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Are you fed up of dusting your house from top to bottom, just to find that dust has settled again not long after? Chances are that you are using ineffective dusting methods and supplies. Follow the tips below to not only achieve a dust free home but to ensure your home remains dust free. You will have a spotless home in no time.

Dust thoroughly every 1-3 months

Have a thorough dusting once every three months, tackling more difficult spots and small items such as ornaments, photo frames, and shelves. In between thorough dustings, dust any easy-to-reach and visible areas that collect a lot of dust at least once a month.

Ditch the feather duster

Most feather dusters move dust around rather than getting rid of it, so you are likely to find it has settled elsewhere soon after.

Using the right methods and supplies, you can achieve a dust-free home more quickly and keep it that way for longer. Microfibre cloths make for excellent dusters as they pick up the dust rather than just spreading or moving it. When it gets dirty, you can put it in the washing machine.

Use a cleaning detergent

For the best results, dampen your microfibre cloth with an all purpose cleaner. Spray the cleaner directly onto the cloth - one spray should be enough to dust several items or surfaces.

Use glass cleaner on a microfibre cloth to achieve a sparkling, streak-free finish on any glass and mirror surfaces.

Work from top to bottom

Once armed with your duster it can be tempting to start dusting the things you can see at eye level, but this can be counterproductive.

When you dust things at a higher level, this may unsettle dust which falls and settles on surfaces below. Therefore it is more productive to start up high and work down.

Start with the dust around the edges of the ceiling and walls, then the light fixtures and ceiling fans. Work down to shelving, bookcases, furniture surfaces, ornaments, and photo frames. Work all the way down to your skirting boards and plug sockets.

Use the vacuum

If you have a brush attachment for the nozzle on your vacuum, use this to dust the harder to reach areas, such as in the corners of the room, and along the skirting boards. This is a quick and easy way of collecting up dust.

Run the vacuum around the floors and any soft furnishings once you have finished dusting to collect up any remaining dust.

Hire a cleaner

If you do not have the time or supplies to keep on top of your cleaning, or would simply prefer to leave it to the professionals and spend your time relaxing or doing other activities, you may want to consider hiring a cleaner to take care of the cleaning for you.

Time For You specialises in providing properly screened and vetted domestic cleaners to private households to provide you, our client, with more time for you. Find a cleaner near you by simply entering your postcode, and let us take care of the cleaning, so you do not have to.

Time For You is the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners which clean tens of thousands of homes around the world every week.

Time For You are the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners across the UK, Australia and Canada. Time For You are currently cleaning tens of thousands of homes across the world on a weekly basis.

Christmas can quite easily become an expensive time of year, but it does not have to be. After spending Christmases in lockdown, it can be tempting to go all out this year and to treat the family more than usual.

However, with the increased cost of living, it might be wiser to budget and prevent buyer’s remorse and financial stress. You do not need to spend a fortune to have a good Christmastime or make your friends and family happy.

Remember, Christmas is ultimately just one day. It is not worth struggling financially for weeks or months after. So, here are some tips on how to save money on Christmas gifts this year.

Make a list

Before getting started, you should make a list of everyone you are buying Christmas gifts for. This is also a great opportunity to streamline the list.

Is there a friend or relative that you always buy for who does not get you anything? If so, you should consider taking them off the list.

Set a budget

Figure out how much you can comfortably afford to spend on Christmas gifts this year. Make sure your budget is realistic and within your means.

Once you know how much you can spend in total, then work out how much to spend on each person on your list, and on wrapping supplies. You may even want to agree on a budget with some friends and family members, so that you know you are both spending similar amounts.

Keep a record as you go, noting down how much you have spent, on what and for who. This way you know how much more you can spend on each person, plus it will remind you what you have bought everyone.

Start early

Starting your Christmas shopping early and buying gifts over a longer period of time will help to spread the cost and even save you money.

Buy gifts as and when you can, especially if they are on offer, rather than waiting until it is closer to Christmas when they may be harder to find or the prices may be higher.

