8 Habits for a Cleaner Home

From time to time we've all experienced our houses becoming a little unkempt, possibly leading to an overwhelming feeling and then a whole weekend of cleaning our whole homes top to bottom. These are my 8 little habits that if you develop, can help maintain a cleaner, healthier and happier home day to day. 

1. Clean the sink while washing your hands; When you've been to the bathroom and go to the sink to wash your hands, take that minute to hit two birds with one stone by washing the sink. 
Of course, you'll still want to have a good clean with anti-bacterial cleaner's from time to time, but if every couple of days, when you're washing your hands you also use your wet soapy hands to run around the sink and taps, then you ensure it'll always look it's best. Simply apply your hand wash to hands, wet, lather, and wipe down the sink, rinse your hands and repeat until clean and shiny, voila! 

2. Zero down-time while cooking; it may seem great to put dinner in the oven, set a timer and put your feet up until it's ready but if you make the commitment

to cleaning while food is cooking, you'll find the wait quicker and less agonising (especially when you're starving hungry) and once you've eaten your evening meal after a day working, it's nice to know that you've contributed towards the housework and now the evening is yours. I like to commit to staying in the kitchen while food is cooking (unless it's a 4-hour Sunday roast of course), but when you've got meat in the oven and vegetables on the hob, set aside that 20 minutes to do a quick sweep of the kitchen and if it's already clean in there (lucky you) maybe spend that time vacuuming the lounge carpet of other task that needs doing. Clean the chopping board you've just used, wipe the counters down, rearrange a cupboard or put a load of laundry on. Seriously guys, that 20 minutes a day will make all the difference. 

3. Use your washing machine as your laundry basket; If you're like me you don't do laundry every single day yet dirty clothes end up getting tossed on the floor daily. Don't bother with baskets in the bedroom or bathroom, trying to remember to separate every time you take off an outfit. Shove it all in the

washing machine, always, no matter the colour or washing instructions. When the machine's full, you know it's time to pull it all out, separate and do that laundry. This way, your dirty clothes are always where they're ending up anyway, saving you lugging huge piles of dirty clothes about your home, you never end up with 10 loads to do in one day, and you save space by not having 3 storage baskets knocking about your home. 

4. Put away your outer's when you get in; So you get home after a long day of work, school, maybe you've been to the gym etc. The first thing you want to do it strip off your coat, bags, throw your keys down, take your bra off etc. I know that it's easy just to throw these items wherever they land and tell

yourself you'll put them away later because you've earned the right to relax now, and you're right, you do deserve to wind down after your day, but why burden your evening by having "don't forget to tidy that before bed" running through your mind? Make the habit of getting in, hanging up your coat, scarf, putting your bag where you want it to be the next morning and putting away your shoes. This is one of those small habits that's really good to develop to keep your entryway clear. 

5. Clean the shower as well as yourself; after your shower, the bathroom's going to be hot, wet and steamy which is the ideal time for dirt to just lift off

surfaces. This would be the best time to clean your bathroom in general but let's face it, nobody want to step out of the shower feeling refreshed and squeaky clean and start scrubbing up dirt and grime. A great habit to get into is just cleaning the shower while you're in there, it takes no time at all and you can step out of the shower knowing you're stepping off of a clean floor. All you have to do it take the shower head and rinse the shower tray (or bath if you have an over-bath shower) with the hot water towards the plug hole, until white and shining. Don't forget to run around the grout, and over the shower door. With wet hands, clean the head itself. This will help maintain that just-cleaned appearance between deep cleans. 

6. Choose the outfit you want to wear the day before wearing it; This may seem somewhat counter-intuitive to pull clothes from your wardrobe every evening and leave them there all night, but having that one outfit laid out neatly

Photo Credit: The Versastyle

while you sleep is much better than coming home to a mess of clothes on the floor from the morning rush. In the morning when you have to pick out clothes in a hurry, it's easy to toss aside vetoed choices which soon clutters your bedroom. Choosing what you want to wear the next day before bed at a relaxing speed minimises the temptation to make the mess in the first place. Plus, if you too aren't a morning person, it's always good to have less to do first thing. 

Photo Credit: Good Life of Design

7. Make the bed every morning; Yes, i know we've all heard this one from our parents all of our childhood, but there's something very therapeutic about a made bed. Besides just looking nice, you're physically sealing off the night of sleep and this switches your mindset to the day ahead, plus later that evening you get to lay down in a freshly made bed. Keeping your bed made improves the appearance of the whole room and if the bed's messy i know it's easier to make the rest of the room a mess, so don't let it begin. 

8. Live by the one cup rule; Well, it's actually the one cup and one glass rule

Photo Credit:
www.organicauthority.com

in our house... basically promise that you'll never have more than one cup/glass being used by yourself at a time. I'm sure we've all gone and poured a drink, returned to our seat and realised there's an empty glass there already, soon these can pile up fast. Make sure you either re-use the current glass or if it's been out a bit too long, rinse and re-use. This is just one little habit that helps keep you on top of your lounge, and also helps keep dishes from piling up. 

