It’s that time of year where your house deserves a serious makeover. We’re not just talking about a general sweep or some light dusting – we’re talking about that yearly spring deep-clean that will transform your house from messy and mediocre to sparkling-clean five-star-hotel standard.

It’s going to take some hard work, which is why we are joined today by The Handy Squad, handyman services in London, who are going to share some of their top spring-cleaning tips.

Create a plan

Before you dive straight in, grab a pen and paper and start writing out a ‘to-do list’. Cleaning your entire house can be overwhelming, especially if there’s a lot to get done! Instead of having one large task with a single overall goal, break the job down into lots of little tasks. Start by writing out all the chores you know you need to complete and then organise them by room. For inspiration, check out Taste of Home’s spring cleaning checklist - but...

Since the beginning of the pandemic, working from home has become part of the ‘new normal’. With the government urging workers not to return to their offices, more people are doing their jobs from the comfort of their own home. Whilst remote working is not a new concept, professionals are having to adapt to this new style of work. It’s safe to say it has brought with it several challenges.

Work from home challenges

As we are now surrounded by home comforts in our everyday working lives, our distractions at work have multiplied. And with the kids running around, it’s no wonder we can’t focus! This feeling of demotivation and stress begins to extend past working hours once we close our laptops and realise how many chores need doing. Subconsciously, visual mess in our homes adds to our stress more than we realise. An untidy background means our brain must work twice as hard to concentrate on the task at hand. With more distractions and less...

Introduction

There are a few cleaning tasks that should be done at least once-a-year. When these tasks are done, your quality of your life will be so much better, and your home healthier. These annual tasks are like medicine for a healthy and happy home. But what does a yearly house cleaning schedule look like?

To make the tasks manageable, they can be spread across the year according to the seasons. The yearly cleaning schedule will help you to keep your home looking spotless from Spring through to Winter!

Spring

Spring is a great time to do some clearing-out after the Winter months indoors. Over the course of a year, the kitchen and garage accumulate clutter and Spring is a good time to clear them out. Your gutters accumulate debris over the Fall and Winter months and Spring is an excellent time to get them back in perfect working order.

Kitchen and pantry 

Now is the best time to organise your kitchen and pantry. Begin with a declutter. Remove and dispose of...

Cleaning is something that we all have to take care of. By putting it off, the house just gets messier and the task becomes more daunting and complicated. However, cleaning does not need to be difficult and arduous.

We have some simple tips to help you stay on top of your cleaning. When kept simple, cleaning your house can become less time consuming and allow you to enjoy a clutter-free home.

Here’s how you can keep your household cleaning simple:

1. Storage – Have a place for everything

If you know anyone whose house always seems to be tidy, I’m pretty sure that they will tell you that storage is essential. Storage is important because it gives every item in your house its own little
home.

• Kitchen storage - Placing your tea, coffee, herbs and spices into lidded jars before placing them into cupboards will make it easier for you to know where each item belongs
• Other storage - Adding modern looking shelves and bookcases is the perfect way...

It is hard to clean your house during the holidays with so much going on in a busy household. You just want to spend time with your family and friends. Therefore, people postpone their household chores. However, the day of reckoning must come.

After the holidays are over, it’s time for you to bring your home back to normal by removing the Christmas decorations and cleaning up. To help you from distractions we have prepared a checklist for you to make sure your house is sparkling clean. 

Some of these post-holiday cleaning hacks will save you time so you can work on your New Year resolutions instead! If keeping your home clean is one of them, then these tips would be perfect for you!

1. Fridge

Use of the fridge goes into overdrive during the festive period. Now all the food and drink are consumed, it’s time to clean it thoroughly. The way to do it is by emptying everything first, or in sections (your choice). The food that is outdated should be thrown away (or...

Does pet hair go everywhere around your home? You see it all over your floors, sofa, curtains and even clothes! We love our pets too much to get too annoyed with them. 

If this is really bothering you, we suggest you groom your dog more often, cover the furniture with a sheet or towel and train them not to climb on furniture. 

You cannot prevent all pet hair from being shed around your home. We have some simple tricks to help you clean up after your beloved pet. 

1. Use a lint roller

Using a lint roller will help clean the hair that is stuck to your sofa. It is easy and you can go over the furniture and clothes or even the dog itself!  Using a lint roller will not harm the dog or the furniture.

2. Use tape

Another way of removing the stubborn dog hair from furniture is by using tape. Just flatten a section of sticky tape against the furniture, leave it for a bit and peel it off. Duct and masking tape are perfect for this case, but you might need to repeat the...

Technology innovation is one of the most discussed topics nowadays. Many cleaning tools have been electrified and updated to help us clean faster and easier.

Many ingredients in common household products have been linked to health problems. Using innovative technology tackles environmental issues and makes our lives easier. In this post, we share some new technologies that can improve your health and the environment as well.

ROBOTIC VACUUM CLEANERS

Robotic vacuum cleaners have been around for some time. The technology is constantly improving, and they now have the potential to revolutionise the way we clean.

One of the features of the automatic vacuum cleaner is that it automatically adjusts between floor types and can clean under your furniture. Your only task is to turn it on and leave it on the floor. It would be the best solution if you have a busy lifestyle. Let the new technology do the dirty work, while you enjoy your free time.

ELECTRIC MOP

The electric mop has also existed...

Our ancestors first used leather to protect themselves from the elements. Since then, we have adapted leather’s durability and beauty to use it in apparel, furniture and fashion accessories.

Leather products are a style statement. However, as a natural material, it needs special treatment when it comes to cleaning.

 It is preferable to minimally treat your leather products and to use natural cleaners to avoid damage. Always spot test a cleaning product on a small area before using on the entire area.  You don’t want to damage your beautiful leather furniture by mistake!

It’s important to realize that if you are cleaning a suede product, the treatment is not the same as cleaning leather. 

So, let’s get started on how to take care of your favorite leather products.

Furniture

Leather furniture is a must-have choice when it comes to owning a durable and sleek piece of furniture. Though, most love to own it but lack the...

Smart watches are integral part of our active lifestyle. Smart Watches are not just devices to notify us of the time but also update us on your daily activities like, measuring our heart rate and number of steps.

Smart watches go where you go so it could be contaminated with various bacteria from different places like gym, office, and shopping malls. Smart wearables could be potential carriers of filth and germs if not cleaned regularly. 

So how to keep them hygienic and clean from daily exposure to the world around us? Following are some tips to keep your Apple Watches and Fitbit hygienic and bacteria free.

Supplies you’ll need

• Water in a bowl
• Liquid soap (dish soap/ hand wash)
• White vinegar
• Microfiber cloth
• Coffee filter
• All-purpose leather cleaner
• Clean cotton sock
• Cotton buds (Q-tips)
• Toothbrush
• Pin

First Step- Clean the Screen:

The screen of our smart devise are the most interactive areas thus making it the dirtiest. Wipe the screen firmly using microfibre...

Having a clean bathroom is important to us. We want to feel clean and hygienic when we are in the bathroom. It is also important to prevent the build-up of harmful bacteria, mould or mildew. Most people know how to clean a mirror, sink or toilet. However, cleaning your shower and bath tub is a little more complicated. . Read on for some top tips for how to clean a shower as part of your bathroom cleaning routine.

Fast fixes: Cleaning your shower as quickly as 1, 2, 3

1) Invest in a specialised cleaner to get rid of mould and mildew.

There are a few important things to consider:

• Make sure that you follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the packaging.

• Always keep the area well ventilated.

• Shut the door to prevent children or pets entering the bath or shower room whilst you are using the product.

• Don’t use these types of products when you are pregnant.

2) Clean the drain.

This is especially important if you or other members of the household have...

House cleaning should be simple and not be turned into an art form with specialised products for every single cleaning job. With a bewildering array of easy cleaning products on supermarket shelves, it is easy to buy products that you will hardly ever use.

In this post, we bring cleaning back to its basics.

 We simplify matters by listing only the essential cleaning products that you cannot live without. 

1) Multi-surface cleaner

A powerful all-round product that works we

ll as both a bathroom cleaner and kitchen cleaner. As well as cutting through kitchen grease on hobs, draining boards, worktops and bins, it can be used to clean baths, taps, sinks, toilet seats and shower screens. The solution kills 99.9 percent of bacteria and viruses and leaves behind a refreshing fragrance.

2) Washing-up liquid

As well as washing your dishes, washing-up liquid is an incredibly useful cleaning product. Washing-up liquid can be used in a variety of ways around your home...

Has your laptop ever suddenly stopped working? Cleaning your laptop is vital to keep your machine running efficiently. 

Sometimes dust and dirt can find its way into your laptop’s cooling vents causing it to overheat and switch off. Laptop keyboards are also a great place for bacteria to grow. To keep you and your laptop healthy, we have compiled our top cleaning tips.

1) Wipe your screen with microfibre cloth

If you need to clean the dust and smudge marks on your laptop monitor do not use rough paper or paper towels. If you use these materials the dust just clings to the surface and falls back onto the keyboard.  Rough fabrics or materials can also cause screen scratches.

The best material to clean a laptop screen is a microfibre cloth because it doesn’t leave any lint behind on the screen and its softness minimises any risk of scratches on the screen. Move the cloth in a circular pattern to clean and polish the surface. 

2) Use a hairdryer...

When was the last you cleaned your blinds? Blinds are tricky things to clean so if you are like most people, it was probably a long time ago. Because your blinds are probably due a thorough clean, we have come up with the ultimate guide for cleaning all types of blinds.

In this post we’ll explain the correct way to clean your blinds without damaging them. We had some help compiling this list from one of our domestic cleaners in Knightsbridge. To get started you need 1) a vacuum with hose attachment 2) warm water 3) microfibre cloth 4) easy clean duster 5) mild dish soap                                                                                             

Vertical blinds

When cleaning vinyl vertical blinds, be careful when handling the...

We scour the world for the best cleaning tips and take inspiration from expert authors. We have compiled a list of our favourite cleaning books in order of Amazon Bestsellers ranking.

Hinch Yourself Happy: All The Best Cleaning Tips To Shine Your Sink And Soothe Your Soul – By Sophie Hinch (Mrs Hinch)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 20 in Books

Mrs (Sophie) Hinch offers not only a ‘how to’ but a ‘why to’ guide to caring for your home and family. ‘Hinch Yourself Happy’ effortlessly guides you on a mesmerizing and revolutionary journey from expert recommendations on health and safety to cleaning and childcare. ‘Hinch Yourself Happy’ is a personal guide to the art of household management.