Take advantage of offers

Be sure to sign up to any loyalty or rewards programmes offered by the places you shop at. Most are free and give great benefits to their customers, such as monthly vouchers based on what you buy, free treat on your birthday, or a discount off when you have made a certain number of purchases.

Check online for discount codes before placing online orders. Simply search for something like “[shop name] discount code”, or you could check their social media pages for discount codes, then try any codes you find at checkout.

Sign up to newsletters via email from your favourite shops to stay up to date with the latest offers. You may even get a discount code to use on your next order.

Get cashback

You could also get cashback on your online purchases through websites such as TopCashback or Quidco. Simply access the website you wish to purchase from via the cashback provider’s site, place your order, and get money back when your purchase is verified by the retailer.

Give family gifts

Instead of giving each individual in a family their own gifts, you could give the whole family a group gift they can enjoy together. This can really help to cut costs.

This could be a voucher or tickets to something that they can all enjoy doing together, such as a show, the cinema, a day out, or some sort of experience. You could get them a hamper or boxes of chocolates, sweets or biscuits to share, or a board game they can all play together.

Do Secret Santa

You could suggest doing Secret Santa this year with your friendship group or family. This way, everyone still gets gifts, but rather than everyone buying for each individual, each person just buys for one other. Be sure to agree on a spending limit per person.

The limit could be higher than what you would typically spend on one person, but you would still save money. For example, if you do Secret Santa with five other people and the limit is £40, but you would usually spend £20 on each of them, you will still save £60 compared to usual.

Cut costs on wrapping

As well as saving money on the gifts themselves, you could also look to reduce costs on wrapping too.

Are you someone that usually wraps a gift in paper, adds some ribbon, tags and bows, and puts it in a gift bag or box? Doing this for every gift can be excessive and eat up your budget and is not great for the environment as a lot of it can’t be recycled.

Cut down on the ribbons, bows, bags and boxes, and look for cheaper alternatives to your usual wrapping paper and tags.

Some high street shops sell a wide range of recyclable wrapping paper for £1.50 or less per roll, so you can help save the planet whilst also saving you money.

Many people wrap presents in brown paper, which is also environmentally friendly and can be found for just £1 per roll.

As well as being good for the environment, using recyclable wrapping means that it can be put in your recycling bins and boxes, so your general waste bin will not be filled to the brim on Christmas day.

Buy a pack of generic tags, rather than the matching tags that are designed to go with the wrapping paper you go for, as they usually have more in and cost less. Instead of paper tags, you could get sticker tags, which can be even more cost-effective.

We hope that there are some tips here that can help you to reduce your spend on Christmas gifts, so that you can enjoy the festive period and go into the new year without financial worries.

Spooky season is officially here. As the days get shorter and the weather starts to change, now is the time to start thinking about how you will be spending Halloween. No matter if you are spending the night on your own, with some friends, hosting a big party or taking your children trick or treating, there are many ways you can embrace this creepy time of year.

Get dressed up  

Even if you are not planning on going out on Halloween, it doesn’t mean you can't have some fun and dress up. You could decide on a theme with your family or host a fancy dress party with a prize for the winning outfit. There are very few times when you can go crazy with outfit choices, so make the most of the time of year no one will judge you for your outfit choice. Remember to take lots of pictures. They are great to look back on in years to come. You can even get Halloween costumes for your pets! Just make sure you don’t force them to wear them. 

Stock up on sweets

Ensure you plan ahead and purchase enough sweets for your trick or treaters. You may not end up getting many, however you definitely don’t want to run out. It will end up with a lot of disappointed trick or treaters who have spent time getting ready in their costumes. The bonus is that if there are any sweets left over at the end of the night, you can finish them off!

Take your Halloween efforts to the next level by giving your trick or treaters a surprise. Answer the door dressed up will help embrace the Halloween spirit and will catch them off guard. Also remember that you don’t necessarily have to hand out sweets. Small toys could be a great alternative that don’t have the sugar content. Other parents may be grateful!

Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins  

One of the most iconic parts of Halloween has to be the pumpkin. Not only do they look great, they are tasty and make a great craft project. 

