Small Children

Every father and mother with small kids will always be interested and eager to know more tips and tricks in home cleaning and organising that will help make their life better!

An untidy and messy house is the least thing anyone wants to occupy. However, with children at home it’s indeed a difficult task to keep your house tidy all the time.  

Find some tips, tricks and hacks for you with young children at home:

1. Clean up after playtime and do a deep scrub of everything once the kids have gone to bed. This quick sweeping will ensure that your house will be neat and clean every day before bedtime. Before sweeping, you can collect the toys and other children’s items and put them back in their original place.  
2. Teach your children clean up after themselves with you. This will inculcate a good habit in young children and at the same time come as a helping hand for you. Put some music on as it makes cleaning a little less boring, and also the children will appreciate it.
3. Keep a donation bin for items you no longer require.  This will certainly reduce the clutter, and is more applicable with children who have a strong affinity for clothing and toys even though they’re damaged.
4. Put the newspapers and magazines in the recycling bin once you finished reading. Never keep them piling up, thinking that you may need them later.
5. Another clever way to find time tidying up is to utilise those free short minutes you get here and there. For example, make use of a TV commercial break, or the waiting time for a device to get heated up like the microwave, coffee maker or a hair-styling device. You can do some short bursts of cleaning work such as a quick tidy, wipe-down, or load some plates into the dishwasher etc. during these small snippets of time.

More handy tips for Moms

• Baby food jars can be used to store spices. Label each container and display them in your kitchen shelves. 
• You can make a door stopper by reusing a pool noodle.
• Stick a medicine dropper through a cut pacifier and you can use it for easily giving medicine to your toddler.
• Shopping made easy without the kids. Draw out your child’s feet onto a plain paper and then you need not to take the child to the shoe shop. Just show the paper (with the tiny feet traced on to it) to the shopkeeper and they can give you the exact size shoes for the kid.   
• Some parents also use identification bracelets when they go shopping with small children. This will be of great help to get notified if your child gets stranded.
• How to avoid your toddler slide around with the toys when you give her/him a bath? Put a laundry basket in the bathtub and let your kid sit inside it so that the toys won’t flow away. It’ll then be easy bathing your baby as it plays with the toys. 
• An intelligent way to indulge your children in the home cleaning chores is to give them the internet password only after they finish the given cleaning tasks! This will also save your teenagers from internet addiction!

Need some professional help with your home cleaning chores? Call the most reliable Select Cleaning service on 0800 000 907 for your free quote now. Their home cleaning is of the best quality, and the pricing is very competitive too - Now available in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga and Hamilton.

Home Cleaning & Maintenance Checklist to Help You Get Organized

Living in a simplified, uncluttered home is less stressful because it looks orderly and peaceful. It’s also easier to clean and organise such a well kept house. Your visitors and even a professional home cleaner will appreciate the attractiveness of an uncluttered house. Naturally, it takes less time to perform any specialised cleaning task in such an organised home.

“We believe that a tidy and spotless house that looks great helps reduce stress and increases your productivity,” says Select Cleaning, the most sought after professional house cleaning service in New Zealand.

Now let’s look at some cleaning and organising ideas for you to manage your home and life just how you want.

General Home Cleaning & Organising Ideas

Old magazines: Reuse or recycle old books and magazines which you no longer require for reading/reference purpose. Wipe and disinfect remote controls, the landline telephone, switch plates and other commonly used electronic gadgets.

Doormats: Remember to clean the doormat occasionally. First, shake out the dust and debris from the mat, and then vacuum it with a brush attachment. If dirt is still visible, apply some baking soda using a scrub brush, and finally rinse it off with a garden hose.

If the doormat is a carpeted one, clean it effectively with an upholstery or carpet shampoo.

How to clean out the pantry: Wipe down the pantry or cupboard shelves. Remove any racks or drawers associated with these areas and wash them in the sink. Sort the bottles and jars and don’t hesitate to say goodbye to what you don't use.

Now wipe down those items you want to keep in the pantry. Also dust and wipe down the shelves and walls.

Refrigerator cleaning & organising: The dish racks, drawers, drain catch, and drip sponges of the refrigerator should be run through the dishwasher at least once in a month.

For storing the food properly, ensure that you rotate the food and use it up on a timely basis. Scrub down the inside of the refrigerator and keep the storage areas clean and dry. Remove unwanted food or other items in the plastic containers.

Bathroom cleaning tips: The mother of a three year old daughter said, “One thing that I learned while raising a daughter is that bath time is PERFECT for cleaning the bathroom! I am able to keep her supervised while interacting with her and cleaning the sinks, mirrors etc! Also because she is in the tub, I don't have to worry about her grabbing any of the cleaning supplies.”

That’s a good tip indeed for peacefully spending time to clean your bathroom!

Floor cleaning: “I sweep and dust my floors daily. In Canada we took shoes off in the house which helped keep floors clean. In Australia we don’t, so in my home cleaning floors is a must,” according to a well organised homeowner.

However, if there are no children and pets in the house, and nobody has much time for cleaning, you can use a vacuum instead of sweeping, for all hard surfaces, carpets and tiles.

Quick cleaning tips: When the need arises to quickly clean your house, utilise the big-picture thinking strategy.

Clean the areas that are more relevant to the immediate situation in front of you.  Organisation is the important factor here. By multi tasking and strictly following a set time limit, you can manage the cleaning efficiently. Gather all the cleaning products and equipment ready, and move from one room to others fast, without wasting time going back to rooms. 

Get your free quote now for a consistent high-quality Select Cleaning service at a cost effective price. Phone: 0800 000 907.

