We’ve all heard of spring cleaning. Spring provides a good time of the year to give your home a thorough clean from top to bottom, ready for the warm weather of the summer. Whilst a spring clean is always a good idea, the winter is also a time to pay extra care in keeping your home clean. With the weather outside often wet, and your house receiving more guests than usual over Christmas time, it’s easy for your house to lose order in a short space of time, so it’s important to factor in a few extra jobs in your winter cleaning checklist.
Keep your entranceways prepared
With the weather outside often wet and floors muddy, it’s easy for all kinds of dirt to be walked into your home at this time of year. If you are having guests over at Christmas, the amount of dirt getting in through the front door could increase considerably, with friends and family walking dirt and debris all over your floor surfaces. Ensure you have a doormat outside and an absorbing mat inside the door for guests to wipe their feet a second time.
If you prefer people to take their shoes off inside your home, make sure you have a clear space for their shoes to be placed. If it is especially muddy or even snowy outside your front door, you may also wish to provide a brush for guests to clean off their shoes before entering.
Wash and disinfect bins
Kitchen bins are used throughout the year, but perhaps even more so over winter as the house is stocked up with extra snacks and you engage in more cooking than usual. To prevent unpleasant smells and stop the spread of bacteria, it’s a good idea to thoroughly clean and disinfect your kitchen bin for winter.
Go through your fridge and food cupboards
Before stocking up on extra food and groceries ahead of Christmas and New Year, it’s always advisable to go through your fridge, cupboards and pantry first to check for any expired food that needs to be disposed of. It can be easy to forget about half used boxes or jars, so a regular check is a good idea to help get rid of any rotting foods.
This is also a great opportunity to give your fridge and cupboards a thorough wash and wipedown, removing dust and bacteria.
Disinfect remote controls
The winter is a great time to snuggle up and enjoy a film or binge a TV series on demand, but it’s also a time of year where colds are especially common, so to help prevent the spread of germs, disinfecting remote controls regularly is a good idea. Using a disinfecting wipe to clean high contact objects such as remote controls helps to keep germs at bay.
Vacuum every day
Vacuuming the floors of your main living spaces daily is important for preventing the build up of dirt from outside, or if you have an open fire or log burner, helps to clean away any ash or soot. Particular care should be paid to the area around your fire or log burner, and around the main entrance areas of your home. A few minutes vacuuming each day helps to protect your floors and extend carpet lifespans.
Hire a cleaner
Even if you already hire a cleaner for general cleaning services, the winter may be a good time to increase the frequency of your cleans, or even invest in a one-off home clean service to prepare your home for winter, or at least for Christmas.
Domestique provides a range of general cleaning services for homes around the UK.