WITH family festivities, school holidays and the cold weather forcing us indoors, keeping a tidy home is pretty impossible at this time of year.
Think dog paw prints, endless amounts of dirty washing and
food stains from family fry-ups and turkey fat drippings.
1
It’s enough to get your head in a mess, never mind everything else.
Fortunately, a cleaning expert has stepped up to the plate to share some excellent advice on how to keep our homes clean – in a budget-friendly manner.
Cleaning expert and business owner Richard Pearson – who manages Poppies of Wirral, a domestic and commercial cleaning company – has some very handy tips to help clean
the cobwebs.
Even though we may be in the depths of winter, when it comes to spring cleaning, Richard suggests there is no time like the present.
Below are his tips for cleaning your home, that won’t clean you out of cash.
Buy in bulk if you can
Often products are far cheaper when you buy more in one go– look at the cost per volume or item.
If you are tight for cash, a good idea would be to team up with friends, family or neighbours and help spread the cost amongst you.
If you are low on space to store items, consider concentrated products such as the multi-purpose cleaner from Clean Living, said Richard.
Most read in Money
Don’t overdo the cleaning
Some products kill bacteria for hours or even days after you have used them so you don’t always need to clean so regularly.
Use things you already have
There is no point in buying new things, unless you really have to.
Do a bit of research and you will find some products you have in the home that can be used for multi-purposes.
Rubber gloves, for example, work just as well as a lint roller to get the hair off your clothes.
Take care of your appliances
By this I mean give some TLC to your home appliances.
It may be a very boring job but by looking after your appliances, you can make them last for longer and you therefore won’t need to fork out on replacing them.
Have you ever cleaned your washing machine?
If not, give it a thorough clean, there is plenty of dishwasher cleaning products out there.
Clean your dishes in cold water
Most of us have heard about washing your clothes on a cooler cycle to save money.
Believe it or not, the same applies to washing our dishes – most dishwashing products work just as well in cold water.
There’s no need to have to run all your dirty dishes under boiling hot water.
Dry your clothes outside
If you have family staying for Christmas, or your kids are back from university for the holidays, the amount of dirty clothes will be ever growing.
My advice is to hang your clothes out to try rather than using a drier.
The sun may not be out but the wind can help dry the wet washing.
I would avoid drying clothes on radiators though as it can cause condensation and mould.
Plus damp clothing on heaters won’t make your house smell nice.
Use dryer balls to speed up drying
If you are using the drying machine, use dryer balls to help dry clothes more quickly, therefore costing you less.
They also help reduce creases so less money (and time) spent ironing.
You can pick these up from Wilko for as little as £2.