Try having a pumpkin carving competition with friends or family to determine who comes up with the best design. If you are not very artistic, you can get designs on line which you can use as a stencil and buy pumpkin carving kits.

If you don’t fancy carving a pumpkin or you don’t like the idea of your children being around and handling sharp knives, you could paint your pumpkin instead. It is now a trend to paint pumpkins white or other colours and paint different designs on them instead.

Remember if you do opt for pumpkins you could try and pick your own from a local farm which is a great day out. You can also avoid waste by keeping the pumpkin seeds and toasting them for a yummy snack.

However, pumpkins don’t have to only be for Halloween, they can be used throughout the entire season and make an amazing centerpiece of your home decorations. Create an autumn display with faux leaves, pumpkins and candles (use LED candles to avoid a fire hazard)

Decorate your home  

Pumpkins are not the only way you can decorate your home for Halloween, especially if you are having a party. Just remember that you can still decorate your house on a budget. Whilst you could go all out with fake gravestones, piles of pumpkins, cauldrons and skeletons, you can also keep it simple. Fake spiderwebs and dim lighting and candles can create a creepy but understanded decoration which is low key but still extremely effective.

Halloween film marathon

A perfect way to spend Halloween is having a Halloween film marathon. Grab yourself your comfiest blankets, light some candles, make a hot chocolate and your favourite snacks and start watching. If you cant decide what to watch, get people to vote for their favourite and if you have time watch them back to back. If you are limited to time, pull a film out of the hat for the most fair option. Whilst there are loads of horror films to choose from, a lot of them are not suitable for some ages. If you are looking for family friendly options, Casper, Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare before Christmas and The Addams Family are all perfect!

Share scary ghost stories

Sharing spooky ghost stories is a fun way to spend part of the evening, especially if its at a sleepover. Take it in turns to read a ghost story or making one up. Add to the spooky atmosphere by telling the stories by candlelight or torchlight.

Just remember to take into consideration the age group you are speaking with. Whilst you want to stories to be a bit spooky, you don’t want them so terrifying you risk people having nightmares for months to come!

 No matter what your age , there are great ways to celebrate Halloween at home. Here are just some of ways to get into the spooky spirit and embrace Halloween.

Preparing your child’s packed lunch for school can often seem like a chore, especially when you are short on time and short on ideas of what to put in their lunchbox.

Here are some tips and ideas for school pack lunches that are quick and easy to prepare, as well as being healthy, filling, and child-friendly, even for the picky eaters!

Pitta, Vegetables & Hummus

Cut carrot and celery into sticks, and pitta bread into strips, and serve with a homemade hummus dip. This will only take 10 minutes to prepare. You can easily make hummus by mixing and blending chickpeas, lemon juice, yoghurt, oil, spices, and garlic. If you opt for store-bought hummus, go for a reduced-fat option.

Tuna & Bean Salad

Prepare a fresh salad in just 10 minutes. Chop up some pepper, spring onion, and add drained mixed beans and tuna. Mix three tablespoons of olive oil, juice of half a lemon, a pinch of dried mixed herbs, a pinch of mustard powder, and a pinch of black pepper, then add to your vegetable salad and mix gently.

Salad Wrap

A wrap filled with salad, vegetables and cheese takes just five minutes to prepare. You could pack a tortilla full of lettuce, carrot, cucumber, avocado, hummus, tomato salsa, and cheddar cheese. You could also add tuna, ham or chicken.

Omelette Sandwich

For a different take on a sandwich, make an omelette sandwich. You could put potato, spring onion, spinach, tomato, and feta or cheddar cheese in the omelette. Once cooked, allow to cool a bit before putting in a bread bun. You will need a bit more time for this - around 20 minutes of cooking time and five minutes of preparation time.

Egg Mayo Sandwich

Pack some protein in your child’s lunch with an egg mayonnaise sandwich. Boil an egg then cool it in cold water. Once cold, remove the shell, and mash the egg with mayonnaise and a pinch of black pepper. Fill a bread bun with your egg mayonnaise and some lettuce, cress, or spinach. This will take a total of around 20 to 25 minutes to cook and prepare.

