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Lets get prepared for the Big Spring Clean

by Cleaning Tips

Spring cleaning is not just great for your home but it is so good for your mind and mood too.

Spring is an exciting time, full of hope and positivity and makes it the perfect season to get our homes in order. Getting your home ready for spring will ensure you will be ready to enjoy the warmer weather when it comes, after all who wants to be inside organising and tidying when it is glorious outside!

But before you get started you probably have some re-organising to do and one advantage of this is you are more than likely going to find something you have misplaced or even some money that you are hidden away to keep safe!

Spring cleaning usually involves getting rid of old clothing, furnishings, and odds and ends. So set aside before you start for a good decluttering session. Don’t forget to recycle, use charity shops and woman’s shelters who will be so grateful of any clothing you are no longer wearing.

Organise a car boot sale or garage sale to make yourself some money too.

National Spring Cleaning week usually starts early march but continues on well into May due to our very unpredictable weather.

Many of us start to feel so much more motivated by the sunshine and mild temperatures.

Essential items to get ready for your big Spring Clean:

  • Vacuum cleaner, give it a good clean before you start
  • Steam cleaner, the power of steam will break down dirt with ease
  • Flat headed mop with good microfibre pad
  • Microfibre cloths
  • Glass cleaning cloths
  • Paper towels
  • Heavy duty bin bags
  • soft bristle brushes
  • Large tubs for your organising
  • Versatile cleaning products
  • Carpet cleaner, if you don’t have one hire one

Follow a plan

Time

Set aside some time in your diary for Spring Cleaning.  Make sure you book nothing else in on these days or simply follow my 30 day spring cleaning challenge, this is so easy and is just one simple task a day. If you have been keeping on top of your housework this works really well.

Plan

Write down a list of what you want to achieve, plan room by room and stick to it.  Have a walk around your home with a pen and paper and write down those tasks that need doing. Involve other household members even kids there are always tasks they can safely help with.  Incentivise their work with a small reward. 

I have created a Spring Cleaning Checklist which may give you some ideas, there is nothing better than ticking off a task as it is completed such a satisfying feeling.

Create a fun playlist

Turn of distractions such as your phone and TV and instead create a fun motivational playlist with your favourite music. 

If you not expecting your door bell to go then don’t answer it, a simple distractions can set your back so just keep going.

Declutter

Freshen up your rooms by removing unnecessary objects from tabletops and shelves, store them accordingly or you don’t need sell or donate to charity.

Replace them with a single arrangement of fresh flowers. Flowers really can bring a room together and create a sense of happiness. House hold declutter can be a problem for many people, it can so easily build up into a huge mountain but this time of year is a great time to get working through that mountain.

Go for it

Be prepared, have all your tools to hand such as cleaning products, a full charged vacuum, apron, and rubber gloves.  If you are not sure what cleaning products to have download a copy of my cleaning caddy checklist.

Ensure you are wearing comfortable clothes and have a good breakfast, so you are full of energy. 

Throw open the windows for fresh air and to keep you motivated, nothing like a cold blast of wind to get you moving to warm you up.

Load up your cleaning caddy and go for it.

Some tasks to include in your big spring clean

Tackle cobwebs

Clean over the front door, sweep away leaves and bash the mat

Take down curtains and wash them or steam them

Have a clean and sort under beds

Wash and polish internal doors and handles

Wash out your dustbins

Remove dead leaves from indoor plants

Wash window seals and touch up any chipped paint

Move and clean under furniture such as sofas and tables.

Don’t forget you can easily lift a room by simply transitioning. Replace your winter candles and diffussers with spring fragranced ones.

Switch up winter throws and cushion covers for more spring like ones, use brighter more positive colours. Simple changes like this are much cheaper than decorating and gives a room a huge lift.

If you feel that having a big spring clean is a bit overwhelming for you then start small. Start in one corner of your home and you will be amazed at how satisfying it is to look at the tidy space, which would be a great motivation to go on and tackle another corner.

Don’t forget my book THE EASY LIFE breaks your cleaning down into seasonal tasks making your cleaning and tidying so much easier.

