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Part Three: Spring Cleaning- Our Room- By- Room Guide.

Welcome to Part Three of our Three Part Spring Cleaning series in which we tackle cleaning the Hallway, Staircase and Office Space.

THE HALLWAY:

The hallway can be the first place you and your visitors see when you open the door. Hallways certainly get a lot of daily footfall traffic which means dust, dirt, and clutter can build up quickly in this relatively small area. Therefore, you’ll want to keep it clean and tidy!

HERE IS WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO TACKLE THIS TASK:

i) Bin bags

ii) Dusters and long handle types.

iii) Cloths including microfibre types.

iv) Vacuum cleaner/steam cleaner and/or mop and bucket.

v) Carpet stain or spot stain remover.

vi) All-purpose cleaner/mild cleaning solution/glass cleaner or a solution of vinegar and water.

vii) Paper towels/ newspapers.

THE DUSTING:

First things first! Remove everything out of this area including curtains, rugs, furniture, and any coats and jackets hanging on hooks etc. Using your long handled duster, start dusting. Sweep from side to side to remove all the dust and cobwebs in hard to reach areas typically including the ceiling, lighting fixtures, and walls. Make sure to dust the corner areas as well, and any rails and curtain poles you may have. Now turn the duster so it’s pointing to the floor and sweep it back and forth along the skirting boards.

MIRRORS AND PICTURES:

To clean hallway mirrors firstly take them down, this will keep them safe and give you more control over them when cleaning. Now they are secure and safe, begin dusting down, and then use a mild cleaning solution remove dirt, grime and any stubborn marks then allow to dry. Next, spray the mirror with a glass cleaner or, if you prefer, a solution of vinegar and water. Working from side to side and then from top to bottom, clean the mirror.

 Tip: we advise not to use circular cleaning motions when cleaning mirrors as these will make marks and streaks.

To finish off, use paper towels or newspaper to buff for a sparkling, smear free result every time.

For pictures, essentially repeat the same process but use a mild cleaning solution for the frames. We suggest cleaning picture frames with a mild washing up liquid and water solution. When cleaned and throughly dry, replace mirrors and pictures back on walls.

THE FLOOR:

Now it’s time to clean the floor. Give it a good hoover, and use the attachment nozzle to get into the nooks and crannies in the hard to reach areas. Then choose your preferred cleaning method, depending on the type of flooring you have; either use a mop and bucket or a floor steamer.

Finally replace all cleaned furniture, curtains, rugs etc. back into the hallway, and your task is complete.

THE STAIRCASE:

After the hallway, the first thing that may be visible to visitors is the staircase. It is, therefore important to present this as a welcoming area by keeping it clean, tidy, and clutter free.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

i) Hand held dust pan and stiff brush.

ii)Vacuum cleaner/ carpet spot cleaner or shampoo/mop and bucket, and water.

iii) Cleaning cloths/ sponge.

iv) Dusters including long handle types either/ or feather and microfibre types.

THE DUSTING:

Remove all clutter that may have built up on the stairs. If there is clothing pop these items into the laundry for washing. Dust the area starting from the top to the bottom, working your way around the walls, ceiling, and lighting areas, using a long handled feather or microfibre duster. Make sure you get into any nooks and crannies to ensure a good clean is achieved.

STIFF BRUSH CLEAN:

 The staircase is a huge magnet for dirt, dust, pet hair, and clutter. Using a dust pan and a stiff brush, start to brush each stair at a time, starting at the top. This is hard work but trust us, it is worth the effort. When the dust pan is full, empty it and return to the stairs working your way down. When you reach the bottom, hoover up the dirt that has collected there.

After the ‘stiff brush’ method, we like to go over the stairs with a vacuum cleaner to ensure that all the loose dirt, grit, and pet hair is hoovered up and removed.

