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Give us a call now on 07597 235 574 for a no obligation quote.
A new baby has arrived! Hooray! But you still have to keep up with your housework – it’s now even more important than ever. Great then that you have all this energy, free time and flexibility to get it all done. Oh. Wait…
Now that you’re a new parent, everything, including your cleaning, has to fit around the demands of the new little person in your life. And they sure are demanding! Here are a few small but effective tips to help make your life a little easier.
At this stage in your baby’s life (and for many years to come, in fact) having a packet of cleaning wipes within reach, pretty much at all times, is a must. In the kitchen and bathroom antibacterial wipes are fantastic for cleaning up at speed but most smudges, smears, dribbles and crumbs can be cleaned up with a baby wipe. They’re actually great for furniture and fabric cleaning, and obviously safe for baby too.
For the aforementioned multitude of wipes that you’ll be getting through, you’ll need a bin for every room. The key here is to find some that are easy to rinse so you can easily throw soggy, messy bits and pieces in. Our top tip is to use the flexi-tubs with the handles that come in a range of different colours. They make excellent bins, are great for storing toys and carrying washing around AND the best part is that they’re wide enough so you don’t need to be a top netball player to throw something in from across the room.
Becoming a parent is a MASSIVE challenge, and people know that. But they don’t always know how they can help, so don’t be afraid to let them know what you need. You’ll no doubt have a whole host of friends and family coming to adore your new addition so ask them to help you out with a few things. It’s a fair trade for new-baby snuggles.
Learn to live with all the clutter around your home. It’s there to help you and your family, to bring you joy and help your little one to grow up happy and healthy. As long as things aren’t a health hazard then try not to worry about them too much. With a new baby, you’ll be looking at the world completely differently and things that used to be important – like how neatly your towels are folded – will seem entirely trivial.
Don’t set massive cleaning goals or schedules that you won’t be able to stick to. Accomplish small tasks when you can. If you can set and achieve little goals – even if it’s only one each day – you’ll feel much better and much more productive. As tired as the saying “little and often” is, it definitely applies to help you keep on top of things and stop your list of cleaning tasks getting out of control.
We’re not suggesting that you hire us as your nanny (we don’t provide that as a service for one thing!) but we can definitely take care of your regular household cleaning. Many of our new-parent clients like us to pop in weekly and ‘reset’ their house, getting it in great shape for the week to come. You can be happy in the knowledge that the floors are cleaned and hoovered, the dishwasher is loaded, the empty packets of baby-food are in the recycling, the bathroom is spotless, the bed is made. Everything you need to feel happy and relaxed in your home, so you can focus your time and energy on your new baby (or maybe just grab a little more sleep!).
Get in touch now for a chat about how we can help.
There are many different kinds of cleaner among us and we all have different styles and approaches. For some cleaning is one of those jobs we just keep putting off and for others it’s practically a hobby.
Which of these matches your cleaning personality?
You bumped into a friend this morning, you got chatting, you were telling them about the new curtains you’d just bought and then ‘blammo!’ you only went and invited them over this afternoon. But… the house… oh!
The Hide-It-And-Hope always means to get round to tidying and cleaning and making the house look presentable. But, well, for a hide-it-and-hope life just sort of gets in the way. So when someone’s popping round unexpectedly, the few hours they have just isn’t enough, hence the kitchen cupboard full of kids toys!
Everybody’s preoccupied with their own activities; watching the TV, sitting on the computer, staring at their smartphone. This is when the Neat and Tidy Ninja strikes. Cleaning and tidying up like a whirlwind that follows in the wake of chaos and mess. And you’d better not leave a near-empty mug lying around because the Neat and Tidy Ninja will whip it away before you even realise you’re finished with it.
Cleaning the house is like a military operation for the Commander in Chief. Everyone should know where they should be, what they should be doing and at what time they should be doing it. If you’re not doing something right then the Commander in Chief is certainly not afraid to let you know. Not afraid to get stuck in, but barks orders with the best of them. Top tip for dealing with the Commander in Chief – stick to that rota or there’ll be major trouble.