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Fridge Cleaning

by Cleaning Tips

When it comes to keeping the kitchen clean and organised at the top of most people’s list is the surfaces and cupboards But don’t forget one of the most used areas in your kitchen and that is fridge, so many people forget to clean and organise the fridge and just load foods in weekly without having a good sort through and clean.  Fridges can really smell if they are not looked after and a dirty fridge can lead to cross contamination and make us ill. . 

42% of UK people clean their fridge once a month, and a shocking 18% clean it only once a year. 

Keep on top of your Fridge with these very simple tips

Deep clean your fridge weekly

You are probably thinking to yourself why on earth is she suggesting this does she not realise I run a busy household and work full-time!  But this really doesn’t take that long at all.  By the day your food shopping arrives your fridge should be nearly empty so this task is automatically easier. Take everything that is left in out and clean shelf by shelf as you go.  Decide if the food you have left is still edible and then throw away the rest.

Wipe Shelves

Take the shelves out and simply wash them with warm soapy water. Dry and put back straight away.  If you have any sticky patches use a cold scrub daddy.

Check food dates

When cleaning use this time to check through any food that are left and check sell by dates. If you can’t remember how old something is then to be of the safe side I would chuck it out.  If sell by dates aren’t easily visible stick a sticky label on the jar/packet with the month and date clearly written.

Leftovers

Keep leftovers in small plastic containers labelled. I find the containers you get after having a Chinese or Indian are really handy and a great size too.  Also label the portion size and the date you put it in the fridge.

Wipe down the shelves with warm soapy water and dry. No matter how careful you are, invariably food can drizzle out or spill down the side of a container onto a refrigerator shelf. Clean it all up so you’re ready to reload.food zones. It might seem silly to have zones in your refrigerator, but this is helps me not only remember where things belong, but it’s helpful to other family members and guests who are helping out in the kitchen. You can even use actual labels for the shelves so everyone should know where things go! There are some cute repositionable ones that can make it look nicer toon too. Take note of the height of your items that will go back in so that you can group like items adjust shelf heights if necessary. Another idea is to use bins or plastic baskets to organize items by group. For example, you can keep your entire sandwich making condiments in a bin and when it’s time to make sandwiches, you can pull it out and have everything handy for all preferences without having to open the refrigerator several times.

Food Zones

It’s very important to keep your food in the correct area to avoid food contamination and e-coli.

Dairy products and juices should be placed in the side where cold air blows, this area is cool but not too cold.

Meats and fish should be on the mid-tier shelf

Cheeses and cold meats should be placed in a fridge drawer.

Salad and vegetables can be in one of the drawers, still cool but not too cold so they do not freeze. One of these drawers usually has a humidity control.

Eggs and butter should be placed in a compartment protected by a cover so that they do not get too cold (eggs) or too hard (butter).

If you fridge doesn’t have many compartments use these handy fridge storage baskets and fridge fresh will eliminate bad odours.

Exterior

The exterior of your fridge can get pretty dirty from constant use. Any good general purpose cleaning product should work, and a spray bottle is essential. If you have a stainless steel refrigerator, make sure you read the cautions before you buy a cleaner, so that you can be certain it won’t damage the finish. For a simple cleaning solution, use a mixture of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Buff dry using a Stainless Steel e-cloth

Schedule your fridge clean in your cleaning schedule. I like to clean out my refrigerator weekly, before rubbish collection day and before the shopping is delivered.

Want more cleaning tips then grab a copy of one of my books and I will show you how to clean your house and tidy up your life

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Stop clutter coming into your home.

by Home Organising

Are you fed up with the constant stream of clutter coming into your home? I hate having loose items on the side that really don’t have a home and I am sure you do too.

A few ideas

I have put together a simple list if ideas to hopefully stop clutter clogging up your home.

Make sure you have plenty of bins so you can put rubbish in them straight away rather than leave lying around.

Empty your bag or coat pocket as soon as you come home so the rubbish is dealt with straight away.

When you receive items through the post that come in big packaging break the boxes up straight away and take straight out to the recycling bin.  You don’t want these lying around taking up room.