What did you think of my list? Let me know if any helped you out and share some of your own with me!

Peace and Love ☮ ♥

Easy Budget Home Makeover

Want to re-vamp your home but don't have thousands in the budget? New to DIY or don't have a lot of time?

Here's a handy list of easy jobs that you can do around your home to both improve appearance and add value;

(*Just a side note: no content here is sponsored)

photo credit: www.edwardbulmerpaint.co.uk

1. Keeping your White's White. 

Most of us have a lot of white painted areas in our homes that are easily forgotten about. Increasing the whiteness in our homes helps rooms appear larger, airier and bright. 

Have a walk around your home, room to room and see if you can locate all the white then ask yourself; when is the last time this was painted?

If it's over 2 years, it's probably due a re-vamp. Try holding a piece of white paper up against them and see how much it's tarnished. Maybe you have some wooden features that may need to be painted white for the first time to match other decor? 

Common things to look at are; doors, window frames, skirting boards and other woodwork, ceilings, radiators and banisters. 

At B&Q you can pick up 5 litres of white gloss paint and a set of paint brushes for under £30... enough to brighten-up a 3 bed semi in a weekend. 

2. Fake a New Bathroom

Does your bathroom look a bit run down and worse for wears? It's so easy and cheap to make that tired suite look like new again. 

• Change that old toilet seat; is it cheap plastic? Does it slide all over the place? are the hinges rusted? Is it cracked? Our most recent home purchase was a £14 toilet seat that came with fittings, it took me and my boyfriend less than 20 minutes to install and it's made the world of difference; a new seat makes the toilet appear new!
  Link; http://www.wilko.com/toilet-seats/wilko-toilet-seat-oakwood-veneer/invt/0426378
• Swap that shower curtain; because seriously guys; a new curtain will cost you less than £10 and 5 minutes to change. 
• Screw-in's and handy add-on's; did you know you can pick up a new toilet brush, bathroom bin, towel rail and toilet roll holder at Wilkes's (all chrome) for just over £10? Just saying...
• Textiles; The more expensive in the list but worth a mention; nothing says luxury like new white fluffy towels in the bathroom... how long have you have yours? Also, how long have you had your bath mat? 

3. Light it up

As white keeping your white's bright, the lighting in your house really contributes to the airiness and feel to your rooms. You don't have to go out paying for whole new light fittings and the people to come and install them to add cosiness or a different hue to your home.

• Think about the bulbs themselves; lights in the lounge that are only on in the evenings when you're watching the TV don't need to be bright white lights that give you a headache. Look into bulbs that suit each room and it's uses. For example, we have a main light in the lounge for when i do crafts in the evenings or read, as well as a 4 watt vintage bulb in our lamp for the cosy nights in. 
• Layer your lighting; Remember that having a few different options to light each room dependant on situation is flexible and inexpensive. Try lamps, fairy lights, candles etc. 
• Change or clean old shades; it's worth taking old light shades down and giving them a good clean from time to time, also play around by swapping shades between rooms, or pick up some nice inexpensive ones like those shown below;

Kitchen Makeover

Many estate agents will say this room is a key decider of house price as many buyers overestimate the cost and time of replacing an outdated kitchen. 

You don't have to buy a whole new fitted kitchen to see a benefit, take a look at the example below; 

Credit: Storywood Designs

This is the same kitchen in both images but the doors have been re-painted and the handles on the doors exchanged. You could easily emulate this dramatic transformation in a weekend between two people for under £100... not bad for these types of results! Other minor kitchen updates on a budget could include painting tiles, re-sealing counter edging with silicone (about £6 for the tube and gun) or even adding vinyl counter covers from your local DIY store as below (just measure, cut, peel and stick). 

Credit: Nelson Paint Company

Be Thrifty

Get down to your local charity/thrift shop and have a look for items you could use to personalise your home. Here are some of my favourite items to look for;

• Photo frames; from ornate to minimal, I love being able to buy a bunch of photo frames for very little money all mix-matched and maybe painting them the same colour then hanging together. You can frame family photo's, memento's or maybe even some pretty scrapbook paper or a greetings card that you love.  
• Furniture; I love buying basic furniture from the local charity shops and up-cycling them to breathe new life. Make you you pick an item with good bones (structurally sturdy) then get to work with new paint, handles or stencils. 
  

Window Dressing

It has been said that "windows are the eyes to the house" and there's no one single thing, in my opinion, that can change a room more than updating a pair of curtains or blinds. 

If you're any good at sewing, why not make your own, or check out your local charity shop (I once bought a pair of fully lined beautiful floor to ceiling curtains for our french doors for just £2 at my local charity shop-they practically give them away because people don't think of buying them there). If you love your own or just don't want to pay, it is totally worth taking them down, giving them a good clean and re-hanging... something a lot of people probably only do every few years. 

Also, layering window coverings can be very stylish too and add real depth to your room. 

That's all for now, I'll add to the list should I think of any other ways to revamp on a budget.

Peace and Love ☮ ♥