Hinch advocates that you owe it to yourself to make your homes as pleasant as possible. ‘Hinch Yourself Happy’ will ensure that your housekeeping not only benefits your health and efficacy but...

When you press the button to start your dishwasher, you would think your dishwasher would also clean itself in the process.  But unfortunately this is not the case. We spoke to one of our experienced cleaners in Brockley and she had some pointers to pass on to help her clients with regular dishwasher maintenance. 

After every cleaning cycle pieces of food and other gunk can pile up and block your dishwasher’s filters. The absence of a regular clean of your dishwasher leaves it susceptible to producing poor results and could lead to you incurring unnecessary costs should it breakdown. And nobody wants that.

Here we detail some top tips that will help you clean your dishwasher, ensuring that your dishes continue to sparkle after every wash.

Clean the filters every so often

Have you ever wondered how the loose bits of food stuck to your dishes are removed as your dishwasher performs its job? The answer is the filter of your dishwasher. The filter’s primary...

For most people, cleaning can be an almighty chore. Though it can be rather fulfilling to see the visible transformation of your home after a deep clean, cleaning is an endless pain no matter the results.

But what if there were some nifty tricks that would enable you to clean your home more quickly? Here we detail 5 time saving cleaning hacks that would make quick work of your weekly cleaning routine.

Use a lint roller to remove dust around your home

One of our experienced cleaners from Hampstead says that lint rollers can be your best friend when you have lint or hair on your clothing. However, when it comes to household cleaning, lint rollers are also very effective on many items around your home.

Whether it’s your carpet, drawers, lampshades, sofas, chairs or even your pool table, a lint roller is certainly the go to tool for cleaning. Rather than spending a vast amount of time hoovering, lint rollers are a convenient alternative to help speed up your cleaning session....

Cleaning burnt pans can be extremely frustrating. Having ruined your perfect meal a painfully long cleaning session could be in order. You may wonder if it is even possible to bring your pan back to life. The good news is that it is possible and there are many ways to do it. Here are some top tips submitted by one of our experienced housekeepers in Notting Hill.

The soak and scrub method

One of the easiest methods to remove burnt stains from your pan is by soaking your pan in piping hot water. Warm water alone will not remove such stains, but what it will do is loosen up any burnt pieces allowing you to clean them off more easily. Once that is done you can add washing up liquid and scrub away using a wire or plastic scrubber. For the best results it is wise to leave your burnt pan to rest overnight before beginning the scrubbing process.

Using salt

Whilst salt is used to provide flavour to your favourite meals, salt can also bring great benefits to your cooking pans. Whilst...

Suede shoes are a staple of many footwear collections. Both light and cosy suede shoes are a popular choice at any time of year. However, it can be hard to keep them in tip-top condition especially with our inclement weather here in London.

So how do we keep our suede shoes in top condition? Is it even possible to rescue our suede shoes from tough stains? Here are our top tips to ensure that your pair of suede shoes remains in peak condition.

Purchase a suede cleaning brush 

Purchasing a specialised cleaning brush for suede is vital for preserving your suede shoes. A suede cleaning brush can either be used to brush off any accumulated dirt gathered from wearing or to return the suede to its even appearance.

A handy tip from one of our experienced cleaners based in Barnes is to only brush your suede shoes when they are completely dry. Suede is rather sensitive to water, as you may have noticed if you’ve worn your suede shoes in the rain before. Thus it is imperative to...

Cleaning mattresses is certainly an overlooked household chore. When was the last time you cleaned your mattress? Have you ever cleaned it?

One of the professional cleaners in Finchley says that though not required regularly, cleaning your mattresses once in a while ensures that they are kept fresh and critter free. Most people don’t know how to clean their mattresses so here we provide our cleaning guidelines.

Different cleaning methods

There are many possible ways to clean your mattresses but we highlight to effective methods that do the job well.

The natural method

During the warmer seasons, it is possible to freshen up your mattresses by airing it outside under the warm sunshine. The sun’s ultraviolet light serves as a great tool to kill off that unwanted bacteria scattered around your mattress.

So how exactly do you use the sun to clean your mattress? The answer is as follows.

• Firstly remove your bed sheets off of you mattress and place them in the washing...

Your entire effort in keeping the house clean can be wasted if dusty fixtures and fittings dull the overall home appearance. From taps to showerheads to towel bars and hinges, chrome exists everywhere in the house, mainly in the bathroom. Try some of the cleaning tips described below to keep chrome shiny and stain free from ingredients already available at home.

Cleaning chrome with lemon

As you might know, lemons are used for various cleaning purposes and they play a vital role in cleaning chrome fixtures. You can follow these easy steps:

• Rub the crux of the lemon on the chrome with a little pressure.
• Let the lemon juice rest for a while on the fixtures for 5minutes to clean hard water stains and buildups.
• A microfiber cloth can then be used to wipe off the juice on it.
• Repeat this process until your fixtures and fittings are free from rubbles.

Cleaning chrome with vinegar

You can use vinegar too to clean chrome. Just follow these simple steps:

• Mix equal amount of vinegar...

Cleaning kitchen appliances isn’t much fun! However, it is important because kitchen appliances harbour harmful germs. Grime and mould can make them difficult to clean and maintain so we have some easy tricks to help you clean kitchen appliances and keep them shipshape. We asked one of our domestic cleaners in Crouch End for some pointers and they talked us through their top tips for keeing kitchens sparkling.

Refrigerator

Use a solution of 50-50 water and white vinegar to clean and sparkle the inside and outside of the fridge. Wipe the shelves and the crispers at least on a weekly basis to help keep maintain them. Use damp cloth to clean the finger marks on the exterior of the refrigerator.

Not many people clean behind their fridge but it is essential. To clean it, pull out the refrigerator and give it a mop. After mopping, vacuum the refrigerator coils behind the fridge.

Dishwasher

Almost everyone believes that it is not necessary to clean a dishwasher as it cleans itself...

Cleaning sofa can feel like a lot of work, but we know some quick tricks for making your sofa as fresh as new! Many of the materials needed to clean sofa must already be in your kitchen. So let’s get started with it!

#1 Always check the label first

It is highly recommended to check the label of the upholstery before cleaning. You can usually find it in the footing of the sofa. You can also check with the manufacturer if you are unsure about it.

The code on the label shows you how to clean the sofa fabric. Our professional housecleaner from Islington let us know that there are some common cleaning codes found on sofas such as:

• W: This indicates that water can be used for cleaning.
• SW: This indicates that either water or any solvent cleaner can be used. It also means that steam is safe to use.
• S or P: This means that only a solvent cleaner can be used on the fabric for dry clean only.
• X: This indicates that only vacuum should be used for cleaning. It also means that these...

Have you ever wondered how clean your house is? Well, there is no standard test to check the cleanliness of your house.

It is a very relative term as it depends on the person and how they deem cleanliness. But it is always better to have cleaning standards of your own and to test the house against it.

You need to ensure that your home is clean enough to keep your family in good health. Sometimes we get the feeling of everything being dirty and the need to clean in that case can be super overwhelming!

To make things easy, why not have a checklist of things to clean? We have created a list of tasks to check if your house is actually clean enough! We asked some of the best cleaners in Maida Vale and an experienced housekeeper in Stratford to help us compile this checklist:

You can choose the checklist yourself when cleaning your own home. You can also use it to check that your cleaner is doing a good job. You can hire a cleaner for the things you can’t do yourself. You...

Your clothes aren’t clean unless your washing machine is!

It is surprising to see that many of us clean our clothes in a soiled machine. It is essential to clean and maintain your washing machine to prevent foul smells, germs and molds building up affecting your laundry. 

If you find that your laundry smells funny or your white garments are not so white, then check out these simple tips for cleaning and maintaining your washing machine.

1. Start with the detergent drawer

The detergent drawer is a breeding ground for germs, built up washing powder and mould. It is that tiny container which holds the detergent for cleaning your garments that could be the culprit for your less-than-clean laundry.

To start with, remove the drawer and soak it in warm soapy water. If you are unsure on how to remove the drawer, check machine’s manual for advice. Then using an old toothbrush, scrub the soap or mould built in it. Rinse it fully and dry it out with a kitchen rag. Before...

We’re always on the hunt for the best cleaning tips and tricks. Whatever home cleaning challenge you may be facing, there is a website out there that has the answer. But which websites have the best cleaning tips?

We’ve scoured the globe for cleaning gurus and compiled the best websites into this killer list. These are the best of the best cleaning websites.

1) Goodhousekeeping.com

Established in 1885, long running magazine Goodhousekeeping has been providing expert advice on a large range of topics, from home tips to holiday destinations and everything else in between.

With a philosophy that life should be pleasant and not feel like a chore, they deliver on that promise with inspiring suggestions.

They have some classic tips on problems, such as removing red wine stains from your carpet. They even guide students on tackling those hard to rid pen stains.

With somuch content, you are bound to find answers as well as...

Easter is on its way and so are the pleasing smells of baking and roasting for many homes. It is one of those times when people devote hours in preparing lip-smacking delicacies and savouries. Hence, its not surprising that the oven is one of the most essential appliances in the kitchen during Easter and is likely to suffer some wear and tear. With Easter being so close, we are just in time to give you some suggestions on how to restore your oven after its heavy use.

Pre-cleaning your oven is a necessity

Preparing the oven a night before Easter will reduce your overall cleaning time. It’s quite possible to have loads of grease or burn offs in your oven already. For the pre-cleaning, blend in some warm water and washing liquid and soak your oven with it. Leave this overnight on low heating mode or alternatively, spray the oven inside out with an oven cleaner and leave it overnight. Most of your job will be done by the time you wake up. You can even soak the baking trays with...

Wouldn’t it be great to have clean and gleaming silverware  on your beautifully set table with perfectly shaped linen napkins and flowers ? You don’t want tarnished cutlery to create a major dark spot to your special occasion. 

We asked some domestic cleaners in Stoke Newington for some of the best home remedies to clean and polish silver that are chemical-free. These are the four surprising tricks to tackle even the most severely tarnished silver: Ketchup, toothpaste, banana peels and aluminium foil.

1. Tomato ketchup

The reason behind using ketchup is the fact that the acid in tomatoes reacts with the oxidization of the tarnished silver. You just need to pour ketchup into a plate and place the silver in it until its fully submerged. The silver can then rest in it for 10 minutes. You can then remove and rinse the silverware with warm water and pat dry it with a rag. This is undoubtedly one of the most unusual methods to clean silver.

2. Toothpaste

Well, it...

Have you covered all the bases in your deep spring cleaning?

Many people book a cleaner
in order to save time on their schedule to create time to do more activities. However, no one knows your house better than you! So you may have taken this challenge on yourself to clean the entire house. In the chaos of tackling the laundry, kitchen, bathrooms and more all at once; there are some points that may be forgotten along the way.

Here’s a list of some of the things you might have forgotten while cleaning the house. Remember these spots and you’ll have a completely tidy house!

1. Remote controls

We often overlook the multiple remotes we use every day. Whether it’s the kids or your own self, the remotes get the brunt of our sticky hands while changing to our favourite shows during snack time. Our remotes are used every day and if not cleaned hold a large amount of germs. Use a cloth and a disinfectant to resolve this issue quickly.

...

Is your wardrobe so packed full of clothes that finding an outfit becomes a chore?

If so, it may be time to deep clean your wardrobe and there is no better time to do it than spring!

Even if you book a cleaner through a local cleaning services company for your spring cleaning, decluttering your wardrobe is one chore that is difficult to delegate!

So, we have put together an easy six step checklist, to make spring cleaning your wardrobe a little less daunting.

Follow these steps and your wardrobe will be looking neat and tidy in no time!

1. Take out everything

Yes. Everything! We often half-heartedly decide to clear out our wardrobes and end up neglecting the items stuffed in the bottom of our drawers. So, for a deep clean it is essential that all clothes are taken out and every drawer or compartment is emptied. Don’t worry about deciding if you want to keep each item at this stage. Just pile the clothes into categories, e.g. skirts, trousers and jumpers. It...

Is your garden ready for Spring?

Spring has arrived, which means it’s time for the big spring clean! Whilst you may have your home spring cleaning checklist sorted, don’t forget your garden will need some TLC too!

Spring is a great time to tidy up the lawn, clear the weeds and clean the patio.

It’s time to throw open the doors and roll up your sleeves. Here are 6 great tips to help you get your garden back in shape for spring!

Power wash the patio

My patio is north-facing and has been covered with unsightly moss for longer than I care to remember. I’ve tried moss weed-killer in the past, but the moss turns brown for a bit and then laughs it off! Then I discovered this brilliant tool. I won’t lie and say that it was easy job. You will get a good work-out scraping the moss away, but the end result is very satisfying.

Once you have tackled the moss, it’s time to give the patio itself a thorough clean. Simply get a bucket of warm soapy...

Many of us are is such a hurry to finish our household chores, that we don’t stop to think if we are cleaning our homes correctly. 

So, we have gathered the 7 most common cleaning mistakes from our professional homecleaners based in Canary Wharf and our meticulous housekeepers in Maida Vale. 

You may be surprised, but if you avoid these common mistakes you will save yourself time and effort when keeping your homes clean and tidy!

1. Washing windows on a sunny day

Do you often choose a sunny afternoon to roll up your sleeves and wash the windows?

While it may seem like the ideal time, it is in fact entirely counterproductive. Direct sunlight tends to dry the glass too quickly, leaving your windows with unwanted streaks. So, the next time you are planning to wash your windows be sure to choose a cloudy day, to avoid ruining all your hard work!

2. Using a feather duster

Keeping on top of dust feels impossible, it appears out of nowhere...

Are you tired of using commercial cleaning products that are full of dangerous and toxic chemicals?

If so, essential oils are a must – have for every green cleaning starter kit. As many studies have shown, they have powerful antibacterial, antiviral and antiseptic properties, which makes them great natural household cleaners.

But with so many to choose from, it can be hard to know where to start.

So, here are three essential oils that are great for keeping your home looking clean and smelling fresh, the natural way!

Lemon

Lemon essential oil is often a favourite choice because of its fresh, clean scent and versatility. It can be used to cut through grease, clean flooring and even polish cutlery!

Lemon essential oil can also be great for deodorizing your fridge. Simply add a few drops of the oil to some baking powder (it is recommended you use 2-3 drops for every 30g of baking soda). Place the mixture into an old spice jar or other small glass...

49% of UK adults own a pet. While we love our furry companions, every pet owner knows that cleaning up after them can be a challenge. From muddy paws, to shedding fur, keeping your home clean and tidy can seem like an endless chore.

So, how do you have a pet and keep your home clean?

We have gathered 8 great tips from our professional cleaners based in Queensway and our cleaning specialists from Putney, to help keep you pet-loving home looking clean and smelling fresh!

1. Bath time

Keeping your pet clean is the first step to keeping your home clean. Your dog needs to be bathed from time to time, especially if it spends a lot of time outdoors. Whilst cats do not need to be bathed, except in rare occasions, as they dislike being wet and can find the process quite distressing.

Pet wipes can be a great way to keep both your pet and your home clean on a day-to day basis. Get into the habit of wiping your pet’s paws as soon as you get in...

When was the last time you gave your trainers a good clean? 

We know that finding the best way to clean your favourite trainers can be a real task.  So, we asked some of our experienced housekeepers in Highgate as well as one of our best cleaners in Waterloo to put together a few simple and inexpensive cleaning tips that will leave your trainers looking and smelling great!

Using the washing machine 

Even though it is a quick and easy solution, it is important to check the care label on your trainers or the manufacturer’s instructions before simply throwing your trainers into the washing machine.

Once you have made all the necessary checks, follow these 5 simple steps:

1. Remove the laces from your trainers and use a soft brush to clean off any excess dirt or mud.
2. Before starting the wash, place the trainers and the laces into a mesh laundry bag.
3. Throw in a few old towels into the wash at the same time, as this will reduce the noise of the...

With Christmas less than three weeks away, festive preparations can seem daunting. How do you get your home ready in time for visiting friends and family?

To enjoy a stress-free Christmas, we have compiled our top six ways to get your home clean and ready for this festive season. These quick and easy tips will leave you with plenty of time to relax and enjoy the festivities with your loved ones.

1. Make a great first impression

To make a great first impression greet your guests with a welcoming, clean and clutter-free hallway.

Begin by clearing clutter from the hallway, such as coats, umbrellas and shoes. This will not only create a clean and open entrance but will importantly make space for your guest’s extra coats and shoes.

Shoes are often the biggest culprit for bringing dirt and mud into the house. To keep your home clean invest in a new outdoor mat. Why not buy a Christmas mat to help give your guests a festive welcome!

2. Declutter your house to prepare...

Your child could be soaking in a tub full of bacteria. After a few weeks of use your child’s bath toys can be covered in mould and mildew and once bath toys get mould in them it is very difficult to get the mould out. We have two beneficial ways to limit this disgusting growth.

Purchase a bath net

After every bath squeeze excess water out of toys as much as possible and place in the bag to drain further.

Deep Clean

After three weeks of your child playing with bath toys, it is time to clean them. Fill a bucket of hot soapy water and give the bath toys a deep clean (scrub with a toothbrush). Then place the toys in a 50/50 mixture of fresh water and white vinegar. Squeeze the toys, so they soak up the vinegar water and leave overnight then squeeze the water out of the toys, rinse them off and let them air dry in the bath net.

Please Note: A bleach solution should not be used to wash squirty toys as it’s difficult to rinse thoroughly out of the inside of the toys and would...

Next time you break out the cleaning supplies, tackle these two frequently forgotten spots first.

Cleaning hamper

Funky smells brooding in your hamper, sprinkle baking soda into it each time you fill it with more clothes. Once you empty it on laundry day spray an all-purpose cleaner, let it dry. The cleanerwill cut the bacteria that could be causing odours.

Coffee maker

Residue gets left behind every time you brew a drop of coffee, once you get to the 3rd pot, it is time to clean it out. Mix 3 cups of vinegar and six cups of water and pour into the reservoir and brew as usual. Let the solution sit for fifteen minutes once the cycle finishes. Then run two water-only pots to get rid of the vinegar altogether.

The autumn season marks a season of change in our environment and within us. The cooler weather can cause us to want to hurry inside and get under the covers making the chance to tidy up slip from occasionally into a regular habit. Getting motivated to clean and keep a tidy home can be a struggle, but you can combat it with several strategies.

1. Set a 10-minute alarm and see how much you can get done within that time.
2. Hire someone to clean your home that way you can do more enjoyable things.
3. Create a schedule, they keep you on track, and your house will stay mess free.
4. Listen to music, a podcast, an audiobook and open the windows or turn on a fan while you work.
5. Promise yourself a reward. After cleaning, I am usually exhausted but not too tired to award myself for a job well done.

Keeping your house clean does not have to be overwhelming. All it takes is a little trial and error to figure out what inspires you to keep your home spotless.

The horror of the rainy season is upon us but parents we have a miracle that will keep your home clean and eliminate muddy footprints forever. Get ready to say goodbye to gritty carpets and hello to embracing a wet winter. Create a boot mud tray with the items below.

Materials

• Black rubber tray (Poundland)
• River rocks or pebbles
• Grip glue adhesive (Tesco)

Directions 

Arrange the rocks in small sections as you would a puzzle piece or fill the tray (keep in mind if you have younger children those rocks won’t stay in the tray for too long.

Once arranged, pick up a stone, glue the stone and place it back into its rightful position. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

Place the tray by the door and train the little ones (husband included) to take off their wet, muddy shoes off at the door.

Dangers of mould

Exposure to mould is more common than you may think. Mould grows best on organic materials in warm, moist temperatures, between 22 to 27 degrees Celsius and can be found inside and outside your home. Because mould spores are tiny, it is easily inhaled into your lungs, and if you have young children with allergies and asthma, high levels of mould can trigger a severe attack.

Telltale signs you might have mould

Your senses are the simplest way to detect mould. If you smell a musty odour, see visible dark rings and spots or notice water damage on your walls and ceiling you might have a problem. If you or anyone in your family start to develop symptoms such as headaches, coughing, sneezing, itchy, watery eyes and skin irritations you need to get it checked and removed quickly.

To limit the development of mould you can use one of the following disinfectants.

Bleach: Wash your walls with bleach and water then open some windows to air out the area.

Hydrogen...

Deep cleaning seems to be a dwindling tradition, 85% of Brits believe deep cleaning tradition is waning yet more than 50% of Brits still do a yearly deep clean and other surveys have revealed an increase in hiring professionals to assist with household tasks. Although some seem disinterested in doing a deep clean, experts say it is an  essential way to avoid winter flu bugs and colds. Fabrics in our homes can be a haven for germs, bacteria, mould and mites. A few ways to achieve a healthier winter:

Freshen Your Sheets 

Bedding tends to hold a lot of dead skin cells, sweat, dirt and sometimes even bugs. A YouGov poll found, one in 20 of us wash our sheets every four weeks, and more than a third wait 14 days. Good quality sleep is a great way to prevent winter viruses so clean your duvets and pillows once a week by washing them at 60° Celsius to destroy bacteria. Additionally, you can run a hot iron over pillowcases on the cotton setting 200° C to kill any...