Salmon Bagel

You could make a salmon bagel in just 10 minutes, with a can of pink salmon. Drain the salmon, then mix with mayonnaise and a pinch of black pepper. Toast a bagel and add your salmon along with some lettuce and cucumber.

DIY Lunch

If you are really pushed for time or have a particularly fussy eater, try giving them a DIY lunch. Just give them a wrap, crackers, bread or pitta, along with some foods they could fill it with, such as hummus, tomato salsa, cheese, vegetables, and salad.

Accompaniments

Your child’s packed lunch should also include some snacks or sides, such as apple, orange, banana, grapes, berries, cherry tomatoes, carrot or celery sticks, malt loaf, fruited teacake, plain rice cake, or low-fat yoghurt. Chop fruit or vegetables up into bite-size portions to make them easier to eat. Also include a drink of fruit juice or milk, as well as water.

We hope that these school pack lunch ideas have given you some inspiration. You may even want to try some of these for yourself. Making the same food for everyone at the same time will help to reduce the amount of time you spend preparing food.

If you are short on time, would like to spend more quality time with your children, or would like to make the most of the time when they are at school, then you may want to consider hiring a cleaner to help out with the housework.

Here at Time For You, we specialise in providing properly screened and vetted domestic cleaners to provide you, our client, with more time for you. Find a cleaner near you by simply entering your postcode, and let us take care of the cleaning, so you do not have to.

Your child may be excited about returning to school and seeing their friends but it can be a stressful and nerve-wracking time for parents.

There is more to school than shopping for supplies, such as stationery, a bag, and a pencil case. Parents are responsible for making sure their child gets to school on time, preparing their lunches, filling in paperwork, and helping with homework.

To help you and your child best prepare for the return to school, and to find out how to get and stay organised so you do not become overwhelmed, here are some useful tips for parents.

Set strategic alarms

If it is a struggle getting your child out of the house and to school on time in the morning, try setting alarms at strategic intervals.

As well as setting an alarm to wake them up, set one for 5-10 minutes before the time they should be dressed by, and 5-10 minutes before they need to leave for the bus, for example.

Streamline the bathroom

Speed up the process of getting ready in the morning by keeping the bathroom organised so that you and your child can be in and out as quickly as possible.

Keep things stored in storage boxes, crates or caddies - you could have one for each family member, but have communal and everyday products in an easy-to-reach place, such as on the back of the door or on a shelf.

This will help them to focus their time and get them out the door on time so they are not late for school, and will also help to give the morning some structure.

Organise the entry

Have a letter rack or wall organiser by the door where you can keep paperwork such as school forms, letters and other documents, or outgoing post. This will help you to remember to pick up any documents you need before heading out the door.

Also try to keep children’s school bags somewhere by the door so that they do not forget anything, along with their shoes and coats to speed things up. You could use hooks or concealed storage to keep them organised.

Have a family calendar

Use a family calendar and have it on display for everyone to see. This will help to make sure that everyone knows the schedule.

You could use different coloured pens for each person or get a calendar that has different columns for different people in the family so everyone knows who is doing what, and when and where, at a glance.

Use sticky notes or a whiteboard

For important reminders, you could write them on colourful sticky notes that are hard to miss and place them where they will be most helpful.

Alternatively, you could put a whiteboard where it is likely to be seen every day, such as by the door, near the fridge, or where you keep your keys and write reminders on here.

Have a reward chart

It can be difficult for children, and parents, to adjust their routine after the school holidays.

Try using a dry-erase reward chart to help children to keep on top of their daily tasks, chores and goals. For example, you could write: left for school by 7 am, did one hour of homework, emptied the dishwasher, or set the table.

To help motivate them, you could offer them an incentive for getting a certain number of ticks or stars on the chart in a day or week, such as pocket money or a tasty treat, or getting to pick what to have for tea one night or what film to watch on family movie night.

Plan pack lunches

Try to plan what to pack for lunch for the week in advance, and then prepare it the night before. Being prepared and having a meal plan will help to save you time and ensure that you do not buy unnecessary food items that will go to waste.

If you are struggling to come up with ideas for what to pack for your children’s school lunches, click here for some suggestions for quick and easy pack lunches.

Use labelled pouches

Help your child to keep their school bag organised with pouches for different items so they do not have lots of loose items in their bag and label them so that they can more easily find what they are looking for.

They could have a pouch for tissues, wipes and sanitary products, one for stationery, one for snacks, and another for electronics, for example.

Having an organised pantry can help to reduce waste and minimise clutter in your kitchen, enable you to cook and bake more efficiently, and make it easier to see what you have and what you are running low on, and to find what you need.

A lot of items used to organise a pantry are typically plastic. However, you should avoid using plastic as much as possible, as not only is it not sustainable and takes years to decompose, but it also can contain toxic chemicals and cause harm to the environment and your health.

Read on to find out ways to organise your pantry in a more environmentally-friendly way, without using harmful plastic.

Decant into glass containers

Swap out your plastic and single-use storage jars, bags and boxes for glass containers. Decanting into clear containers will allow you to easily see what you have, and how much you have left of each item.

If it seems like too large a task, you recently bought plastic containers, or you are short on time, then you should start small. There is no need to replace all your containers at once, just replace them over time.

Try to reuse and repurpose glass containers such as sauce or jam jars, and try to use appropriately-sized containers. If they are too large, they will take up space unnecessarily, or if they are too small then you will end up having several containers with the same thing in them.

Label your containers

If you decant your items into blank containers, you may be concerned that you will forget what is in there or when each item expires. Labelling your containers will help with this.

You could use stickers, a paint pen, or a dry erase marker, or you could put a bit of chalk paint on them and use chalk. The latter two options would be the most eco-friendly as you will be able to simply wipe off your writing and re-write on new contents or expiry dates.

Declutter your pantry

Check through your pantry every few months and throw out anything that has expired, storage containers which are missing lids, broken appliances, dinnerware or tools, and anything that you have not used in a long time or never used.

If you have drawers in your pantry, be sure to go through them and dispose of any expired vouchers, and old receipts and menus.

Re-organise your pantry

Having a well-organised pantry will help you to find what you need more quickly and easily. Take out everything in your pantry and group similar items, in whichever way works best for you.

For example, you could group items together by meal (breakfast / lunch / tea), expiration date, or food group (dairy / fruit / vegetables / grains / etc.), or split into cooking and baking.

Be sure to clean inside the pantry before you put everything back in, and keep things stored together in their groups. Try to have larger containers and like-for-like items with later expiration dates towards the back of the pantry.

Switch to reusable wraps

Instead of using cling film and sandwich bags, try a more eco-friendly alternative such as reusable food wraps and snack bags, made from cotton, natural, or recycled materials.

This will help you to cut down on plastic and reduce the amount of waste you produce, and can be more cost-effective in the long run.

If you need help with decluttering, cleaning and organising your pantry or any other part of your home, or would simply prefer to leave it to the professionals and spend your time doing other activities, you may want to consider hiring a cleaner to take care of your cleaning for you.

Time For You specialises in providing properly screened and vetted domestic cleaners to private households to provide you, our client, with more time for you. Find a cleaner near you by simply entering your postcode, and let us take care of the cleaning, so you do not have to.

Time For You is the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners which clean tens of thousands of homes around the world every week.

Time For You are the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners across the UK, Australia and Canada. Time For You are currently cleaning tens of thousands of homes across the world on a weekly basis.

Many oven cleaners are unfortunately filled with harsh chemicals which you should avoid using as they can be bad for the health of you and your family, and the environment.

However, it can be difficult to find suitable cleaning products that don’t contain harsh chemicals, but there are many cleaning solutions you can make using natural ingredients at home. Read our tips on how to clean your oven without using harsh chemicals.

Lemon water

Cut two lemons in half. If you do not have any lemons, then you can use other citrus fruits. Take the halves and squeeze the juice from them into a baking dish before adding the remains of the lemons to the dish. Top up with water so the dish is a third full.

Put the baking dish in the oven and turn the oven on to 250°F and leave it in for 30 minutes. If it takes your oven a while to heat up, either preheat the oven before putting the dish in, or leave it in for longer than 30 minutes.

