We’re all guilty of a little procrastination when trying to clean and tidy the house. Binge watching Netflix, a phone call from the in-laws, a coffee break – they all make us pause for five minutes here and ten minutes there. But this is eating into your day! Chores will drag on for longer and you’re left with less free time to do the really fun and productive things.
Let’s take a look at how to be at your most efficient when cleaning the house.
- Choose your arsenal wisely
You know how it goes: lose a spray bottle, buy a new bottle, find old bottle. Make sure you put your cleaning products and tools away in the same place, nice and neat. Your cleaning kit should include:
– Cylinder vacuum, more portable and quick to use than a standalone vacuum. Your vacuum cleaner is your best friend, so make sure it’s a good one. You can find good, reliable vacuum cleaners at Tesco online.
– Microfiber mop, less mess and more effective than a traditional mop.
– Glass cleaner, oven cleaner, antibacterial spray (for general use) and deep clean spray (for tricky spots in the kitchen and bathroom).
– Dusting cloth, J cloth, brillo pad(for the kitchen).
– Dust pan and brush and a bristled broom.
– Carrying case for supplies. This is a huge help if you like to clean one room at a time. All your supplies in one space, easily transported to each room.
Sure you can add on more products, but that means more time spent using them. Everything you need for a quick but effective clean is in the above list.
- Make a strategy
You’ll probably attack the cleaning one room at a time but why not try completing one task at a time instead? So, rather than spending an hour on the kitchen, get all the dusting of the house out of the way first, then wiping down and then vacuuming and/or mopping. You’ll feel like you’re getting a lot more done and the fact that you’re constantly walking around the house will keep you motivated. Unless you’ve got a huge house, it keeps you from running back and forth getting supplies.
- Work from the top downwards
Start from the top of the room (high cupboards, shelves) and work your way down to the ground. This way, you won’t miss any spots (hopefully!) and it will give your cleaning strategy a sense of order. Here’s a great pet vacuum lab guide
- Leave the tough spots till last
Nasty stains, tough grease, mould spots — leave these little terrors till last. You want to get everything else out of the way so that you can get down to it and use the last of your energy to blast these bad bits away. It also gives you time to think about the best way to tackle them!
- Get into the groove
Motivation is the main key to getting work done and music is probably your best source for it! Turn off your cell phone, unplug the TV, put away the biscuits and turn that music up loud. Just don’t end up singing to yourself in the mirror for too long.
A good kit, logical plan of attack and great soundtrack are what you need to get the chores done in next to no time at all and if everything fails remember you can always call your local house cleaning service
Images by Micah Sittig and DaveCrosby, used under Creative Commons license
