Aggie MacKenzie, of ‘How Clean Is Your House’ and more recently ‘ Dancing on Ice’ fame offers us a few tips to make cleaning more enjoyable and take less time.
1. Do a little each day. Just think if you spent 10 minutes each evening washing the dishes, taking the rubbish out or wiping surfaces this could add an extra hour onto your weekend!
2. Dust from top to bottom. Dust falls with gravity so clean high shelving, lampshades and curtain poles first. Work your way down and save the vacuuming until last.
3. Involve the whole family. Encourage your children to tidy their rooms, make the beds or help with the washing. If you have older children they can take on responsibility for keeping a certain area of the house clean, in reward for a little pocket money or computer time.
4. Store all your cleaning products in one bucket. Carry this around when you do the housework and avoid time-wasting trips up and down stairs searching for your duster, disinfectant, wipes, rubber gloves…
5. Plan your cleaning before you start. Work around the home room-by-room and think about ways to utilise your time. For example the kitchen floor could be drying while you clean the hall or upstairs landing.
6. Set yourself a finish time at the start of a cleaning job. When I start a pile of ironing I give myself 40 minutes and race against the clock to get it finished
7. Once a month pay a little extra attention to one room. You will save time in the long run and avoid the need for a huge spring clean.
8. Pay greater attention to the most commonly used rooms such as the kitchen, bathroom or living room as these will take longer to clean if you leave the dust and clutter to build up.
9. Listening to your favourite music very loudly, or listen to an audio book to make the job seem more enjoyable. Set yourself a goal of dusting until a song finishes or scrubbing a surface for a whole chapter of the book.
10. Sweep your front path or porch as part of your regular cleaning routine. Walking in mud, leaves and gravel inside the home will only create extra work.
11. Avoid the temptation to wipe off a cleaning liquid as soon as you spray it on. By leaving the solution to work for just a few minutes dirt, mould and marks will be easier to wipe off
July 2008
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