New year, new cleaning habits

A good start is half the battle

Before we start with all the handy hacks, it is a good idea to take a moment to consider resolutions themselves. Why is it that we can never keep them up? Often, our resolutions are a little too ambitious, take a lot of time or effort, or because they completely mess up your "normal" daily life. But that doesn't have to be the case at all! In fact, if you make a resolution as simple as possible, it is much easier to turn it into a habit. You can do that by:

1. Making it manageable so that it does not take a lot of time and effort;

2. Linking it to an existing habit;

3. Reward yourself regularly to celebrate successes;

4. Don't be a perfectionist, because making mistakes is part of it and you learn from them;

5. Always be patient and stubbornly persevere.

Drying your bathroom is key

Keeping the bathroom clean is mainly a matter of preventing it from getting dirty at all. For example, wipe down the tiles and shower cubicle with a squeegee after showering. This way, you wipe away all soap residue and water, giving limescale much less chance. Even something as simple as brushing your teeth with your head down prevents splatters on your mirror. Betty has many more tips to keep the bathroom cleaner for longer!

Minimalism is your friend in the fight against dust

Look, dust is just everywhere. If you just extensively dusted everywhere, it comes swirling around quietly again after only 2 hours. My tip: use microfibre cloths to dust regularly in between, so that the dust layer does not become too thick (and visible). With children in the house, I like to use the Dust Catcher as it also takes away crumbs and hair. Davina has many more dusting tips for you. Her fave tip (which she doesn't hold herself to, by the way) is to have as little stuff as possible. Because less stuff = less to dust!

Dry cloths for streak-free windows

Window cleaning is obviously not something you do every day, but there are smart tips for this too to get streak-free windows faster. Wendy's tip for streak-free windows is to dry the squeegee in between uses with a good absorbent chamois. You can also easily remove small areas of dirt with a good window cloth or our Window Care. Then you don't have to wash the whole window.

Get rid of grease and leftovers in the kitchen

Grease and caked-on food residues are, of course, cleaning problem number one in the kitchen. Keith has many tips to deal with grease and food leftovers. Did you know that you can combine a lot of chores with cooking? For example, put pans and oven dishes in the soak immediately after you have used them, so that leftovers cannot creep in. Or avoid grease on top of your kitchen cupboards by putting paper or newspapers there, which you change regularly.

Use microfibre cloths for everything

I am a big fan of microfibre cloths. First, they can be used for almost anything, from grease to fabric. Secondly, sometimes you only need to add a little water. Nice and durable, but also ideal for letting your kids help you clean. Many (small) hands make light work! That's why I have more tips to teach your kids to clean.