We, at TidyChoice know a lot about keeping homes clean. We also wanted to find out how much cleaning our personal items need. So, we did some research to find out what the experts think.

Phones: Clean every day

Believe it or not, a recent study by research firm Dscout found that on average we touch our phones 2,617 time every day, leaving us to the risk of being exposed to 7,000+ types of bacteria. Although most are harmless, some are not. It is indeed highly recommendable to clean your phone everyday with an antibacterial wipe.

Bras: Clean every 2-3 wears

Good news ladies: if you don’t know it already, bras don’t need to be washed after every wear. If you’ve had a particularly sweaty day, you might want to wash them after just a wear.

Over-washing can quickly damage the elastic, that’s why washing them after every two wears, possibly three, is ideal.

Handbags and wallets/purses: Clean once a week

Bags carry nasty germs (well, it’s no wonder when you...

Natural cleaning products are the way to go if you are afraid that some commercial cleaning products might be toxic for you and your pets. Here are three natural cleaning products you can easily find at home and how to use them: 

Ground coffee beans

Ground coffee beans are good odour removers. After you make your flat white, you can save the beans and leave them in a small bowl. When they are completely dry, they can help deodorize your fridge, cupboard, and wardrobe.

Baking soda

Baking soda is the killer of stains and oil. When mixed with water and vinegar, it can dissolve dust, grease, and oil in your kitchen. It can also remove hard water stains in water boilers, coffee stains on clothing and polish silverware and jewellery.

Vodka and gin

Liquor can shine your silver and glass. Because of its high concentration of alcohol, it can also kill bacteria and is good for cleaning bathroom tiles. You can also replace special...

Lingering smells are a common issue faced by many homes, and there are various reasons why your home may be experiencing these yucky odours. 

The truth is that there are very few easy fixes to these issues. In most cases, spraying air freshener all over your house is going to solve the problem only in the short run. Once the air freshening particles fizzle out, it’s likely that bad odours would also return. For a more permanent fix, you first need to find out the source of the smell, which would indicate which appropriate measures need to be taken.

Mould

One common culprit of household stench is mould, which produces smelly gases that can cause health problems in humans. These invasive mushrooms love moist spaces, and are commonly found on your home’s walls and ceilings, as well as in cupboards and other furniture. Over time, the fungi colony can also grow into your walls and furniture’s interiors, making the problem even harder...

We’ve put together a guide on how to safely clean children’s toys to protect their still-developing immune systems and help reduce their encounters with undesirable bacteria in their toys.

We touch, hear, see, smell, and taste in order to explore our surroundings. Not only do children touch their toys, but they sometimes enjoy licking, chewing, and biting their playthings. In this process, they get in contact with various germs and can even catch illnesses.

How often should you clean the toys?

Now let’s talk about how frequently these playthings need washing. Most of the time, giving them a weekly clean would be sufficient to guarantee a hygienic environment for your little one. However, if the kid from next door suddenly decides to put your child’s toys in her mouth, or if someone accidentally spills food on the toys, then it would be best to give the contaminated items an immediate wash. This way, your child can be guaranteed...

Dogs are cute and clever. No wonder many people love having them as their household companions. Unfortunately, despite the greater  emotional well-being and love that your four-pawed friends’ place bring to your life, dog ownership also has its challenges, not least how to keep your house clean with a dog around.

As hairy animals, dogs often leave traces of their hair behind places they visit. They also like scratching surfaces. Lastly, they can occasionally leave smells behind.

So how should new dog owners prepare themselves for all these eventualities?

Dog-Grooming

Ensuring that your dog is well-groomed is a great way to minimise your friend’s impact on your house’s tidiness.

Bathe your dog once a month to ensure decent hygiene. Trim their nails occasionally to reduce the amount of scratch marks that they could leave on your home’s surfaces. And don’t forget hair cuts!

Prepare Your House

...

2017 has ended and 2018 has arrived. The beginning of a new year is a great time for us to reevaluate our life choices and habits and start afresh. We may regret some past decisions or want to change our lifestyles. But among all the possible new year’s resolutions that you can think of, what are some of the things you could do to improve the well-being of your own house?

Keeping your house clean and tidy is not only good for the aesthetic presentation of your home. It is also beneficial for your mental and physical health. In an organised house, you will be able to find lost items more easily. In a properly cleaned home, you will also be less likely to catch illnesses or experience allergic reactions caused by germs and dust.

So what are some resolution ideas to improve the state of your home this new year?

• Dust and hoover your house once a week

Dust does not only make your house look bad and cause allergic reactions. It can also...

As your children grow it is important to include them in various different activities including chores in order to teach them responsibility and also give you a little bit of a break every now and then. Here are a few tips on ways that they can be included – from showing them a guide on how to clean a hairbrush from Cleanipedia, to including them in the fun of Christmas at this time of year.

In the bedroom

One of the simplest chores that children can be involved in is taking care of their own bedroom. Children as young as three are capable of learning to make their own bed in the morning when they get up and ensure that all their dirty washing is placed into the laundry basket.

In the kitchen

Joining in with baking Christmas cookies or helping cook up the perfect Sunday roast are chores that most children love to do; and as they grow a little they can begin to have involvement in other chores in the kitchen too. For example, why not ask your children to put the food...

Christmas is coming in less than two weeks, and many people are now in their full Christmas-preparation mode. However, besides doing your Christmas shopping and decorations, readers should consider adding a small but highly rewarding task to their festive to-do list. This extra task that we are referring to is pre-Christmas decluttering.

Why Declutter Pre-Christmas?

Christmas provides a perfect reason to declutter your house. As the holiday season arrives, you may be expecting many guests to visit your home. Cleaning your house thoroughly is not enough to present your living space to invitees in its most inviting state. Clean houses can still look messy and unorganised, and you don’t want guests to perceive your house that way. Pre-Christmas decluttering is the key to improving your home’s appearance through the removal of unnecessary items from your house.

Ensuring the organisation of rooms which guests will be making...

Last week, TidyChoice explored five dirty household items which are rarely cleaned by their owners but deserve some more attention. This week, we look at things which are often similarly neglected in cleaning routines. However, what makes them special is the fact that they are all cleaning tools. We might, therefore, see no point in re-cleaning them. However, this is a grave error is some cases, and below, we provide some tips on how to ensure that your cleaning tools are in tip-top conditions.

1. Kitchen Sponge

While we already wash sponges every time we use them to scrub our dishes, everyone knows how dirty these things can become. To rid the sponges of grease and food particles, extra sanitary effort is needed.

To remove bacteria and make your sponges look brand-new, either

• Soak them in vinegar for around five minutes
• Wash them in your dishwasher
• Dip them in a cup of water and heat the cup in a microwave for a minute.

2....

As the winter months draw on, we may feel like there is enough cold and ice outside to want anything to do with it in our household chores. However, defrosting your freezer is a vital task and one that should be undertaken regularly whatever the weather is like outside. Sometimes we put off big jobs like this because we are not one hundred percent sure how to do it, so if that is your reason we are here to put you straight. In this article, we go through how to defrost a freezer step by step, giving you all the important tips and tricks to get this housekeeping chore done quickly and easily.

Step 1: Knowing when to defrost your freezer

As with all cleaning tasks, it is important to know how often you should be doing it. In essence defrosting your freezer is not something that you need to do like clockwork every month or three. Instead regularly check for signs of ice building up – when that happens, it is time to defrost.

Step 2: Having all the equipment to hand

Now that...