Coming out of a relationship might mean that you need to start looking after your home yourself, if your former partner was the one who took care of the home maintenance. Here are some tips.
Avoiding the use of chemicals is ideal for people with allergies, small children or who wish to protect the environment, so our checklist is based on green cleaning:
TIPS ON GREEN CLEANING
Dirty Vases: Crunch up some egg shells, add water, shake it, pour away, clean with dry cloth
Decanters: Few grains of rice, add white vinegar, shake it, then rinse clean
Dishwashers: Tip a cupful of white distilled vinegar into the bottom, run on hottest cycle
Use of Bicarbonate of Soda
Sprinkle over furniture and carpets, leave it and brush off or rub it in ? useful for animal smells
Scouring: Mix with water and clean any surfaces
Toilet: Use neat down the toilet
Smokers: Leave small dish in corner of room to absorb the smoke odour
Smelly Sinks! Put neat down sink, add white vinegar (it will froth) then pour boiling water down
How to keep your house clean with minimal work and fuss
The following is intended to help you keep your home clean and tidy with the minimum amount of work and fuss! The trick to doing less is to tidy as you go.
Firstly ensure each room has a bin, it is just as easy to put paper in the bin as on the floor and empty bins, including kitchen waste, as soon as they are full. Invest in some rubber gloves, a mop and bucket, jay cloths, duster and cleaning fluids. There are plenty of “lazy” cleaning fluids available in shops now that you simply wipe on and wipe off to clean sinks, baths, ovens and appliances – you don’t want to over do it!
Then:
Daily
Make the bed, put dirty clothes in washing basket, wash up and wipe worktops, clear any clutter away.
Weekly
Dust surfaces, empty all bins, vacuum throughout the house, clean bathroom, toilets and sink in kitchen, sweep and wash kitchen floor and thoroughly disinfect the kitchen worktops, wipe out oven, grill and hob, change bed linen and do laundry. This does not all need to be done on the same day – spread the work out during the week and do one thing each day.
Monthly
Clean the fridge and check use-by dates on food, disinfect kitchen bin, wipe kitchen cupboard doors, check for cobwebs on ceilings, vacuum smoke alarm and check battery, turn mattress over.
Three Monthly
Clean cooker hood and replace filter if needed following manufactures instructions, clean any marks from walls, thoroughly dust and polish nick-knacks and anything on the kitchen worktop.
Six Monthly
Wash or dry-clean duvets, empty kitchen and bathroom cupboards and wipe out with soapy water, clean behind large appliances, wash windows, put suitable drain cleaning fluid down all sinks.
Annually
Empty wardrobes and drawers and wipe out, dispose of any clothes you have not worn in the last year, dry clean any coats or suits that you have missed over the last year, shampoo carpets.