Floating around the house with custom cleaning kit, upcycled duster and handmade shabby-chic apron the Spick and Span cleans and polishes with a smile on their face and a song in their heart. Gliding over every surface with precision and glee, you’d be forgiven for mistaking their work for something magical and half-expecting to find them cleaning the kitchen with the help of some adorable woodland creatures.
Sometimes every type of cleaner needs a bit of a helping hand. If you’ve got a big party coming up or need a deep clean ready for the new season then get in touch to let us know what you need.
Going all out with your costume at Halloween and becoming something magical, hilarious or truly terrifying is what it’s all about. But waking up on November the 1st to find your pillowcase stained with a green tinge is a real fright-fest, never mind the inevitable fake blood stains on your clothes … Oh the horror!
Don’t worry, follow these tips and avoid the nightmare.
Water-based face paints usually wash out of fabric easily, however paints with a really strong colour that have a high pigment content might leave a stain. So for oil-based paints or when the stain doesn’t come out in a regular wash it’s recommended that you use a pre-treatment solution beforehand. This will help to break down the oils in the stain and make it easier for your normal detergent to do its job.
Fake blood is often made with oils and so stains can be really tricky to get out of fabric. Luckily you can effectively remove them using products that you can find around the house.
The best treatment is to gently rub talc into the fabric to absorb the oils from the stain and then liberally apply some white vinegar to the area and leave overnight. You can then throw the garment into the washer and set it onto a cold wash. At this stage you want to avoid applying heat as it can set the stain (so definitely no tumble-drying until you’re sure the stain is gone!).
Hopefully this has completely removed any stain, but if it’s really bad you can gently work some shaving foam into the fabric, rinsing in cold water and again adding to a cold wash.
With these tricks there’s no need to worry about being haunted by the remnants of your Halloween costume.
Happy Halloween!
It’s that time of year again where we’re gearing up for the autumn/winter party season. And it all kicks off with Halloween, which means it’s pumpkin carving time!
So here are my tips for cleaning out your pumpkin to give you the perfect canvas for your Halloween masterpiece.
The best time to clean out your pumpkin is as close to the time you’re going to carve as possible. A warm pumpkin is much easier to cut into so start by bringing your pumpkin to room temperature by leaving it out in a warm room for a few hours, or overnight if you can. Next using some warm soapy water, clean the outside of the pumpkin and dry off thoroughly using some kitchen paper. This will reduce the bacteria that can get into the flesh when you start cutting and should mean that your masterpiece lasts a little longer.
Using a serrated knife (a kitchen one will do the trick), carefully cut a decent sized lid out the top of your pumpkin. Once you’ve removed the lid you can get at all those lovely insides. Pull out as much as you can with your hands and put the fibres and seeds to one side in a bowl (check the recipe below for a tasty reason to keep these!). With an ice cream scoop or sturdy metal spoon, firmly scrape the remaining seeds and fibres away from the flesh. Scrape away lightly at the flesh and get the inside surface as clean and smooth as possible. Don’t forget to do the same for your lid and make sure there are no stray fibres hanging around there either. It’s all about giving your pumpkin the best chances at survival.
Now your pumpkin is ready for carving. If you’ve not decided on a design yet then The Pumpkin Lady has some great printable templates that are free to download. Usually a combination of kitchen utensils is all you need for carving but you can get some great carving kits from local supermarkets at this time of year. Which is a great idea if you’re getting the kids involved!
Once you’ve carved your design keep the pumpkin as cold as possible and spray with a solution of bleach diluted with water. This will kill the bacteria that gets into the flesh through the cuts you’ve made and should make your perfect pumpkin last a little longer.
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe
Remember those seeds you put to one side earlier? You can make a tasty snack, soup or salad topper with them. Nothing goes to waste in this house!
Good luck with your pumpkin carving and have a great Halloween!
Next time – how to get those stubborn fake blood and face-paint stains out.