Fall is a great time to tackle cleaning; not only is the weather cooling off, making it more comfortable to roll up your sleeves and work hard, but it’s also right before the holidays (family, friends, and festivities!). Be prepared for guests with a clean house. Below are some tips to help you begin.
For busy parents, keeping on top of the housework always seems to be an arduous chore. With youngsters running amok and sticky fingers leaving marks all over the furniture, turning your house into a show-home never seems anything more than fantasy.
That is until you uncover a few grime-fighting secrets, of course. Looking at traditional remedies passed down through generations and modern technology’s answer to household dirt, we list five ways in which you can tackle dirt in the family home.
1. Clean regularly
One of the biggest mistakes people make over their cleaning regime is trying to do too much at once. Rather than turning your house over from top to bottom with a bucket of soapy water in your hand, why not clean regularly instead? Little and often is the best approach and if you clean your home regularly, you’ll find it much easier to keep on top of it.
2. Go back to basics
Ever heard of the cleaning power of white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda? Well, they’re not the only natural cleaning solutions from our history books! Numerous tips and tricks can help you make light work of even the most laborious chores, so make things easier for yourself and see what you can discover. There are plenty of books around that are packed full of these tips and you’ll find plenty of advice online too.
3. Get the kids to help
Cleaning the family home isn’t a one man job, so get the kids (and the husband) to do their fair share of work. Setting up a weekly chore rota is a good idea and you may find that financial incentives are a great way to encourage despondent teens to pick up the hoover.
4. Make the most of technology
Modern technology has given us many benefits – especially in the home. Give yourself a helping hand when completing the chores by ensuring all of your appliances are up to speed. You’ll find cylinder vacuum cleaners great for removing dirt and grime from carpets, while steam cleaners are the perfect answer to stained upholstery or fabric.
5. Don’t create it in the first place
The best defence is a good offense! Tackle mess in the first instance by setting ground rules about what is and isn’t allowed to happen within the home. This can be something as simple as ensuring kids remove muddy shoes at the door. The earlier you introduce these rules the more effective they’ll be.
Make sure everyone sticks to the guidelines though – children will be unlikely to toe the line if adults are seen flouting their own rules!
5 Comments
We use vinegar and water to do well over 75% of our cleaning. This works great AND it saves money, as vinegar is absurdly cheap at Costco
Tip #1 is completely true. Letting stuff pile up for a while and then trying to tackle it is exhausting and mentally daunting. However, if you just take a few minutes every so often to keep up with it, then when it comes time for the “big clean” it’s way more easy.
Our tile cleaner is a few tablespoons of vinegar, a couple of drips of dishwashing detergent, and warm water – works great! And yeah, making sure we pick up everything and have all of the main surfaces cleaned every 2 weeks helps a ton!
@Crystal – Just keeping up with the dirt and mess is a big help. I’m very fortunate that MR. LH is so tidy – he cleans up everyday. I’m more of a “I can’t stand it anymore!” type of person and will wait a couple of weeks before things gross me out then dig in and clean.
@The Potato Head – I’m very fortunate that my husband doesn’t let things go, he’s a tidy guy. Me, on the other hand, will let things go a bit longer than I like.