In the past few years companies have developed more efficient ways to clean our homes. There are now more robotic cleaners than ever before! You have the robot vacuum cleaner, the robot mop, and even the robot window cleaner, that’s a lot of robots for one household. Now I know most people think well if they can cut down on the time it takes to clean their homes then the technological advancements might be worth the investment, but I wouldn’t rush to make that purchase just yet.

The surge of robotic cleaners has come with a price, a high price most robots starts at around £700 and yes they do call it an investment, but if your investment breaks you will be reconciling with your old cleaner to get your house up to par not to mention there have been various test that show the bots just cant catch them all.

No matter how great the cleaning-bot it will never provide the same satisfaction as our dear professionals. As a matter of fact, a robot will always need a human...

September is basically the New Year of fall, the kids go back to school, so your home is quieter, some may have just returned from a sunny vacation and are now battling with the cooler weather, the workload at home and the office doubles, the days are much shorter, and the weather calls for a jacket. According to doctors, stress levels and depression heighten, and you might just feel stuck. Don’t worry there are a few things you can do to rid these blues.

No routine, no time

Time and routines bound us to our responsibility and often times too much of it cause us to feel overwhelmed. I love making lists they make me look forward to conquering my day but once in a while I like to ditch the routine and turn off all the clocks and just go with the flow. So, my advice to you, try going a day without following a schedule or paying attention to the clock, do things on your time. You will enjoy it, and stress levels will fall significantly.

Do like Bruno Mars and have a lazy day.

...

After sitting in a classroom all day learning different subjects and sticking to a strict schedule, after-school activities was the release I looked forward to. I loved after-school activities as a child, and my kids do too. Watching them learn to build self-assurance, confidence and articulate themselves or problem solve while working with a team are some of the added benefits of after-school activities whether it be drama, sports or a math club. After-school activities help children the discover areas they would not be drawn inside of a classroom. Here are some activities to consider for your child:

Library Reading Club

Library’s offer various opportunities for children one, in particular, are there reading clubs. The programs encourage children to enjoy reading and give them opportunities to be outside of their comfort zone and drawn into a different world that’s helps them to understand concepts from a different point of view. Reading programs also give students who...

There are two types of student’s ones who enjoy a home cooked meal and ones who prefer cafeteria food. I was guilty of the latter, but it all came down to one thing, I wanted what my friends were having. In this case, cafeteria food was the ‘in thing’, and I for one wanted in. I remember always telling my mother I prefer to eat lunch at school and then watching the disappointment creep upon her face as she caved and handed me £4. In my defence, I just wanted to be like my friends. As a parent now, I can understand why those words can be heartbreaking and lead you to think something could be wrong with your own cooking. So today I am here to provide three tasty lunch ideas, foods your child may recognise from the school menu but still appreciate for its home-cooked value.

 Meat & Cheese

The good old meat and cheese with some pretzels and an apple have and most likely will always be a lunch favourite, and it is easy to make and doesn’t take up...

School is now back in session, and I don’t know about other households but this morning required a bit of extra effort. My little school goers dislike waking up, but I made sure my home was set up and ready for their day. Routines are an excellent way to lower childhood anxiety and encourage organisation and self-assurance. So today we present a bedtime and early riser routine that we love to use with our children because face it, no one likes to wake up early, but it is a must.

Start by pushing bedtime back five to ten minutes one week to a month before the start of the school year that way your child’s body clock gradually starts to adapt.

Be sure to prep the night before by

Packing the rucksacks

Packing your child’s backpack the night before saves time during their morning routine and ensures your child will have the needed materials to succeed in school. Once their bag is packed leave it next to their door so they can pick it up as soon as they are...

Hello all,

Here at TidyChoice we know everyone is not as easily swayed to change their laundry routine. Up until recently, I was a die-hard Ariel and Lenor fan, but as with everything all good things come to an end and in my household that was the case for those two products. Last week Fri-YAY I promised to post some plant-based alternative laundry detergents that could be used in place of commercial brands as well as to avoid the chore of creating your detergent. Below is a mini infographic I created that briefly provides the benefits of plant-based detergent as well as a few names you can try out, each will help to add to your cleaner, greener home.

If you are someone who enjoys cleaning with chemical free products or has just started to develop an interest in natural products the ones listed below would be a great addition to your home and greener lifestyle not to mention our TidyChoice cleaners would be more than happy to cleanse your home with products they too can...

Dear Reader,

Recently I have been dialling my Nan’s number for all sorts of tips, tricks, and ideas. I am trying to stick to my resolutions by cutting back on my use of chemicals and incorporate an eco-friendlier alternative into my home and slice my spending where necessary. As, laundry day is one of my favourite household duties I found myself making frequent trips to the store and doing the opposite of what I set out to do. So, what did I do…I called my Nan and begged for her laundry detergent recipe. I am so determined to create a toxin free environment that I made it a mission to create my own laundry detergent. Also, this provides an opportunity for me to do some pre back to school activities with my children to get them into class mode come September.

Now my nan’s version took me quite some time to perfect…I won’t reveal how long BUT it did make me wonder if there were plant-based washing liquids that offered the same safe benefits...

Dear Reader,

Today a thought popped into my head?

“When was the last time I cleaned my window sills?”

As I thought about it, it hit me…over six months ago. Can you believe that?

Maybe some of you can, but as an avid cleaner, I think it is unacceptable, for me of course.

So I got to work and scrubbed and washed, alternating between a toothbrush and cloth with a little help from some baking soda and vinegar. The process took well over an hour as windows tend to collect a lot of dirt in the corners.

Once I finished my task it occurred to me that there must be other places in my home I ignore. Below are a few other areas in and around the home we should all try to clean even if it is just once every new moon.

Be on the lookout for other forgotten areas and tips on how to clean them.

Note: This blog claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners.

As we near the end of summer families and friends are hosting their final barbecues, day parties and gatherings. Here at TidyChoice we aim to bring you the most exciting tips and tricks to help you keep your home pest free. As a mother of three I like to keep my home a safe haven and with that comes the responsibility of removing unwanted guest that visit the home unannounced. Gnats and fruit flies are the most annoying guests ever to visit my home. Not even my kids tracking mud into the home comes close, and that is pretty high on my list.

Recently, the UK weather has been HOT which is perfect for these tiny pests to multiply. I typically rely on traps and sprays to rid them but have cut back to create a more chemical free home environment for the kids. Below is my new go-to method to keep the little guys away.

AVC Fly Trap

What You’ll Need:

                                 ...

How do professional cleaners get your bathroom so sparklingly clean? Here are the secrets.

1. Scrub the sink, toilet, shower and tub

The cleaning procedure for sinks, toilets, showers and tubs is quite simple. First of all, pour hot water on them (this will shift the bulk of the dirt and loosen the rest).

After that, apply any specific cleaning agents you want to use, including your vinegar or other products to remove limescale.

Finally, scrub them down thoroughly. If you need to remove any odours, apply some baking soda and then wipe it off or rinse it away.

Pay close attention to taps and especially the showerhead, which can carry mycobacterium avium, a pathogen linked to pulmonary disease. According to professor Charles Gerba (a microbiology professor from the University of Arizona), neglecting items like these can send millions of germs straight into your lungs.

2. Clean the tile and grout

Grout is highly susceptible to bacteria growth. Therefore, apply a...

Moths are completely inoffensive creatures that don’t bite, buzz, or sting. Still, finding some in your cereal or in your cashmere sweaters is not something you would want.

Follow these tips to prevent those pests from making your home their home. 

1. Know your enemy

Pantry moths and clothes moths are the most common ones in our house.

According to Orkin entomologist Chelle Hartzer, the pantry variety goes after grains and dry goods. For example, when you come across tiny caterpillars inside your snacks, those are a not-so- pleasant gift from the pupae and larvae.

Clothes moths naturally stay in closets or wardrobes. According to pest management brand Woodstream, these kind of insects can also leave behind excrements that look like large grains of sand.

2. Start cleaning

First of all, throw away any potentially contaminated food and get it out of the house.

Then, as Carolyn Forte, Director of the Cleaning Products and Textiles Labs at the Good Housekeeping...

London is one of the busiest cities in the world and, let’s face it, we don’t always have enough time to stay at home and clean up the messy clutter we pile up. Our lack of time makes us take short-cuts and get into some bad housekeeping habits we should all quit.

1. Randomly putting things in a “junk drawer”

Do you remember that drawer where you dump everything in and then you cannot find what you need? Well, yes, that’s a “junk drawer”. In order to avoid wasting time looking for something, keep loose items such as buttons and screws in small plastic bags or boxes and label things so you can easily tell what and where they are.

2. Laundry procrastination until the last pair of socks

This is a hard habit to break. We all tend to put off the laundry until we can’t put it off anymore, then it costs us a lot of time doing all the washing at the same time. As a matter of fact, make a new rule: Tackle your dirty laundry as soon as you can...

The key to making the most of your professional cleaning service is building a good relationship with your cleaner. Housekeepers give their best when there is a clear understanding of requirements and there is a genuine respect for the cleaning work that they do.

1. Set requirements and communicate

Every home, household and cleaner are different. Requirements vary so the same cleaner providing the same service may delight one customer but not meet another’s expectations. Therefore, it is really important to communicate your requirements clearly. For example, you may want your granite worktops cleaned with a certain product or your wood floors swept rather than hoovered.

2. Prioritise

Most of us book a few hours on a weekly or fortnightly basis. Doing a deep clean of the whole house in any one session is unrealistic. However, if you prioritise certain tasks each week, you can have all the difficult cleaning jobs done over a period of time. For example, you can ask your...

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...

We all know that there are places in the house that host the perfect environment for microbes to thrive, such as toilets and dustbins.  However, there are a few less obvious places where bacteria unexpectedly lurk.

Kitchen sponge

Surprisingly, an article from TIME states that the kitchen sponge might be the dirtiest item in your home. It houses millions of microbes including salmonella and fecal bacteria. Therefore, wash these sponges in the dishwasher every week and don’t be lazy to replace them.

Cutting board

A study shows that a cutting board contains 200 times the number of fecal bacteria than a toilet seat. Those fecal matters originate from raw meat and linger on the grooves of the cutting board. Therefore, wash your cutting boards thoroughly and soak them in a solution of bleach and water.

Light switch

When in a public place, imagine the number of different people that touch a light switch, hence transferring germs from one person to another. When...

Coming into summer, you might feel a little bit drowsy and unaccountably agitated. Don’t be too worried. Here are some ways to calm you down.

Clean your home

Dusting your house, hand-washing your clothes, decluttering your wardrobe, and buying some fresh food are the best remedies. While cleaning your house, you are also cleaning your minds and diverting your attention away from the heat.

Breathe

Although it might be hot outside, open your window and let in some fresh air. Take a deep breath and feel the air in your lung. Exhaling and inhaling deeply can induce tranquility.

Declutter your minds

You can start by playing some soft music. Pleasant music can help cool your minds down. Try to clear your minds by writing down unfinished tasks. Prioritize the most important things and let go the least important ones. And don’t forget to breathe!

Happy summer!

Kids don’t usually organise their things. They pick up their toys and throw them away everywhere. As parents, helping your kids to be organised is not hard as long as you’ve done all the basic works. Here are some tips to help your children get their toys oragnised.

Categorise Toys By Small Boxes

Prepare small boxes for your kids and guide them to put different toys into different boxes. Color-coded boxes can be a better idea as children are more sensitive to colors than to texts. You can start with organising toys together with your kids. After some time, they will gradually form a habit of categorising their toys even if they are by themselves.

Put Boxes in The Right Place

You will want to avoid putting boxes in hard-to-reach places for kids. The easier your kids reach the boxes, the more possible they will put their toys in the right place. Places like the living room, kids’ bedrooms, and the front yard are all ideal...

Are you afraid that some cleaning products might be toxic for you and your pets? Well, here are some natural alternatives.

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 screen wipes with regular alcohol wipes.

A gigantic spider landed at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park this week. Oh, don’t be sacred. It was a robotic one. However, real spiders might be approaching your home as the lovely spring is here. Here are some insights into keeping spiders away.

Regular decluttering

According to Mr. Layton, an entomologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, frequent decluttering reduces the risk of spider invasions. The next time you book your cleaning session, make sure the cleaner thoroughly vacuums all rooms, completely clearing all clutter, and will do this on a regular basis.

Thorough window cleaning

Spiders love to live or even lay eggs in your windowsills. Regularly washing your windows both inside and outside, vacuuming the windowsills, and dusting the window blinds would really help to keep them away.

Frequent air cleaning

Well, I don’t mean washing or dusting your air. Lighting up scented candles or burning essential oil would...

Looking forward to painting some Easter eggs with your kids or friends during the Easter break? Easter egg dye can be rather painful if they stained your hands or your clothes. Here is the guide to remove these stains. The golden rule is to remove the stains as soon as you can. 

Firstly, here is a quick tip on preserving Easter eggs. Applying UV spray paint after each layer of dye helps to extend the lifespan of the dye on Easter eggs.

How to clean dye stains on your hands?

You can prevent stains by wearing rubber gloves. If you do get stains on your fingers, you should soak your hands in warm water as soon as possible. Then apply either a little scoop of baking soda and white vinegar or your toothpaste in your palm and gently rub against your hands. Don’t worry if the stains didn’t come off at once. They will, eventually.

On your clothes?

OK, this is the tough one. Please do not try to be fancy while painting...

Phones and laptops might be two of the dirtiest things that we carry around with us every day. Let’s question ourselves for a second. Have we ever brought our phone to the bathroom? Have we ever had lunch while watching dramas on our laptop? Well, I will admit it.

We need to clean these filthy devices NOW.

Take off and clean the cases

Phone cases protect your devices but also accommodate dirt. If they are not made of precious materials like real leather or silk, you can wash them under running water with some dish soap. If they aren’t washable, gently wipe them with disinfection wipes.

Clean your screens and keyboard

Before you do any cleaning, please make sure your electronics are switched off. You can use special screen cleaning wipes which claim to be anti-static to clean the screens and keyboard. Or you can simply use alcohol wipes to wipe out all the oil and kill all the bacteria on your devices. Cotton buds can be super helpful for...

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 to...

Spring is the season when everything comes back to life. As temperature rises, thick cashmere sweaters can be put away. However, before you start doing that, proper cleaning is necessary. It is recommended to wear a piece of cashmere knitwear several times before you wash it. You don’t have to bring it to dry cleaning. TidyChoice provides you an alternative method which enables you to wash it gently and professionally at home.

1st Spot Cleaning

Before washing the luxurious material, deal with the stains first. Gently use the damped cashmere brush to apply cashmere stain remover onto the spots. Leave the item for several minutes to allow the solution to completely dissolve the stains.

2nd Hand Wash

Soak your item in a clean basin filled with cool water. Add cashmere shampoo into the basin and gently massage your item for several minutes. Let it bathe in the solution for 30 minutes before you take it out. The Laundress provides great cashmere care products. If you...

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.

To remain healthy while their immune systems are still developing, small children need help to reduce their encounters with undesirable bacteria in their toys. First and foremost, parents can do their part by regularly cleaning the objects that their kids like to play with.

So how should toys be cleaned? The answer depends on which toys we are talking about.

Bath Toys

Firstly, let’s establish that rubber bath toys do need to be cleaned. Many people may assume that their regular contact with soap and bath water is sufficient for these playthings to remain sufficiently hygienic. This is false. The damp condition that these toys are often in is great for the growth of mould,...

One good advice on where you ought to store foodstuff in your kitchen is to follow what supermarkets do.

Besides this recommendation, there are a few factors every experts in food storage would consider when deciding where to place their food. These include food safety, smell, and food preservation.

Safety and Hygiene

To ensure that raw meat does not contaminate other items in the fridge, it’s highly recommendable that these raw items are stored at the fridge’s bottom shelf. This way, their juices’ drips cannot contaminate other food in the same fridge.

Smell

Peeled onions produce a horrible smell that penetrates through all parts of your fridge once they have been stored there for too long. Placing them in sealed boxes can reduce and delay the spread of their odour. However, there’s no better way of solving this problem than to consume them quickly before your fridge gets too smelly.

Preservation

Leftovers left either in the fridge or the freezer...

Having a tidy home can be a challenge when you have children running around with their toys all over the house. That time is the ideal time to show your kids that the house shouldn’t be messy and that they can do a lot about that. All they need is a little motivation and a reason to learn something more.

You are the head of the house

You child looks you with admiration because you are a hero in their eyes. You are making them meals, giving them kisses and hugs, making them happy or comforting them when they are sad. When they need something they go to you.  That means that you are their role model and that means that they will copy you in everyday situations. Due to that, make sure that they observe you while you are cleaning the house and you will see that they will start to do the same with their toys.

Make a schedule for chores

It is easier to do chores when you develop a habit around them. Those chores can be a part of your daily routine, for example,...

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

...

Laundry is one of those repetitive tasks that most people have to do at least once a week as a part of our household chores. Unlike other domestic cleaning activities, washing one’s clothes has, for a relatively long time, become quite automated with the help of washing machines. Nonetheless, humanity is still far from the point where machines can dictate when our clothes have to be washed and how our clothes should be washed for us. It is still up to us to decide how frequent our clothes, bedding, curtains, and towels are to be cleaned. Annoyingly, we are also still required to choose the adequate washing cycle and temperature for each of the things requiring cleaning.

This week, TidyChoice’s blog shares an amazing infographic with our readers which provides useful tips on how and when to wash “everything” that you own. We have also had some great input from our professional cleaners based in Kilburn and our housekeeping specialists from Archway. 

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....

Everyone knows that they have to eventually wash their dishes if they want something to put their food on. Hopefully, they also dust, vacuum, mop the floor and clean their bathrooms habitually. However, besides these common cleaning tasks, many items requiring sanitary attention are left dirty in houses. We may believe that these items are not meant to be cleaned, or the idea of washing them may simply not have ever come into our mind.

Today, TidyChoice’s blog introduces our readers to a list of household items that you should start considering including in your cleaning routines as well as some tips on how to go about cleaning them.

1. Rubbish Bin

It’s one of those things that we avoid touching whenever possible. However, leaving it uncleaned would just make it dirtier, smellier, and more harmful to your health over time.

If you are courageous enough to clean your bin, here are some tips on how to go about doing it:

1. Put on a...

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...

Using a dishwasher greatly reduces your workload and makes post-meal times much more pleasant. However, despite these machines becoming more common, their misuse is still frequent.

Here are some tips on how to ensure that your dishwasher properly cleans your kitchenware:

1. Remove food particles and rinse the dishes before putting them in the machine.
2. Leave sufficient space between dishes to ensure that they are properly washed.
3. Place glasses, cups, and mugs face-down on the top rack.
4. Do not place wine glasses next to each other, as they may break when placed too closely to each other.
5. Make sure that plastic materials are placed securely in the dishwasher. If not, they may dislodge due to light weight.
6. Set your washing cycle’s intensity based on how dirty your dishes are.
7. Clean your dishwasher.

With these tips in mind, you should be ready to maximise your dishwasher’s potential and ensure that your kitchenware is clean and safe for use.

Drawings and markings on walls are common in houses of people with young children. Luckily for the parents, in many cases, these marks need not be permanent. They can be removed through a variety of techniques depending on the materials initially used to create them.

Today, TidyChoice provides readers with some advice on how to remove wall marks caused by some common materials children may get hold of, including coloured pencils, crayons, and pens.

However, before we begin, it is worth remembering that different walls may respond differently to each cleaning tactic, depending on whether they are covered by wallpaper or paint.  In particular, you should be more careful when trying to clean a wallpaper, as it can be damaged more easily by some cleaning material.

Coloured Pencils

Coloured pencil marks can be cleaned off walls with baby wipes or a damp sponge and a small amount of washing-up liquid. If you are trying to clean the marks off a wallpaper, you may want...

Trick or Treat?

That is the phrase that is most associated with the Halloween season. However, do not get overjoyed by the nice little smiles directed at you by cute dressed-up children as they stand in front of your house asking for sweet treats. It is common knowledge that tricking is a relatively standard practice, even among the loveliest-looking zombie in town.

This October, TidyChoice’s blog brings you some advice on how to deal with the most scary thing about Halloween – the tricksters’ mess.

Eggs

Eggs are among the most common instruments used by Halloween pranksters. When your house is egged, its wall will be left with a sticky liquid mess that requires special cleaning techniques to deal with.

To resolve this situation, clean the mess as soon as possible, as sunbaked yolks can easily stain your wall. Begin by applying warm water to the bottom of your siding and work upwards to the eggs’...