Hygiene Matters, Cleaning Industry News and Select Cleaning Advantage

The key to reducing the incidence of spreading a disease from an affected family member to others is to keep the home premises cleaned to the highest standard possible. In such medical cases, there is a need for methodical cleaning and disinfection procedures to be followed effectively. 

Easy tips to maintain cleanliness and hygiene at home 

Cleaning-clothes and sponges too have life period- replace them accordingly. These cleaning materials should be considered specific for particular areas, and are never to be exchanged. Don’t use the same cleaning cloth or sponge for the bathroom and the kitchen because it’ll carry the harmful bacteria and other germs from one place to the other.

Clean your bed sheets and blankets regularly and wash the towels daily. The bed sheets carry plenty of germs and can spread them easily among the family members. Clean them more often, at least every three days to make sure they are germfree.

Wash the dishes on time and clean down the benches and countertop perfectly after the meals because infectious germs easily spread through the food. Also make sure to clean the kitchen rubbish bin daily.

Special attention need to be given to toilet cleaning also. An unclean toilet is a haven for large colonies of bacteria and germs. The toilet cleaning jobs include, sweeping & mopping the floor, cleaning the tub, cleaning the toilet, and cleaning the sink, walls & windows. If you are not sure about achieving cent percent cleanliness in the bathroom and toilet area, it’s advisable to call a professional home cleaning company in New Zealand to do the job for you.

Home cleaning industry news

The cleaning sector in Auckland and other major cities is growing aggressively and faces new exciting challenges on a constant basis due to various factors like economic growth and changing business dynamics.

One of the latest trends in the home cleaning industry is the popularity for eco-friendly cleaning or the green cleaning concept. Green cleaning is “a marketplace phenomenon that is being driven by customer demand and the overall trending of the broad marketplace for environmentally preferable products and services,” the Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association remarked.  

People are now more knowledgeable about the bad effects of chemicals used in the supplies and processes of home cleaning. So, home and business owners these days are particularly looking for cleaning services which follow environment-friendly cleaning approach. 

SelectCleaning does a better job

Select Cleaning has a knowledge sharing mechanism by which all its home cleaners are well educated to clearly understand different surface types and their cleaning requirements. This way, you can rest assured that your cleaner knows the most efficient and effective way to take care of every spot in your house.

Select Cleaning team members are aware of the green cleaning concept in the cleaning sector and strive hard to minimise the negative impact on our environment from petrochemicals and solvents. Their home cleaners do their best to select the ideal cleaning products, world-class systems and processes that don’t harm people and our eco system as a whole.

You can call them now on 0800 000 907 and experience the Select Clean difference today. Currently their cleaning service is available in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga and Hamilton.

Nine Important Cleaning Mistakes to Avoid

Majority of New Zealanders now resort to hire quality home cleaners on a regular basis even though they sometimes try do-it-yourself cleaning practice. Narrated below are some common cleaning mistakes people tend to do due to negligence or ignorance. After explaining the mistakes, SelectCleaning experts have given the correct cleaning procedures too.

1. Mixing cleaning products can be dangerous. For example, if you mix two cleaners which have ammonia and bleach as ingredients, a poisonous gas will be formed – and it’s life threatening if you happen to inhale it.  
2. Never clean your non-stick pan in the dishwasher. If you do so, it’ll affect the pan’s seasoning, thereby disabling the non-sticking quality.  
3. Using abrasive cleaners to remove tough stains on porcelain tile and bath tubs will dull their smooth finish.
4. Some of us don’t know that coffee grinders and BBQ grill also need regular cleaning. All traces of crusty bean debris can be completely removed by whizzing uncooked rice or stale bread in the coffee maker, and thereafter washing with water. Vinegar can be used to remove bad odour. Scrub each grill grate with crinkled aluminium foil while it's still warm to remove those charred black bits. This is necessary to kill bacteria growth also.
5. Some are ignorant that fridge and freezer need spot cleaning on a weekly basis and thorough cleaning once every quarter at least. 
6. A few people mistakenly use window cleaners on television and computer LCD screens, which can harm the electronic surfaces. Same way, cleaning with paper towels or tissues can also damage the TV or computer screens because of the presence of wood fibres. Instead, use a microfiber cloth along with approved LCD or IED screen cleaners.
7. Cleaning the windows when the sun is hot? Another mistake! And the result: your glass cleaner will evaporate faster due to the sun’s heat, which may cause spot marks. Good to do the window cleaning when there is no hot sun shining at the windows; that is, choose a cloudy day.
8. Oven cleaning mistakes: Some times we neglect to clean the oven. Sticky and greasy food particles, chunks, and spills may have been left behind in the oven from previous cooking. They get even more baked-on when you cook the next time. This can affect the smell and taste of the newly baked food. Apply the baking soda and vinegar cleaning method to make your oven clean and sparkling.  Add some water to a cup of baking soda to form a thin paste. Apply this paste thinly to the walls of the oven after removing the racks. Ensure that you do this when the oven is still warm.Take some vinegar in a spray bottle and spray it over the baking soda paste on the oven walls. The bicarbonate of soda and vinegar will react, thereby cleaning the oven walls. Let the paste stay there for some time and remove it using a damp rag.  The chemistry here is that the mixture of baking soda and vinegar helps to break down the sticky grease and grime in the oven, which can then be easily removed with a rag.  
9. Ignoring the common touch points in the house: Some common items such as the remotes, computer keyboards are handled by everybody in your home contain more harmful bacteria and dirt than you thought. They need a disinfectant wipe at least every week.Similarly, door knobs, hair combs, water taps, handles of appliances and such things which can be described as the most-touched areas in your home are severely affected by the germs. Failing to understand this and not giving them frequent disinfectant wipe is another cleaning mistake we tend to commit.

For a free cleaning quote, you can now call the Select Cleaning home cleaners on 0800 000 907. They service Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch.