Following the latest Government advice doesn’t mean you’ll be bored all day every day. It’s important during this unusual period to be proactive and keep yourself busy! Recent research has shown that people with clean and tidy houses tend to be happier and healthier, so we’ve pulled together some top cleaning tips. Maintaining a clean and happy home will not only help prevent the spread of Coronavirus, but it’s also a great chance to get the whole family involved whilst the house is full 24/7.
We’re no Mrs Hinch, but here are some handy top tips we’ve pulled together:
Organisation is key
Don’t tackle everything all at once! No one knows how long we’ll be social distancing/self-isolating for, so take your time and set yourself daily goals.
Before deciding what tasks to do, this is the perfect time to declutter. Be ruthless, look to donate all the things you don’t need/want anymore (once we’re able to hit the sops again). By doing this there won’t be any distractions with putting things away when you start your cleaning!
We’d recommend splitting your time by tasks rather than rooms, it’s more efficient! For example, dusting the whole house, cleaning the windows etc. This makes you feel more productive rather than feeling like you’re in a never-ending cycle of cleaning.
Get yourself a caddy
A caddy is a holder designed to easily carry around the cleaning products that you need for most rooms in the house. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy; a bag for life, cardboard packaging, Tupperware box – anything that has enough space for everything you need, all in one place!
A good starting point of products to include are; clothes, polish, anti-bacterial spray, wipes air fresheners, dusters and any of your go-to cleaning products.
It’s important to remember that even your cleaning products need cleaning! If you carry on using dirty tools like mops or cloths, then the effort you put into cleaning can become pointless. This doesn’t need to happen after every time you clean but does need doing every now and then. Always remember to:
- Wash/replace your clothes
- Cleaning out the hoover (to make sure it carries on working correctly)
- Change your mop head
- Empty and clean out your caddy
Disinfecting
Currently, it is very important to disinfect areas that are touched frequently. Grab a cloth and your favourite smelling disinfectant and wipe down all hard surfaces. Here are some of the places that people often forget; door handles, light switches, banisters, remote controls, telephones and other appliances that are touched frequently. It is of course also important to wipe down surfaces such as coffee tables, kitchen worktops, and trays.
Top tip: according to Good Housekeeping, cleaning supplies can degrade over time and lose their effectiveness. The plastic containers they’re stored in may also affect their formulas over time.
The magazine says you can use these rules of thumb when it comes to deciding when cleaning supplies expire:
- Laundry detergent — six to 12 months
- Fabric softener — one year
- Multisurface cleaners — two years
- Cleaners with antibacterial ingredients — one year
- Disinfectants — two years
- Dishwasher detergent — three months
- Dish soap — 12 to 18 months
Lastly, make cleaning a team effort
This is a great opportunity to make cleaning into a team effort. Not only will it help make the tasks less lonely and daunting, but it’s also a great way to reiterate the importance of cleaning during this unprecedented time.
Coming together can help to make cleaning more efficient and get done quickly, and when all the cleaning is done you can all settle down with a tub of ice cream or your favourite chocolate and relax knowing your house is spotless!
