Whether you love it or loathe it, cleaning is a task that many of us must tackle, from dusting to cleaning the loo. With a wide variety of cleaning jobs that require attention in the home, from weekly vacuuming to a yearly deep clean of the oven, it can be difficult to know where to start and the best way to take on the challenge.
Cleaning tasks require time, time that a recent survey from fitted furniture specialists Hammonds has shown we are not willing to spend, with 37% of Brits admitting to spending less than two hours per week on household chores such as laundry, vacuuming and dusting. However, cleaning inspiration may come with age – 5% of those aged 65 and over reported spending more than 10 hours a week doing chores.
No matter your age, though, these helpful cleaning tips will hopefully start you off on the right foot.
1. The Kitchen
If left, kitchens can quickly accumulate dirt. Take the fridge, for example: food can get pushed to the back and go off, crumbs can collect in the creases and germs can form on the door handles. Regularly removing everything from your fridge and washing the shelves and drawers will leave the fridge sparkling and fresh. Use an antibacterial spray to wipe down the outside to remove germs, too. Cleaning your fridge before a food shop is the best time to do so as there won’t be as much food to remove.
Natural products work wonders in the kitchen and help you stay away from any harsh chemicals. Lemons are a good example; if you have a wooden chopping board that is looking a little stained, sprinkle it with coarse salt and then rub the salt in with half a lemon.
2. The Bathroom
Bathrooms are humid environments and the perfect breeding ground for mildew. However, regular cleaning can help to prevent any major build-up.
Shower curtains are prone to mildew forming as they sit damp after a shower. Washing your shower curtain once a month with a towel and letting it dry naturally before hanging it back up will do a lot to prevent a mildew build-up. However, if mildew has formed, putting the shower curtain in the washing machine with half a cup of bicarbonate of soda on a cold wash and adding half a cup of distilled vinegar before the rinse cycle will remove it.
Have you ever looked up and seen your shower head covered in limescale, preventing it from working to its full potential? Fear not. Remove the showerhead and place it in a bowl, cover the showerhead with distilled vinegar and leave for an hour before reattaching to the shower. For really troublesome limescale, add a little bicarb, too.
3. Clutter
It’s also important to bear in mind how clutter can amplify an untidy house, contributing to stress and causing any cleaning to feel irrelevant. Try taking a step back and look at how the clutter can be managed. Could it be tidied away?
Kirsty Oakes, head of product and marketing at Hammonds Furniture, advises: When it comes to jobs around the house, it’s very easy to fall behind with each task – especially if we don’t like doing it in the first place!
However you choose to clean your home, break it down into manageable stages and, with these tips, you will have things spick and span in no time.
