Your home is your sanctuary. A place where you take off your shoes, kick up your feet, put on the TV and relax. No one wants to get off work, come home and then have to clean for a couple of hours. Keeping a home in pristine condition is tough work! However, there are a few tricks of the trade that will help to make your home seem cleaner than it actually is. With the holidays right around the corner now is the time to take care of some of that cleaning that we’ve all been putting off.
Hit the most noticeable surfaces first
Start with the “Three T’s”. Toilets, Tabletops and Televisions. The toilet can always be cleaned over and over. It is important to disinfect the toilet once a week with a simple Clorox Wipe. Tabletops will always have some sort of dust or grime on them every time you decide to clean them. Finally, televisions are known to accrue a ton of dust so simply dusting it off and wiping it down with a wet cloth should do the trick.
If you have time, go ahead and hit the other kitchen countertops and the sinks of the home as well. If there’s time still, get those mirrors nice and sparkly.
Consider what rooms will be seen first, then how the flow will likely go. Work on them in that order. Clean the entryway first, and then the living area, and continue with the pattern. Focus on clutter and cleaning noticeable dust and grime off of surfaces, first. If you have time, you can do the floors as well.
Bathrooms
There is one specific room in the house that can turn anyone’s first impression into a bad one. Nasty bathrooms are just that, GROSS! By now, you should have already flushed and cleaned the toilet. You can close the shower curtain to help offset any unpleasantness that could be spotted in the bathtub. Close all drawers and medicine cabinets, and see if you can improve the look of any wet, hanging towels by placing a bathrobe over them.
Remove Clutter
Books, magazines, DVD’s are all items that can sit in one place for far too long and accumulate into something bigger. Designate an area for these items and store them there. Collect your remotes and place them side by side in a neat arrangement, out of the way, or place in a small basket. Get all random, dirty clothing and hide in a laundry basket, out of sight.
Replace your towels
Replacing the hand towels in the kitchen and in the bathroom are a great way of increasing that fresh feeling for your guests.
Get rid of pet hair
Not only is pet hair a bit messy, but it can also aggravate some allergies. If you don’t have a lot of time, and your cushions are clean underneath, just flip them. You can also throw a sheet or blanket over the furniture. If you have time, use a lint roller or vacuum cleaner to thoroughly remove the hair.
Take care of strong smelling odors
Strong odors can ruin your home. Unpleasant smells are a huge turnoff. Use some Febreze or light some incense. Better yet, open up the windows if it is a pleasant day outside and enjoy the fresh air that nature has to offer. Also, you could boil items such as Cinnamon, Lemon or Citrus peel, Nutmeg, Cloves and even Ginger to ride your home of unwanted odors.
Increase the lighting in your home
Let the sunlight brighten up your home. Open the shades on a nice day. At night, lower the lighting to make things feel a bit more relaxed. If you’re a candle person, light candles in optimal areas of the house where you will be spending most of your time.
Placing something shiny in the room can help naturally attract attention away from what you don’t want people to notice. The more you light it up (without blinding them) the better the effect.
Keep the floors clean
With carpets and rugs get that vacuum out and make sure you hit the areas that will be most visited. With wood, tile or linoleum, get some final touch ups with the appropriate Swiffer tools. Once finished, go over the corners or edges of the rooms again because that is the place where a lot of dirt and floor debris can congregate.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner and that means assembling family and friends for holiday gatherings. Start cleaning today to ensure that your guests will feel comfortable sharing your home and company with you.
Hit the most noticeable surfaces first
Start with the “Three T’s”. Toilets, Tabletops and Televisions. The toilet can always be cleaned over and over. It is important to disinfect the toilet once a week with a simple Clorox Wipe. Tabletops will always have some sort of dust or grime on them every time you decide to clean them. Finally, televisions are known to accrue a ton of dust so simply dusting it off and wiping it down with a wet cloth should do the trick.
If you have time, go ahead and hit the other kitchen countertops and the sinks of the home as well. If there’s time still, get those mirrors nice and sparkly.
Consider what rooms will be seen first, then how the flow will likely go. Work on them in that order. Clean the entryway first, and then the living area, and continue with the pattern. Focus on clutter and cleaning noticeable dust and grime off of surfaces, first. If you have time, you can do the floors as well.
Bathrooms
There is one specific room in the house that can turn anyone’s first impression into a bad one. Nasty bathrooms are just that, GROSS! By now, you should have already flushed and cleaned the toilet. You can close the shower curtain to help offset any unpleasantness that could be spotted in the bathtub. Close all drawers and medicine cabinets, and see if you can improve the look of any wet, hanging towels by placing a bathrobe over them.
Remove Clutter
Books, magazines, DVD’s are all items that can sit in one place for far too long and accumulate into something bigger. Designate an area for these items and store them there. Collect your remotes and place them side by side in a neat arrangement, out of the way, or place in a small basket. Get all random, dirty clothing and hide in a laundry basket, out of sight.
Replace your towels
Replacing the hand towels in the kitchen and in the bathroom are a great way of increasing that fresh feeling for your guests.
Get rid of pet hair
Not only is pet hair a bit messy, but it can also aggravate some allergies. If you don’t have a lot of time, and your cushions are clean underneath, just flip them. You can also throw a sheet or blanket over the furniture. If you have time, use a lint roller or vacuum cleaner to thoroughly remove the hair.
Take care of strong smelling odors
Strong odors can ruin your home. Unpleasant smells are a huge turnoff. Use some Febreze or light some incense. Better yet, open up the windows if it is a pleasant day outside and enjoy the fresh air that nature has to offer. Also, you could boil items such as Cinnamon, Lemon or Citrus peel, Nutmeg, Cloves and even Ginger to ride your home of unwanted odors.
Increase the lighting in your home
Let the sunlight brighten up your home. Open the shades on a nice day. At night, lower the lighting to make things feel a bit more relaxed. If you’re a candle person, light candles in optimal areas of the house where you will be spending most of your time.
Placing something shiny in the room can help naturally attract attention away from what you don’t want people to notice. The more you light it up (without blinding them) the better the effect.
Keep the floors clean
With carpets and rugs get that vacuum out and make sure you hit the areas that will be most visited. With wood, tile or linoleum, get some final touch ups with the appropriate Swiffer tools. Once finished, go over the corners or edges of the rooms again because that is the place where a lot of dirt and floor debris can congregate.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner and that means assembling family and friends for holiday gatherings. Start cleaning today to ensure that your guests will feel comfortable sharing your home and company with you.
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