Have a recycling box by the back door and empty this daily.

Do one extra organising job each day on top of normal cleaning. For example clean out a drawer or cupboard that’s become cluttered this way it doesn’t get so out of control.

Cancel any magazine subscriptions that you no longer need,  stopping the need of unwanted magazines and leaflets coming in.

Register with MPS online to stop receiving junk mail. https://www.mpsonline.org.uk. alternatively add a note to your front door alerting people not to put junk mail through.

Only purchase what you need.  Stop buying on impulse and bringing items into the home that you don’t really need.  When you visit the shops list the items you need and stick to it.  Don’t be tempted with offers.

Say NO to useless freebies that you pick up at exhibitions and trade fairs  How many branded pens do you really need.

Ask for receipts via email.  Most shops are offering this service these days and it is such a great idea.

Don’t pick up takeaway and restaurant menus as most are available online.

When the children bring in letters from school with important dates on, add into your phone calendar or dairy and disregard the letter.

Avoid going to sales, most of the time you impulse buy for the sake of it.

Buy a good mesh shopping bag that easily fits into your hand bag rather than having a store cupboard full of empty carrier bags.

Reducing filing by scanning and saving copies of warranty documents, important receipts, letters etc. One back up hard drive or flash drive takes up far less space than piles of paper.

Put things away. You quickly see whether you have room or not and if you don’t, something has to go.

Follow this rule. If something comes in, then something goes out.

If you need a bit more motivation check out my 50 things you need to throw guide.

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5 Top Tips for a Sparkling Clean Christmas

by Christmas

It’s a really good idea to prepare for Christmas in advance. I find that if you split your house into sections and plan to tackle one section at a time at the lead up to Christmas.

For example.  The children’s bedrooms can be week one as you probably need to make room in these for new toys that are coming in for Christmas, dinning area week 2 so you can stock check table decorations and so on.

Make sure you declutter as you go.  Clear out wardrobes, cupboards, check underneath beds and in drawers.  If you haven’t used it recently and it has no real purpose then it really needs to go.

There are 5 things you can do in advance to make sure your home is sparkling clean this christmas.

Clean your carpets

If you are fortunate enough to own a carpet cleaner  this is the time to give them a really good clean. Move as much of the furniture as you can to get that freshly cleaned look.

Don’t panic if you don’t own a carpet cleaner many local Companies will probably be offering a few Christmas cleaning packages for the festive season or there is also the option of hiring one or borrowing one of a friend.

Clean the Oven

You may be like me and clean the oven pretty much after every usage but if you not and it has a build up of dirt and grim then its time to get your oven clean on. There are some fantastic oven cleaning products on the markets so you can quite easily do its yourself but always take care and use good cleaning gloves.

Clean the Fridge 

Have a really good fridge clean, take all the items out and the shelves. Soak the shelves in warm soapy water and clean all the sides using a good antibacterial fridge cleaner.  Check all sell by dates on the food and wash over jars and bottles so everything you are putting back into the fridge is very clean. Add in a fridge deodoriser to help keep it smelling fresh and make sure you leave enough space for all the extra Christmas food.

Clean the silverware

If you are doing Christmas Day at your house then make sure you have plenty of cutely and its sparking clean. Most of us have a nice set of cutlery or dining set that only makes an appearance on special occasions. So get this prepared.  Just wash in warm soapy water, towel dry and if your silver has become slightly tarnished use a metal cleaner and buff to dry.  You can also try this amazing silver polishing gloves. I have these and use them all the time I must have my silver as shiny as I can get it.

Organise and clean the Christmas Decorations

Christmas decorations spend a long time living in dusty confined spaces until they are brought out again but how many of us actually think about cleaning them.  You would have seen me a few years on Obsessive compulsive Cleaners bleaching my baubles and still to this day I am stopped in the street and asked If I really do this and YES of Course I do.  But you don’t have to be as full on as me. A quick wipe over with a damp cloth will be enough. Make sure you test the lights before you put them on the tree and plan your christmas theme making sure it matches well with the room you are displaying your tree in. If threads on baubles are looking bear and the odd decoration is looking a little tatty then hide at the back or better still don’t hang at all.Over the years my children have made me various tree hanging decorations so we have a special tree on the middle floor for all their bits and pieces and they get to decorate this just the way they wish.