First Impressions are very important, and the first time your date steps into your place is no different. Even if your dirty and unorganised self will eventually reveal itself to your date over time, it is crucial to make his/her first step into your house a memorable one – in a good way.

Today, TidyChoice presents you with some tips on how to prepare your house for that first visit by your special someone:

• Vacuum and Dust Keeping the dust away is a great way to signal your ability and willingness to sustain long-term relationships (in this case, with your house). Dust removal also makes a great difference on how your place looks, and you never want to trigger your invitee’s dust allergy!

• Check the Smell If needed, leave your windows open for a bit for ventilation prior to your date. Freshen your bathroom and leave a freshener there just in case. However, don’t just spray your freshener on everything....

Most households contain a myriad range of items which are potentially dangerous for small children. Among all the rooms in a typical home, the kitchen is one of the least safe due to the presence of knifes, hot items, and hazardous cleaning products. Today, TidyChoice’s blog provides readers with a list of ways to make your kitchen safer for your babies and toddlers:

1. Keep pots and pans’ handles away from the counter’s edges when cooking
   • This is to prevent your child from toppling the hot cooking materials and burning themselves.
2. Turn off kitchen appliances when not in use
   • This further minimises the risk of burns.
3. Lock up knives, other sharp items and cleaning agents in cupboards or away from your child’s reach
   • To prevent cuts from knives or harms caused by the dangerous cleaning agents, it is best to not allow your child access to these items in the first place.
4. Do not cover your tables with tablecloths that can...

Part of going back to school may mean the age-old morning struggle of getting your children dressed in the morning. The budding fashionista may throw a tantrum if the outfit isn’t what she wanted or you might have a child that insists on wearing the same shirt day after day. Moreover, a child might even refuse to get dressed in the morning! This can throw the entire household into chaos.

Here are a few tried and tested methods to solve these problems:

• Plan Ahead! Waiting to choose and outfit is a sure-fire way of failing. Pick out an outfit the night before and get it approved by your child. This will save you valuable time in the morning. You can eve spend some time on Sunday and make sure that the wardrobe for the coming week is sorted!
• Allow the Children to choose! Giving your children the power to choose their own outfits minimises the morning chaos. It will save you time and won’t drive you insane in the morning. It may even help your child become more...

School’s about to open and you’re about to enter a world of chaos. No more time for any DIY projects! Maybe it’s about time to give your child’s bedroom the upgrade it deserves.

Here are a few quick and easy ideas that will make the room more fun and exciting!

• Blackboard Paint! Give the room a fresh and interesting look by using blackboard paint as a wall feature! This will allow the kids to unleash their creativity all while serving as an organiser for homework or chores!
• Create a Picture Wall! Provide your kids with the opportunity to be creative by hanging up their work on the wall! This will help them gain self-confidence while giving a personal touch to their bedroom!
• Brighten up with fairy lights! Hanging up fairy lights and accessories greatly brighten up the room! You can add light to the room and give it a new look without having to change the wallpaper!
• Get rid of the Clutter! One of the most effective ways to change a room is...

Summer’s almost over…hang up the flip flops…It’s back to school!

School’s about to open and there’s a rush to get everything sorted. Buying stationary, clothes and bags, getting ready for the first day is quite a nerve racking experience. On top of all that, it’s worrisome, thinking about how to get the children to do their homework!

In these times of peril, we have a few tips to help you solve that last problem!

• Rely on Routines! This is one of the best ways to make sure that children do not skip their homework. Avoid the nightly conflicts by setting up a dedicated time for homework during which, the TV’s off and the books are open! However, remember older children need some flexibility in terms of timing as they have heavier workloads! So be mindful of that.
• Establish a Homework Centre! The old days of a desk facing the wall, with nothing but pen and paper on it are gone. The rise of technology means that children...

The age old saying “Time is money” has never been more true than it is the 21^st century. The long hours at work may result in increasing levels of income but what about the level of happiness. Recent studies indicate that there is a greater increase in happiness from free time than there is from material goods. I.e. People spending money to free up their time report a higher level of satisfaction than those who spend on material things such as books or clothes.

According to the research conducted, spending up to £30 a week to help free time alleviates stress and results in a happier lifestyle. Paying people to do chores such as cleaning for you is still quite uncommon but if the research is anything to go by, that is the best place to spend those £30.

Many have lived by the saying “Time is money”, but maybe it’s time to adopt the another one; “Money can buy time” and as a result happiness. So, we highly recommend...

It’s an amazing feeling coming home to a sparkling home. You feel proud, relaxed and simply happier. That’s the feeling you get when you’ve hired a professional cleaner!

Unfortunately, however hiring a cleaner every day can become quite expensive. So, does that mean you shouldn’t come back to a clean home? Definitely not! Here are a few tips and tricks that can keep your home tidier for longer!

Make your bed as soon as you get up! This will increase productivity levels along with giving your bedroom a cleaner look.

• Hang Towels on the bars and robes on the hook! Having everything in place provides a more organised feeling for your home.

• Have a dedicated laundry hamper for each person! One hamper is simply not enough. Multiple laundry hampers mean that your home will never be overrun with dirty clothes.

• Empty to your dishwasher while you brew your coffee! Instead of just waiting for the coffee, use the time in the morning productively...

Schools’s out, that means chaos in the house. It’s not easy having a full time job and making sure your kids are well looked after too.

Here are some tips and trick from us to help you out this summer.

• Schedule Everything! Looking after children is one aspect of life where spontaneity is probably not the best of ideas. It leads to last minute rushes to the supermarket, laundry piling up and sometimes even unhealthy dinners! So, spend some time on Sunday to plan out your week. It’ll surely keep things running on a schedule.

• Have your kids do something Fun! While it’s quite easy to think that time off from school, should be just that..TIME OFF! Engaging in productive activities around their areas of interest will help children develop skills for the upcoming year. So, get them to read a book, play a sport or go to summer camp. After all, “An idle brain is the devils workshop!”

• Spend quality time with the kids! During...

School’s out, the kids are off and travels in. Vacation beckons and there’s mayhem in the house. It’s easy to let chores slide. This season comes around only once a year after all.

Don’t let things pile up though. It’s much easier to keep things running on schedule with a few simple tricks. Organisation is key.

1. Prepare the first-aid kit! With the kids at home, you never know what to expect. Small medical emergencies involving scrapes and bruises are inevitable. Make sure, the medicine cabinet is all stocked up. Dispose of any expired medicine and make sure that there is a healthy supply of bandages and hot/cold packs to last you this summer holiday season.

2. Plan ahead for vacation: Start making a list of all the essentials for you vacation. Last minute fumbling about often means forgetting something important. The more prepared you are, the better your vacation.

3. Look around for a babysitter: Babysitters are in high...

Living in a vibrant, cosmopolitan city like London is not an easy task. What makes it even more tedious is the monotony of everyday life. What most of us forget in the mayhem of work, family and friends is cleaning. The dishes pile up in the sink, the clothes on the chair and arguably the worst is the clutter all over our homes. Quite often we forget that this clutter might just be adding to our frustration. Not being able to find something at the right time could send many of us over the edge.

An interesting argument is that the simple task of cleaning our homes and organising our belongings helps us to DE-stress. It provides an escape from the frustrations of monotony. Moreover, it allows us to focus on tasks of higher priority; thus, spending our waking ours more productively.

Imagine a day when you can easily find anything you look for. No more fumbling around for your keys, the cutlery all ready when you get home and the clothes hanging in the closet instead of...

IRON MAN

Tony Stark is known to be quite a messy worker, so whether he’s working on an exciting innovation or simply making a  sandwich, he never cleans up after himself. Iron Man, on the other hand, fixes it all. He can clean the Stark Labs up in no  time. He is quick on his feet and knows exactly where everything goes. He is indeed a superhero.

THOR

Thor is a hammer-wielding God with the power to control thunder and lightning. He can create quite a mess. When fighting evil, he can’t be worrying about the mess, but somebody needs to clean it up. During his spare time, he says he uses his hammer like a big broom. Not sure how he does it, but we’ll take his word for it. He definitely does a great job as the day after each fight it always looks clean.

If you’d like to hire Thor, then please book well in advance as he can get busy with bookings very quickly. If he's too busy you could always try one of our heroic and vetted cleaners in...

Kids are about to finish school for the summer, and you’re about to face the biggest mess of the year!

Summer cleaning is not quite the ordinary cleaning you do during the year. This is the time to give your home a complete makeover or plan that deep clean. It is important that you do this to discover what you might have been hiding under your bed or on top of your cupboards.

With the British summer approaching and the days getting warmer, you will have to rearrange your house to suit you best. When the sunshine starts beaming through the window and makes all the dust on your desk visible you may feel the urge to clean. So, whether it’s making space for the new fans or cleaning your window sills to allow you to open the windows with ease, it’s time for a change.

However, prior engagements like a trip to the beach, parties with the colleagues or a day out with the family leaves you with no time to clean. Have you considered getting some professional help?...

1.     Take better care of your clothes

The issue of toxic cleaning chemicals can also be applied to your clothes. Various detergents and fabric softeners on the market are packed with toxic ingredients that will be absorbed by your skin. No cleaning effectiveness is worth it, so it would be better if you bought your detergent from the same green section of the store.

Also, adding a bit of baking soda to your washing is a healthy way to clean laundry more effectively. After you’ve finished washing your clothes, you should leave them to dry in the sun for as long as possible. The sun rays will make certain toxins evaporate, though take note – this is not a completely toxin-proof method.

2. Get rid of textile

Your carpets, drapes, and upholstery are a nest for bacteria and mold, and a sponge for toxic chemicals. They might be a nice decoration and they could add to the insulation from the cold, but they are almost always an incessant...

It always seems as if it was only yesterday when you cleaned up. Each of our cosy little dens turns into a heinous collection of dust and dirt in the blink of an eye, and it always appears that the time to do a thorough cleanup slips right out of our grasp.

All of this turns your household into a sponge for toxins that can come either from dirt or from (paradoxically) cleaning chemicals. Here are 3 easy steps to follow if you want to detox your home on a tight schedule.

1. Start off with cleaning products

Before you even start detoxing your home, you have to make sure that the chemicals you intend to use follow all the safety regulations. There are a lot of cleaning solutions out there that mix up strong compounds for the most effective cleaning, but most effective for dirt often equals the most toxic for humans.

These products can lead to a plethora of health issues, so their cleaning potency is never worth it. Thankfully, there is an entire thriving industry of green...

Cleaning your home is a hassle already, and cleaning the mess created by your kids just adds on to the existing pile of cleaning you need to do. How about getting your kids involved?

