I don’t know about you, but I spent a fair portion of the bank holiday weekend in the sunshine, feeling slighty guilty about all the housework I promised myself I would do.
I am not – as those who know me well would tell you – a domestic goddess. Nope, not at all. What I am is an organiser. So I organise my home to make upkeep easy. If you like a clean home more that the process, here’s some tips.
1. Don’t be afraid to outsource.
I’m self employed – so my time literally is my money. In my business I use contractors, an accountant, a graphic designer to do the things I need to get done so I can run my business. I pay for their expertise, and I don’t have to spend time worrying about the work getting done, and done well.
I apply the same principle to my home. I can cook – can’t iron very well though. Thankfully I know someone that can. I use the Havelock or Broomhill Laundrette. 30 items for £10.99 or thereabouts. Brilliant.
Also, I live 3 floors up. Yes, my windows do swing inwards for cleaning – but frankly it terrifies me to be near them when they are wide open. Hello Upper Glass Window Cleaning.* Great service, great result, very reasonable price. Worth every penny.
2. A Place for Everything and Everything in it’s place.
Trite but true. Your house will never be tidy if you don’t have places to tidy things to. Be logical – think about where you use items and store them near that location. Subdivide drawers if that helps. If you need storage boxes, buy a matching set.
And if it still doesn’t look tidy, then you have too much stuff. You need a roll of bin bags and a good, honest friend to help you weed out the excess. I’ve blogged about de-cluttering cupboards Here, and on de-cluttering clothes Here
3. Have a routine.
The best advice I have is that one routine does not fit all. Some people swear by a room / a half hour per day. Others prefer to do it all on a Saturday Morning. So, be honest with yourself. If you are a lie in person, do it daily. If you are a long commute, tiring job person do it all at once. But do it consistently and it’ll be easier and won’t get forgotten.
In the same vein, some people work by task, others by room. Me, I like to tackle all of one job at once – say floors – I hoover then wash all the floors. Other folk would tidy, dust, hoover the whole sitting room then move on. Whatever works for you.
4. Don’t get behind.
Trust me on this. Maintenance is better than repair. Keeping a home clean is MUCH easier than making it clean. I’m talking from experience on this one. I had to call in professionals (White Pearl Cleaning – wonderful, wonderful people!) to help me get back on track.
5. Rota on the ‘Big’ and ‘Occasional’
Not everything needs done every week. But, one in a while the curtains need hoovered/ washed. The washing machine needs a cleaning out cycle. Do yourself a favour and write a list and laminate it. Then tick them off in order one or two a month, when you get to the bottom start over.
Items for the list include (thanks Mum, for once giving me a Cleaning book for Christmas, insulting but useful)
- Turn mattresses
- Launder pillows and duvets
- Dust ceilings
- clean walls
- Clean the insides of the kitchen cupboards
- hoover book cases, cds, dvds.
- clean behind the fridge etc
- Clean the oven
- Polish wooden furniture
- Clean lampshades
- Pour soda crystals down all sinks to keep them clear.
6. Buy decent Cleaning stuff.
Sure, a bad workman blames his tools but, as in every walk of life, good equipment makes life easier.
Get a decent hoover (I love my Henry) and replace bags and filters regularly – meet my friend The Baglady. You should make friends with her too. Same goes for mops, get something decent, replace the head regularly.
Other than that I have a ‘dust puppy’, microfibre clothes and kitchen towel. In terms of products I think less is more – Stardrops for hard surfaces, bleach for the loo, beeswax furniture polish, Soda crystals for degreasing and sinks.
What are your top tips?
I’m always interested in other advice to make life easy. Share your wisdom in the comments, please?
*A quick note on links here. These aren’t sponsored links – these are people and services I have used and found worth recommending. If you work in an area like this, and think I should be recommeding you, please do get in touch.