I have designed a christmas cleaning and organising calendar that starts on November 25th it gives you a daily task to do to help keep you organised on the lead up to christmas.  Click here to get yours.

 

This post contains affiliate links

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Getting Guest ready this Christmas

by Christmas

At Christmas time visitors can make the festive season all the more stressful, but a few simple steps will help ease the pain.

Guest preparation is the key at Christmas time. Always make sure you are as organised as you can be so you can relax and enjoy special time with your friends and family. Think of your visitors, there is nothing worse than ignoring them because you preparing food in the kitchen or tidying up and in turn they are sat twiddling their thumbs in the lounge.

Make sure if you have guests coming over for a meal that you are fully prepped. (ie) The table is set, extra chairs have been brought in, food is nearly ready, drinks are ready for pouring and you are ready. 

No dashing off too quickly get changed or apply your makeup!

I really enjoy playing host and will spend weeks getting organised. It’s so important that your guests feel welcome. If you have invited friends or family to stay then think about offering them privacy and a few home comforts.  Have the guest room ready or a dedicated area to accommodate them.

Always have a few spare generic Christmas presents wrapped up under the tree in case a gift is given to you but you didn’t buy them one.  You do not want to get yourself in an embarrassing situation.

The Guest room 

Having a space that guests can make their own allows for a much easier stress free visit. Your spare room may also be a bit of a dumping ground passing off as a home office, or a place where you dry your clothes so this is a good chance for you to have a quick declutter and organise. If this room isn’t used much you may not have the radiators switched on so get these switched on ready and warm the room.

Allow your guest some storage space, make room for their bags and a space for them to hang their clothes.

Leave a set of clean towels at the end of the bed and a set of mini toiletries in case they have forgotten something. Pop the wifi code on the bedside cabinet along with a few bottles of water.

If you have a family staying in the room invest in a few airbeds so a family can all stay together.

20 Minute Mad Guest Dash

We can also have unexpected visitors where little notice is given, Here are some of my top tips for getting you guest ready within 20 minutes.

Throw open the windows to let air through the house to make it feel refreshed and to get rid of any smells.

Entrance Hall 

Start by clearing the entrance to your home so guests don’t fall over shoes and coats when they walk in and make sure your door mat is clean by giving it a shake and sweep any dirt away.

Leave a space for guests shoes and coats.

Kitchen

Next, clean the kitchen. Put any dirty dishes in the sink or dishwasher and make sure your tea towel is clean. lighting a festive candle and emptying the bin. Spray a damp microfibre cloth with all-purpose spray and use it to wipe over kitchen surfaces and brush crumbs onto the floor. Once you’ve finished, speed-vacuum yourself out of the room starting in the furthest corner. 

People always migrate to the Lounge

The living room is another area of your home where guests are likely to spend a lot of time. Tidy away any clutter in your living room such as books and magazines, and if you have a pet, quickly rub your furniture with a damp rubber glove to remove pet hair. Spray sofas with a fabric refresher and turn your cushions over instead of vacuuming them to save time. Dim the lights and use lamps where possible to hide any dirt and hair on the carpets.

Your Bathroom must be clean

The bathroom is an area in your home where your guests will spend time alone and will make judgements about how clean it is! If you only have a few minutes to get your bathroom ready grab some fresh clean bathroom towels and change the bath mat.

1. Grab a clean cloth and a good bathroom cleaner and  wipe down the sink, the toilet seat and underneath the base of the toilet. Keep some handy cleaning wipes under the bathroom sink so you can just grab one quickly when in and out of the bathroom yourself.

2. Scrub the inside of the toilet and add some toilet bleach.

3. Leave the window slightly open

4. Light a strong pleasant scented candle.

5. Replenish Toilet paper.

No go areas

Lastly, if there’s a room in your home that you don’t want guests to enter, simply closing the door will make them less likely to go in.