Here are 4 simple hacks, brought to you by our specialist cleaners in Bethnal Green and our experienced housekeepers in Haggerston, to make cleaning fun and simple for your kids.

Make it a game

Everything can be turned into a game for kids. Let them treat cleaning as a game too. Use a timer and get them to race against time and see who cleans their toys the quickest. It is a simple yet an effective hack.

Use socks to clean

A way of getting your kids involved in cleaning can be by putting socks on their hands and letting them play about all over your home. Every household has the case of lost socks, so unless you’ve managed to solve this mystery, letting your kids clean with the odd socks can be a fun way of recycling and cleaning at the same time.

Donate to charity

It is sometimes...

Start washing your hands! That is one phrase that most mothers say often. It can be annoying hearing it over and over again, but it can seriously affect your health in both the long and short run if you don’t do it.

Washing your hands is easy. It is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of disease.

Keeping your hands clean will stop you from falling into unexpected and potentially life-threatening situations, anywhere and everywhere. The best thing, washing your hands like a professional is not a complicated task at all!

Follow the 5 simple steps below to wash your hands correctly every time.

• Wet your hands with clean, running water, turn off the tap (save some water in the process!), and add soap.
• Foam up your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Make sure to scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, under your nails…
• Rub your hands for at least 20 seconds.
• Rinse your hands well under clean running water....

We all know that there are places in the house that host the perfect environment for microbes to thrive, such as toilets and dustbins. That is why we take extra care to clean these places. However, there are a few less obvious places where bacteria unexpectedly lurk. Here is our list of the more surprising places:

1. Kitchen sponge

Surprisingly, an article from TIME states that the kitchen sponge might be the dirtiest item in your home. It houses millions of microbes including salmonella and fecal bacteria. Clearly, households do not replace or clean their sponges often enough. Therefore, wash these sponges in the dishwasher every week and don’t be lazy to replace them.

2.             Phone

Do you take your phone with you to the bathroom? Most people carry their phones every day, everywhere they go, so it’s no surprise that these handheld devices collect a wide range of microbial colonies. The fact...

Cleaning can sometimes feel like a nightmare, with messy situations that will send shivers down your spine. After Halloween, when children have left their half-eaten candy in unimaginable places, the prospect of cleaning can be haunting. But don’t get scared, because here at TidyChoice we have fang-tastic solutions to aid you in your cleaning horrors.

Chocolate

Despite being your best-friend when you are in need of comfort, chocolate to clean up can be a blood-curdling experience. After Halloween you may find your living-room strewn with sticky remnants of unpopular chocolates like Bounty and Galaxy Caramel. If you want help cleaning up this mess, follow our tidy instructions.

First, allow the chocolate to harden. This may sound counterintuitive, but removing hardened chocolate is much easier than cleaning it when it is sticky. Next, after picking away as much chocolate as you can, treat the stain with dishwasher liquid and water. Blot-out the stain using a light-coloured...

Have you ever wondered which Disney characters are the cleanest…? Of course you have! Luckily for you at TidyChoice we have all major Disney characters registered on our website. Feel free to browse their profiles and see if they are available to work in your area. You may want to enquire about their availability, Beast is very busy nowadays.

Cinderella

About

I am very experienced at cleaning. My stepmother and step sisters always say I am the best at cleaning, so they make me do it. In my spare time I like to practice ballroom dancing, but I also like Salsa. I cover #Oxfordshire, #BlenheimPalace, #Windsor

Gaston

About

If anyone is asking, especially Belle, I am a great cleaner. In my spare time I like to cause town mobs and pursue women who hate me.

“No one is as clean as Gaston, tidy as Gaston, mops like Gaston!”

I cover, #Beast’sCastle, #HouseOfMouse

Rapunzel

About

I am a young upstart. I do not have a lot of experience, but keeping my hair...

At TidyChoice we understand that maintaining a clean house is not always possible. With the prospect of Brexit, the Trump vs Hilary debacle, and the break-up of Brangelina –  sometimes maintaining a clean house skips the mind. Here are 5 very unlikely scenarios where you should always have a clean house.

Britain’s Indian Summer

Do not let Britain’s recent Indian summer fool you, beautiful sunny days are a rarity and should be treasured. In the unlikely event that the weather remains mercifully good, having to stay inside and clean is downright cruel. Book a cleaner with TidyChoice and save yourselves from this hassle.

Brad Pitt knocking on your door

You know that Brangelina have broken-up, but what you don’t know is that Brad has flown across from LA and is now anxiously standing on your doorstep. After quelling your nerves, you realise that he might be looking for some comforting. However, is a messy house that reflects...

We are slowly coming out of our short-lived British summer and entering, what we hope to be, a beautiful autumn! People may be staying inside more often with it becoming colder but that doesn’t entirely mean people will be cleaning on a more regular basis. Whether you live in an apartment or a large, detached house people seem to get very tiresome of cleaning. Let’s face it, it is a chore most would rather ignore.

I’m going to give you one big reason as to why everyone ought to have a professional cleaner, even if it isn’t on a regular basis:

Nobody can clean everything

You’re probably thinking right now, ‘Oh yeah, I definitely can so why bother hiring someone…’. Well, what about the top of the door frame? Do you clean that? Do you love trying to clean under your bed when you get the vacuum cleaner out? Because I can assure you, that is dust haven. It is clear, coming from personal experience, that people love to make things look...

British summers are very temperamental, I think we all know that. But recently, England has been struck with a heatwave that has undoubtedly left us in a bit of a fluster. I can’t remember the last time it was this hot! We know cleaning isn’t the best of duties, especially in the middle of Summer! We found some tips and tricks online that may help you with your summerly chores! Alternatively, have a look at TidyChoice for independent cleaners, where they are reviewed by the public for you!

Lemons!

While you may have your citrus fruit in your water to quench your thirst, use your left overs to clean fixtures! One example of using your citrus fruit is to rub half a lemon over your steel faucets then wipe it off with a microfibre cloth. You can do this in replacement to your other faucet-cleaning products, it may be cheaper and it will help the environment!

The Grill

We hope this summer most people will be able to have a barbecue. It is the...

Having a clean house feels great and it can make life a lot easier too. But when kids are around, it’s certainly difficult to keep your house tidy! We all know children aren’t the tidiest of things and it can be very tiring having to always clean up after them! We have managed to gather some ideas from the internet that might help you with the cleaning process! Comment below with your tips and tricks and get involved!

Routines are great!

According to Andrea Reiser, an American parenting-blogger, children love to help out and often feel pride in their achievements. This can actually really help when cleaning up. If you allow them to recognise that tidying up is an important piece to a smooth family life, you can then try and start a simple routine so they can help! Our trustworthy housekeeper from Fulham says this can be simple things like putting toys back in the box after they’ve finished with it or putting the place mats away after dinner....

Your mental health will improve!

As we all know, not having a clean house has the possibility of doing some bad damage to our physical health. Work surfaces are great for bacteria to grow on, which is why we clean them.  But it can also affect our mental health; making us unhappy just by looking at the mess. Having a fresh looking house can really make you feel great. Whether you cleaned it yourself or hired someone from TidyChoice, you will feel so much better and maybe you will be excited to get back home from work!

Your kids won’t be at risk.

A cluttered house can be dangerous, especially for your little ones. Children love to play and in an untidy house, they have the possibility of tripping and falling on that old extension cable that was left out accidentally! Ensure their environment is safer by cleaning up and making sure it’s all nice and tidy.

You’ll be able to host guests more often?

Sometimes it can be embarrassing or even...

Sleep is health. While you’re out for the count, muscle repair, memory consolidation and hormones for growth and appetite release is all going on.

If you sleep for 8 hours, you’re spending a 1/3 of the day in your bedroom. Doesn’t it then make sense for it to be one of the most sanitary and healthy places in your house?

Well, what is it about bedrooms that mean we’ll skip cleaning them? Well, firstly, unless you spill your cup of tea over the bed, it takes a lot for it to actually look grubby, and be percieved as dirty. That doesn’t mean it isn’t! As much as 10% of the weight of the average pillowcase can be attributed to dead skin flakes, dust mites and their droppings. Yuck.

Another reason cleaning the bedroom gets left off the list is because people often can tidy just when people pop by. As your private sanctum, your bedroom usually doesn’t rank highly on this list for the grand tour.

So, step one, make your bed. It may sound...

Whether you’re buying an armful of cut flowers in a bouquet or one to go in the garden now that the greenhouse has defrosted, scent is one of the biggest factor of why we buy flowers – not only do you bring something beautiful into your home, you get that natural essence that can’t be replicated out of a bottle.

Here at TidyChoice, we know people have pride in their homes, and so here are 7 flowering plants you can give this Mother’s Day to the special woman in your life to bring something special into her home and garden.

1. Roses (The Traditional.)

The classic choice. Our fascination with roses reaches back past the famous War of the Roses that shaped England, through time all the way to the Roman period where there were public rose gardens and even back beyond that, to their birth a staggering 25 million years ago.

The scent is complex and fascinating, and has even been linked to improve memory with a German study finding it increased...

January is the start of a fresh year, a time to be carving out new resolutions and breaking bad habits. In honour of this, here at TidyChoice HQ we’ve listed 3 common habits you should break right now for a cleaner, brighter 2016!

Bad habit 1 – Not cleaning your bath/shower sponges

Okay, many of us overlook this one, but leaving bath loofahs, poufs or sponges out in the bathroom after use is an absolute no-no. According to Dr Piliang of Cleveland Clinic, this only serves to harvest all that bacteria which thrives in moist, warm conditions. You should instead hang them in a cool, dry place and put them in the washing machine regularly. It’s advisable to replace bath sponges and natural loofahs every month and plastic loofahs every 2 months.

Bad habit 2 – Not changing the bed sheets regularly

Sometimes we might forget to change our sheets every now and again but at what cost? Not only do we sweat in our sleep, but other dirt,...

Christmas is a time for family traditions. It is the time of year when children hang up their stocking, shops are filled with Christmas songs and when family and friends come together to share centuries old customs.

We understand that during the holidays, things can get a bit messy. Usually, a sign of good Christmas is a messy household. However, thinking about cleaning up after the festivities  might put a dampener on the holidays.

Fortunately, there is help at hand. With TidyChoice, you can enjoy a sparkling and serene home after your holidays.

Booking has never been so easy. Simply enter your postcode and requirements and we will match you with a fully vetted, experienced cleaners who are passionate about their job.  You can select a one off cleaning after the busy season is over or a regular service that will leave you peace of mind.

