TWo friends with cleaning mops sitting on sofa laughing

The weather may be hotting up, and we’re officially heading into summer. If, like us, you didn’t manage to get round to that essential spring clean, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of time.

Here’s our top tips to hack the clean so it won’t take up that valuable summer time and allow you to spend more time with friends and family.

Break it down

One of our main problems with the big annual clean is feeling overwhelmed when we start to think of all those jobs waiting to be done.

In reality, there doesn’t have to be so much to swallow if you make each task more bitesize. Make a list of everything that you want to do, then break it down. Instead of being faced with 1000 jobs, you can create lists of about ten per room that can be tackled over a number of days.

Not only will you start to see progress from the start, you’ll be spurred on to do more.

Call in help

You really don’t need to do it alone. A job shared is a job halved, after all. If you need to do a big deep clean, why not call in a local cleaner. There are plenty of small local businesses and franchisees who can help out for one off jobs, like Merry Maids here at Minworth Business Park. Of course, once you’ve seen how much easier it life becomes, we’re sure you’ll be using them for the weekly clean as well.

Alternatively, why not ask a friend or family member to help – in return for a similar favour from you. Okay, you do end up cleaning two homes, but you can have more fun while you’re hard at work.

Create a donation box

This can be quite difficult for people who like to hoard or keep sentimental items. Creating a donation box and choosing a charity that means something to you will help incentivise you to sort through everything. Knowing that everything is going to a good cause will make it far easier to be ruthless and clear things out.

Donation box of clutter for charity

Dust and bleach

If there is one thing that will make a huge difference, it’s giving your surfaces a good dust. Use a drop of bleach in water to wipe over surfaces, and not only will your home look clean, but it will smell clean too. With a lovely summer freshness to your home, you’ll end up doing more cleaning than you intended.

Declutter using the 12 month rule

Do you still have something in your bathroom, cabinet, cupboard or wardrobe that you haven’t used, worn or eaten in the past 12 months? Then the golden rule is simple. Get rid.

Styles change, food expires and clutter grows. So to clear your head, become more productive in your life and make room for more buys, be brutal and clear it out.

Finally – open those windows wide, get outside and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!