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Christmas stocking gift ideas

by Christmas

I always used to struggle filling up my children’s stockings.  It is not always easy looking for small gifts that easily fit.  I still have younger children in my family and I absolutely love to put together a stocking for them.

There are so many options for what to put in a Christmas stocking. The traditional approach to a Christmas stocking for kids is to fill the toe of the stocking with either an easy-peel orange or satsuma, or a Terrys chocolate orange.

Other ideas include adding the traditional gold coins which you could do by adding in a small bag of chocolate coins or even some money.

Putting together the stockings at Christmas is one of my favourite Christmas activities and these little. nik naks are always really appreciated sometimes more so than the big expensive items.

Last year I went on a Christmas Stocking mission and this is what I have come up, hopefully this will help give you a few more ideas.

  • Scratch card
  • Gift cards
  • Lego min figure
  • Plasticine pack
  • Hair bobbles
  • Hair clips
  • Match box car
  • Pen
  • Pencil
  • Rubber
  • Money
  • Key ring
  • Socks
  • Tattoo
  • Stickers
  • Glow sticks
  • Card game
  • Glitter
  • Badge
  • Nail polish
  • Funky tooth brush
  • Bouncy Ball
  • Marbles
  • Christmas earrings
  • Nerf Bullets
  • Chocolate
  • sweets
  • Candy Cane
  • Book mark
  • Bag decoration
  • Small action figure

Don’t forget some adults love a Christmas stocking too. For adults, stocking fillers could be chocolate, some fruit, something useful like socks and maybe some mini perfume samplers or skin creams to fill space. You can also be a little cheeky and add a cocktail can to start the festivities.

The 5 gift rule

The 5 gift rule is a useful way to plan buying gifts. This is particularly useful if you are buying for children or a large family. The 5 gift rule helps you plan for a variety of different types of gifts whilst keeping the number of gifts sensible.

For presents the general 5 gift rule is:

  • 1 thing they want
  • 1 thing they need
  • 1 thing to read
  • 1 thing to wear
  • 1 thing to do

Hope this has given you some stocking inspiration don’t forget my Christmas Calendar countdown is now available.

Happy Christmas Planning

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Intense Bathroom Cleaning with the Queen of Clean

by Bathroom TipsCleaning Tips

Bathrooms are one of the worst places in the home for germs and bacteria to really spread so it’s important that we give the bathroom a real deep clean once a week.

A have put together this simple guide to help you with your intense clean. This should take you approximately 30 minutes. 

Before you start you will need to make sure you have the following

  • Strong Rubber gloves & Apron.
  • Plenty of cloths and a hard scrubbing-brush.
  • Rubbish bag
  • Bucket of warm water
  • Broom/Hoover
  • Multi surface cleaner
  • Bleach
  • Lime scale remover
  • Glass cleaner
  • White wine vinegar
  • Bicarbonate of soda.
  • Sonic Scrubber
  • Karcher Window Cleaner
  • Steamer
  • Lastly tie your hair back

Before you start Clear the Bathroom

Remove all bath towels and bathroom mats.

Remove laundry basket.

Shower curtain if you have one. (put this in the washing machine)

Empty all cabinets.

Clear the sides of any products.

Clear the window seal

Open the window.

Let’s get cleaning

Fill the bath a quarter of the way with hot water and then add in 4 capfuls if neat bleach.  This will soak whilst you carry on cleaning. Don’t forget to open the window. You will see dirt that you didn’t think was there lift to the top.

Always work from the top down when cleaning so start by dusting the ceiling and removing all the cobwebs.

Dust the light fixture.

Remove the vent or fan cover and soak these in warm water, whilst this is soaking clean the fan well.  Then dry the cover and pop this back.

Using glass or window cleaner clean the window and any mirrors.  If you mirrors have bad water marks rub over these will a cut in half lemon and then rinse after approx. 15 mins. Alternatively use a steamer here.

Clean inside all the cupboards using a multipurpose bathroom spray, don’t forget to clean the doors and handles and also reach to the top of the cabinet as dust can settle here and be thick.