Simply pick a cleaner that is right for you and enjoy a tidy, sparkling, and serene home with more free time. You can always...

We all hate a messy house – dirty dishes, unwanted clutter, sticky surfaces and overflowing rubbish. When it comes to maintaining your home on a busy work schedule, we do not always have time to clean. So how do we avoid turning our house from a pristine palace to an unbearable mess during a busy time?

We have put together ten easy tricks to help you keep your house to a high standard:

• Easy clean shower hack: You might think this is silly, but when you have finished showering, give the tiles a quick scrub – it will drastically cut down on soap scum build up. Otherwise, it makes it even harder to clean when they dry.

• Cleaning your microwave: Place a bowl filled with water and vinegar in your microwave and heat on high for ten minutes. The moisture will steam the food remnants, making it so easy to wipe your microwave clean.

• Wonderful scent: Keep your bathroom smelling fresh by dripping a few drops of essential oil on the inside of your toilet paper roll. Just...

Have you ever had a closer look at your kid’s favourite toy? According to new research by Dettol, your kids’ most used toys carry risks to their health.

Whilst their teddy bear may appear to be your child’s best friend, the cuddly toy could pose a potential health risk.

The Daily Mail published the research findings which reported that 1 in 4 toys contain bacteria relating to fecal matter and that 3 from 4 toys are not washed effectively.

Experts have warned that 80 per cent of teddies harbour bacteria. The research also found  that 90 per cent of children regularly drop their beloved toys on the floor, where they can pick up dirt and various germs. One of our housekeepers in Willesden said she couldn't believe how often parents neglect to wash their child's toys.

We, at TidyChoice, recognize the importance of maintaining a clean home for the benefit of your kids’ health and well-being. That is why our service provides a...

Sounds like yet another ploy to encourage families to employ home cleaning services but you’ll be surprised at what research has to show.

Is it time to make a clean and tidy home priority? Well, chaotic and untidy households have been shown to encourage bad behaviour in young children due to lack of routine and order in their home environment. So it might be time to employ some extra domestic cleaning help, or at least encourage your partner to get more involved in domestic tasks.

Not only are children’s behaviours affected, parents are hindered too. With chaotic environments, parents tend to become less involved with their children and interfere in moments of exploration, a key stage in children social cognitive development. In such cases, parents feel unable to adequately discipline their children and are consequently more likely to rely on physical punishments to correct their children’s behaviour.

Improve your family life by making household cleaning...

We know that everybody loves a clean home, but not everybody loves house cleaning! We just wanted to highlight some of the benefits a clean home has to offer you to motivate the cleaners in you, or give some justification for why you’re thinking of hiring trustworthy & affordable cleaners through #TidyChoice

• A tidy home reduces stress

Not only does less clutter and mess allow you to be more productive, as we covered in our last blog post, it reduces your stress levels. Think about it for a second. If you have fewer things around you competing for attention and distracting your every thought – you are bound to be more relaxed and able to focus on tasks one by one.

• A tidy home prevents infection and allergies

No one really knows the amount and variations of bacteria that are festering around your home. Whether your shoes or your pet has harboured them, little microbes are multiplying in your home by the minute. What’s the solution? Frequent...

A tidy house, a tidy mind. Some think it’s just a saying for house cleaning services to attract more customers, but neuroscientists at Princeton University Neuroscience Institute have found evidence to suggest otherwise!

They found that the more clutter you are surrounded by, the less able you are to focus. With so many things going on in your environment, your brain finds it difficult to focus because there are several things competing for your attention all at once.

Therefore, evidence indicates that a tidy, organised and serene environment, both at work and at home, can have positive effects on your productivity levels in two ways. You can better focus on tasks at hand and you can then achieve more because there are fewer distractions around you.

Take a look at the two desks below, which one would you be more productive at?

The moral of the story remains to be that household cleaning should be considered more as a benefit rather than another chore to add to...

A survey by Churchill Insurance conducted a few years ago, showed that thousands of UK families cannot run without home help. Of the 2,000 families surveyed, a third admitted that they simply don’t have time to look after their own homes and gardens. With millions working long hours, domestic help is increasingly seen as a necessity to ensure a good work-life balance.

Juggling a career and family life while keeping a lovely home is difficult without someone to assist with daily housekeeping duties. Therefore, finding a trusted housekeeper could be the secret to a more harmonious life.

The biggest challenge for householders is finding someone trustworthy that can do all the tasks they require. Many families want help beyond just weekly or fortnightly home cleaning. They want more support during the week for household chores such as laundry, ironing, food shopping and babysitting.

They also need someone who is available and affordable. The strategy of many families is to hire a...

Take a look at these three quick steps to finding the perfect professional for YOU!

Step 1

Enter a few details about your home and the services you require to help tailor the search

Step 2

Choose a cleaning professional that’s right for you by personally checking their profiles and reviews

Step 3

Secure and schedule your bookings directly and never worry about your home!

We provide a trusted service that is tailored to your needs and booked directly by you!

Make the right choice with #TidyChoice!

You know how you want your home to be cleaned. You want it done your way, and if you had the time, you might consider doing the job yourself. However, if you are not good at cleaning or you don’t have the time, the best solution is to book a cleaner that is just right for you. Putting the job in the hands of someone else doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to compromise on your standards. Here are some simple tips to ensure that your London home is cleaned your way.

1. Select your ideal cleaner for a personal service

It pays to spend time searching for a cleaner that will care about your home as much as you do. Visit TidyChoice.com and browse through trusted independent cleaners in your neighbourhood. Before booking read reviews from other customers and look for the details that could make all the difference. Do customer comments indicate that they genuinely care about their customers and that they take pride in their work? Do they seem to be professional...

London’s thriving economy draws people from all around the world seeking work and a better life. Domestic cleaning is an attractive option for those seeking flexible working hours and London has an army of around 80,000 experienced, hard-working, self-employed domestic cleaners. Still, most Londoners still find it hard to find a good cleaner. So what are the options? There are two broad alternatives: Hire directly or use an agency.

Hiring directly is the best option but finding your ideal cleaner is not easy

By engaging a trusted and recommended cleaner directly, you ensure that you get a personal and bespoke service. To find a cleaner directly, asking friends, neighbours or colleagues is the usual starting point. If this draws a blank, you can search online job bulletin boards or subscribe to online search services. Using these websites has two major drawbacks. Firstly, it costs time and money. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, you do not get the word-of-mouth customer...

Angelical faces all over the house… Can we make sure angels stay lovely  and clean during the whole holiday?

Removing seasonal stains

Christmas is an exciting time for the kids and with so many of them running around it is inevitable that they will some spills and accidents. Here are some of our favourite tips to remove stains.

• For Christmas tree sap, use milk or mayonnaise to remove it from skin and methylated spirits to remove it from clothing and carpets
• For chewing gum on clothes, place the clothes in the freezer until the gum is hard so it can be easily prised off the fabric
• The key to removing wax is to harden it (with ice) and chip it off, then soften the remainder (with an iron) and melt it off. Methylated spirits will remove any residual marks on fabric.

Help! My bathroom is turning black!

The best way to clean mildew is to prevent it, so make sure that you air your bathroom after each shower. If you have a window leave it well open for a while, otherwise, make sure you have installed a good ventilation system. Sometimes, all this is not enough.

To remove small brown or black spots from painted walls, make the following solution:

• one cup chlorine bleach and

• one gallon of warm water.

Using rubber gloves, dip a scrub brush in, and scour the section (being careful not to splash yourself or nearby fabrics). Let the solution set a few minutes; rinse with a wet cloth.

Cleaning the plastic shower-curtain liner is even easier:

Launder it in hot water on the gentle cycle with detergent and chlorine bleach; add a few old towels to balance the load. Dry on low heat for just a minute or two. When it’s dry enough to carry (and not dripping), rehang it, spread out, on the rod.

If your walls are covered in large black...

Everyone moves on. One day, my fabulous and faithful cleaner of many years announced that she was moving back to her home country. My heart sank and I knew that a tsunami of chaos was about hit my normally pristine and orderly home. I needed a quick solution but I knew that finding a trusted replacement was not going to be an easy task.

My first port of call was to ask my friends and neighbours if they could recommend a good cleaner. Some were not terribly complementary about their current cleaners but one of my friend’s cleaners sounded like the perfect solution. Unfortunately, she was fully booked. I suspected that this might be the case for the very best cleaners.

Next, I turned to the traditional cleaning agents. They came to my place and gave me an estimate of the time required and likely cost (which was much more than my previous cleaner). They sent me a cleaner from a pool of cleaners that they manage. Whilst I was paying more than before the quality of cleaning was...

Tesco is the UK’s largest supermarket and we compared their price for a basket of 5 standard cleaning products with other supermarkets. Tesco’s basket totalled £10.65.

For the same items, Asda was cheapest at £9.48p and Waitrose the most expensive at £13.85.

Branded products are often not available at Lidl or Aldi but their products are the cheapest. Where they stock branded items they are often significantly cheaper than the main supermarkets. For example, Mr Sheen multi-surface cleaner is 65p in Aldi compared to £1 at Asda, Sainsbury’s and Poundland.

The best cleaners want to be independent so they can optimise their earnings. If they work for an agency or for an online booking platform, they will lose 20-40% of their earnings. TidyChoice is the only website which is a genuine marketplace that allows cleaners to choose your own rates and hours. Cleaners are not charged a percentage commission and earn their full hourly rate. TidyChoice helps independent cleaners market their services in order to find new customers in convenient locations. We have housecleaners in locations all over London, from experienced cleaners based in Archway to professional housekeepers based in Marylebone.  

“We have found that if the cleaners are not satisfied, the customers don’t get the quality of service expected. The best cleaners work independently to maximise their income and we are unique in allowing them to choose their own hourly rates, work locations and hours of work,”  says co-founder Ana...

You work long hours and try to fit in your housekeeping duties but then find that you have no time for yourself or your friends and family. We all get to a point where we look at our situations and think there must be a better way! But finding a good cleaner that you can trust is difficult. Here are some of the mistakes to watch out for.

1.Choosing a service based on price only

You can find people cleaning at an extremely low price. Beware. These people are probably not experienced or vetted, never background checked, and probably could not reimburse you for breakage. You are likely to get a poor-quality service and potential problems ahead.

2. Blindly hiring a cleaner

The days of “my cleaning lady just lives down the street and is a family friend” have faded away. However, do you really want to give a complete stranger access to your home and personal belongings? To hire an independent cleaner, you should carry out some background checks on all...