Get your Home Ready for 2020
While many tend to wait until Spring to give their home a top-to-bottom cleaning, I also like to give a thorough cleaning in preparation for a new year.
28/12/2019
If there is one resolution you should add to your annual new year list, it should be to be more organised to keep your home clean. Not that I'm saying your home is dirty! but many people would benefit greatly from a bit more organisation when it comes to home cleaning.
If you are working full-time, and perhaps you have children and don't have a domestic helper at home, chances are you only manage to squeeze in essential cleaning in the evenings or on weekends. That's all fine and well, but when your time off is limited to a day or two a week and your evenings are spent looking after the family, you want to have more time for yourself than have to spend it cleaning.
With a little organisation, you can keep a house clean without taking up all your spare time and still have time left over to relax. It's all about doing it right and following through.
Step 1 - Do a clean sweep
For me, a clean sweep is giving the house a thorough clean from top to bottom. Working room by room, everything is dusted, washed and wiped down. My clean sweep is done twice a year: between Christmas and New Year, and my annual Spring Clean. Both clean sweeps include the following:
• Dust ceiling lights and fans
• Remove and wash curtains or blinds and wipe down curtain tracks or rails
• Clean Windows
• Polish window hardware
• Wipe skirtings and door frames
• Move furniture to thoroughly clean floors
This bi-annual cleaning method lets a busy household stay on top of deep-cleaning a home and frees up your schedule for smaller more regular cleaning tasks.
Pet owners should give carpets and flooring a good cleaning and use an effective odour-removal treatment (or sprinkle bicarbonate of soda over flooring) for smelly carpets and rugs.
Step 2 - Maintain a regular schedule
If you do a twice-annual clean sweep, keeping the house clean and fresh is much easier and less time-consuming. An ideal cleaning schedule will allow you to clean one room at a time, making a quick sweep to get rid of clutter and dust and wipe down. Keep in mind that all the major cleaning is done during the bi-annual clean sweep, so it just a matter of staying on top of everything.
Keep in mind that your home doesn't have to be immaculate to be clean, a quick tidy up and some regular cleaning with the time you have available will ensure your house is clean.
Step 3 - Have the right tools and supplies
The right tools for the various cleaning jobs you have to do will save you a lot of time, and these cleaning tools are money well spent if they can reduce the amount of time you spend on cleaning. Equipment you should look at buying include:
• Microfibre cloths and dusters
• Sponge mop for tiled floors
• Microfibre mop for laminate floors
• Extendable squeegee
• Sponges
• Soft and hard scrubbing brushes
• Long feather duster
• Quality vacuum cleaner
With an organised cleaning schedule, it's nice to know you will still have some time to yourself or to share with your family instead of running around trying to keep the home spic and span.