Clean the toilet, pay attention to the bottom of the toilet as well as the pan, and add in bleach. If you have any brown toilet marks at the bottom of the pan add in a good quantity of lime scale remover. I always like to give mine a steam too to make sure I have killed all the germs and bacteria.

If you have any lime scale on the taps then use a strong lime scale remover to remove.

Use a small hard brush to scrub the grout and the tiles. Rinse with warm clean water and then buff dry.

Use the same brush to get into any small areas and really scrub clean.

Hoover or sweep the floor.

Use a solution of warm water and detergent to scrub all tiles and the floor.

Rinse the floor with clear warm water and then use a dry cloth to polish dry.

For the plug holes use a drain cleaner or mix bicarbonate of soda together with white wine vinegar

Clean the shower door and base thoroughly. I use my Karcher for the doors as its brilliant.

Soak the shower in bleach and if it has lime scale, spray on some lime scale remover.

Make sure you clean the shower hose and the switches.

Clean the bathroom light cord/switch

Using the bleached water from the bath now scrub the rest of the bath using an abrasive cloth.  Rinse and buff dry.

Finish up

Put all items back in cupboards on the sides etc.

Bring the colour back into your bathroom by bringing in clean towels, mats, accessories and plants.

If you are at home light a few scented candles.

My Bathroom cleaning essentials are

Sonic Scrubber This is such a must as its great as cleaning in between and for tackling limescale.

Karcher This will help remove hard water stains and leave your shower doors with a perfect streak free finish.

Strong rubber gloves Cheap ones easily rip so invest in a good quality pair that fully protect your hands.

Cleaning Caddy  Keep all your bathroom essentials in one box to save you from going up and down the stairs.

As I get asked all the time here is the link for my Glitter toilet seat

If you feel that this has helped you then why not take a look at my simple daily tasks to help you stay on top of your home or Get the children helping out more

Now Enjoy a nice CLEAN Bathroom

Lynsey Queen of Clean xoxox

There are some affiliate links associated with this guide

Ironing,Clothes,On,A,Yellow,T-shirt,On,The,Ironing,Board

Simple Ironing Tips

by Cleaning TipsLaundry

Ironing may not be your favourite way to pass the time, but it’s the key to looking good. With these top ironing tricks and tips, you can speed up your ironing, make it effortless and easy.

Remember not every single item of clothing you wash needs to be ironed.  Some clothing can be taken straight off the washing line or pulled out of the dryer, hung on a hanger and put straight away after a good shake.

What fabrics don’t need to be ironed?

Never iron sequins, velvet, or screen-printed clothing. Also, some fabrics are labeled “non iron” or “wrinkle resistant,” usually polyester and nylon.

Fabric condition can help decrease creases when washing your clothes but remember fabric conditioner is not required for all items.

Check care labels

Check the care labels in the garments and then split into temperature piles. start with the coolest temperature and work your way up.

  • Low-temperature: Acetate, acrylic, nylon
  • Medium-temperature: Polyester, silk, satin, wool
  • High-temperature: Linen, cotton, denim

Planning your ironing will save you time and prevent accidental melting or scorching.

Be prepared

Check the plate of your iron is clean, any stickiness can cause damage.

How to clean your iron

Use a sturdy steady ironing board with a good width that has a good rest area for your steam generator iron and a linen rack. When ironing position your board to be the height of your belly button. It is vital to keep a good posture when ironing.

Use a well padded ironing board cover and change once it starts to get burnt marks as these can cause damage to the plate of your iron. Most covers can be washed too, so add this task into your seasonal cleaning planner.

If you don’t have an ironing board, you can still iron by using a sturdy flat surface like a table or work top and prepare it correctly using an ironing blanket or thick cotton towel as a liner.

Invest in a good steam generator iron as this really will speed the process up and you will be surprised at the amount of time you save.

If you don’t have a steam generator iron before ironing, spritz your shirts with water. This ironing tip will help you get out stubborn wrinkles. Perhaps your iron even has a spritz option. If it does, use it! Once the item is dampened, iron as normal. The combination of water and heat will tackle wrinkles easily.