CLEAN CARPET AREA:

 After giving the carpet on the stairs a thorough brushing and vacuum, spot clean any marks and stains with either carpet stain remover or carpet shampoo. Allow this to dry and them hoover again to remove any residue and loose dirt.

THE BANNISTER:

 Using a long handled duster, either made of feathers or microfibres, dust the bannister thoroughly. Then with a soapy cloth or sponge and bowl of tepid water, we recommend you go over to bannister to remove all hand marks.

 We also recommend that the staircase is cleaned at least once a week to maintain a welcoming atmosphere in the home.

THE OFFICE SPACE:

 A clean and well organised office can bring about a positive and welcoming effect on your overall well-being and productivity. So, start as you mean to go on by opening all the windows and doors to this area to allow fresh air to circulate throughout.

 WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO TACKLE THE OFFICE SPACE:

i) Bin bags

ii) All-purpose cleaner/ anti- bacterial wipes.

iii) Upholstery cleaner/ stain remover

iv) Vacuum cleaner/ mop and bucket/ floor steamer.

v) Long handled feather or microfibre duster/ cloths.

DECLUTTER THE DESK AND DRAWERS:

On a practical level, clearing your desk of its items is probably the most sensible place to start. After all, this is the place that easily accumulates most clutter during the hectic working week.

First things first! Empty every growing pile of paper, sort it into piles to either keep, throw away, or recycle. Then, together with what you are going to throw away, gather up all that stationery that’s just lying around, and throw this away into a plastic bin liner.

Now for the drawers! Before you start it is best to take a deep breath and assess what’s to keep and what’s to go! Unfortunately, it’s impossible just to go on collecting items in your drawers without having to get down to some serious spring decluttering once in a while!

We suggest dedicating a drawer to random items such as pens along with other stationery items and supplies so you know where to put your miscellaneous items.

Moving on to the other drawers, declutter them then neatly organise one by one, separating the items you plan to keep and those you wish to discard.

Take out any files and documents you wish to shred or store away in a safe place.

SPRING CLEAN YOUR LAPTOP/ PC:

Now that your desk is cleared, it’s time to make a start on the all important laptop/ PC. Before starting to clean anything electronic please remember to unplug everything from the sockets first. It’s also a good idea to untangle any wires before cleaning. We recommend using cable clips to pull all the wires together for a neat a tidy appearance. It’s also worth labelling each wire as this will make it easier for you to locate and distinguish between them if required.

Start by dusting the equipment down with a feather duster. Using a cloth that has been very slightly dampened with a mild all-purpose cleaning solution, wipe over your laptop/PC and finish off using a microfibre cloth to buff. Dust the screen, and then clean it with a microfibre cloth and buff. Make sure you don’t forget the keyboard as this gets an awful lot of use during the working day. We recommend tipping it upside down first and giving a few taps to release any dust and dirt, and needless to say the odd crumb or two, and then using anti- bacterial wipes gently clean between the keys and finally wipe the whole area down. Clean the printer and any similar equipment following the same cleaning principles.

THE OFFICE CHAIR:

Using a vacuum brush attachment, vacuum the office chair throughly. With a stain remover for upholstery, spot treat any stains and spills on the seat area. Wipe down the legs, arms, and the base, and then buff with a microfibre cloth.

THE FLOOR:

Now you have a neat and tidy office space once more, the floor is ready for vacuuming. When this is complete, use a mop and bucket with some floor cleaning solution added to some tepid water and clean the whole floor area. Be sure to reach into all the corners areas.

We suggest running a clean mop head along the skirting boards to give them a good clean too.

Using a floor streamer is another good way for floor cleaning can be achieved. However, always refer to the manufactures instructions beforehand.

REFRESH THE CLEANED OFFICE SPACE:

Now that your office space is spring cleaned and decluttered, we like to add some finishing touches to this space by adding a few personalised items such a family photograph, a houseplant, or a beautiful calendar.

 We hope you’ve enjoyed our Three Part Spring Cleaning series.