Grab some silver foil simply place a sheet of foil under the cover of your ironing board. The foil reflects heat, smoothening out the underside of your clothes as you run the iron press on the top side.

Top tips

Iron delicate fabrics inside out such as, silk, satin, linen and corduroy and also on items that sometimes are left with shine. This shine effect is most noticeable on dark colours.

You should iron fabric lengthwise to prevent stretching.

When ironing shirt collars, cuffs or pockets that are double the thickness of fabric, iron on the inside first and then on the outside to smooth any final wrinkles. 

Always remember to keep the iron moving. Stopping at any point could burn your clothing.

If you can hang the items straight onto hangers after ironing, folding them when hot can create creases which will set in.

When you are done

Keep your iron away from small children, irons can get very hot and cause injury.

Let your iron cool off and empty any water from the tank before you put it away.

Ironing is easy, why complicate it? Now that you’re privy to these convenient ironing tips and tricks, go ahead and try them. Don’t forget, the key is using the right iron so it is definitely worth investing in a good one and make it fun, listen to music or set the ironing board up so you can watch television. 


White,Room,With,Sofa.3d,Illustration

Decluttering

by Home Organising

Household clutter can be a problem for many people, clutter can build up and up to a stage where you just don’t know where to start.  

Clutter can cause people stress which can potentially lead to weight gain, anxiety and depression. Which can then head towards to hoarding.  Hoarding a house can create a fire hazard and lead to other health problems with the build up of dust and dirt.

Learning to cut clutter in your home is a process you have to be intentional about until it becomes a set habit.  For some of us it may never come 100% naturally but the good news is that by creating a routine you can keep control over the clutter in your house without a huge time investment.

If you tidy up on a regular basis you will find that you clutter is very minimal and can be dealt with quickly but if you have let it get quite bad over a long period of time then you need to follow these simple steps.

Recognise the Problem: Acknowledge that clutter can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression, which may even progress to hoarding if left unaddressed.

Motivation to Declutter: Understand the benefits of decluttering, such as creating an open and clean space, which can contribute to a more organised and focused mind.

Establish a Routine: Make decluttering a habitual part of your life. Regular tidying up can prevent clutter from becoming overwhelming.

Start with a Plan: Begin by setting realistic goals and identifying areas in your home that need decluttering. Create a roadmap for tackling each space.

Step-by-Step Approach: Take it one room or space at a time. Don’t feel pressured to do everything in one day; consistency is key.

Work from Top to Bottom: Start with the smallest room or space, and declutter from top to bottom. This approach prevents clutter from accumulating downward.

Set End Goals: Define what you want to achieve in each space so you have a clear target to work toward.

Dispose of Unwanted Items: Arrange for proper disposal of clutter, whether it’s hiring a skip, donating to charity, or visiting a local dump.

Sorting System: Use a system to categorise items into boxes (keep, throw away, donate, sell, or store) to facilitate decision-making.

Categorise and Organise: Organise the items you’re keeping by category and create dedicated spaces for them. Use storage solutions like boxes, shelves, or drawer dividers.

Purge Unused Items: Be honest with yourself about the necessity of items you haven’t used in a year. Donate or discard them.

Digitise Documents: Scan important documents and receipts to create digital copies, reducing physical clutter while maintaining records.

Drawer and Cupboard Cleaning: Empty drawers and cupboards completely before reorganising. Remove unused or unnecessary items and if you have limited time just do one a day or when you have a spare 15 minutes.

Minimal Surfaces: Keep surfaces clear by only leaving out items that are frequently used or necessary for the specific area.

Check Expiry Dates: Regularly review and discard expired items, such as cosmetics, medications, and pantry items.

By following these tips and maintaining a decluttering routine, you can create a more organised and stress-free living environment. Remember that decluttering is an ongoing process, and it’s essential to make it a part of your lifestyle to reap the long-term benefits.

  • Check expiring dates on cosmetics, shampoos, medication etc and if out of date throw away