After taking the dish out of the oven, wait a few minutes for it to cool down before you start cleaning it. The citrus fruits act as a natural degreaser, making it easier to remove any build-up in the oven. Use a scouring pad or scrubbing sponge to remove the build-up. If there are larger, more stubborn chunks of build-up, you may need to use a spatula to remove these.

Once you have removed as much of the build-up as you can, dip a clean sponge in the leftover lemon water in the baking dish, and wipe the oven with it. This will help to wash off any remaining grime. Continue doing this until the oven is clean, then use a towel, tea towel or kitchen roll to dry off the lemon water.

Baking soda paste

Before making and applying the paste, try to remove any charred bits or loose crumbs from the oven. You can do this by using a dry scrubbing brush or scouring sponge to break them up, then collect the crumbs into a pile and sweep or vacuum them up.

Next you are going to make the baking soda paste. Simply mix baking soda, water and a dash or two of washing up liquid into a bowl to create the paste. Make sure it is thoroughly mixed - it should have the consistency of mash.

Coat a sponge with the paste and wipe it over the interior of your oven, leaving a thick layer of paste. Make sure you cover the back, sides and floor of the oven, as well as the inside of the oven door.

Be careful not to touch the oven light as it can get hot if they are on for a while. Also take care not to get any paste in the vents - you can either just avoid them or cover the vents with tape before applying the paste to ensure it doesn’t get in them.

Close the oven door and let the paste sit in the oven for 12 hours or overnight, then take a damp sponge and wipe out all the wet paste. Continue wiping until you have removed all of the residue, then take a clean, wet sponge and wipe all over again. Leave the door open for a while to let it air dry, or close the oven and leave it on at 200°F for 15 minutes.

Salt and vinegar

Preheat the oven to 150°F then sprinkle salt into the oven, making sure there is a thin layer across the floor of the oven.

Turn off the oven, then put on oven mitts and use a sponge or rag to scrub the floor of the oven whilst it is still warm, until the build-up begins to come up.

Once the oven has cooled down a bit, put white vinegar into a spray bottle then spray it into the oven and use a damp rag to remove any residue or build up. Once the oven is clean and cool, use kitchen roll to dry the oven.

If you do not have the time or supplies to effectively clean your oven, or would simply prefer to leave it to the professionals and spend your time doing other activities, you may want to consider hiring a cleaner to take care of your cleaning for you.

Time For You specialises in providing properly screened and vetted domestic cleaners to private households to provide you, our client, with more time for you. Find a cleaner near you by simply entering your postcode, and let us take care of the cleaning, so you do not have to.

Time For You is the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners which clean tens of thousands of homes around the world every week.

Time For You are the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners across the UK, Australia and Canada. Time For You are currently cleaning tens of thousands of homes across the world on a weekly basis.

Pets are wonderful companions but there is no denying that the hair they leave around the home is less than wonderful, especially those stubborn hairs you just cannot seem to get rid of. Read on for advice on how to remove pet hair from around your home.

Use a suitable vacuum

You should use a vacuum instead of a sweeping brush or cloth to get rid of pet hair, as a vacuum will not spread dust, germs and pet hair into the air like a brush or cloth would.

If you are still seeing pet hair after you have vacuumed your floors and soft furnishings, chances are you are not using a suitable vacuum. Some vacuums are much more effective at removing pet hair than others as they have increased suction power, and better nozzle attachments.

So, make sure you do your research before buying a new vacuum. You may even want to opt for an anti-hair wrap vacuum if your pet has long fur or sheds a lot.

Use a squeegee

If your vacuum is not up to the task, try using a window squeegee. Run a squeegee back and forth along sofas and carpets to bring out any stubborn hairs. The rubber will bring the hairs to the surface and into little piles or clumps which you can vacuum or pick up.

This is a really simple and effective trick but try not to do it too often as it can damage your sofa or carpet fibres if done excessively.

Use damp rubber gloves

Put on a pair of rubber gloves and dampen them before running them over clothes and fabric-covered items, such as pillows and sofas. The friction between the items and the gloves will create static energy which causes pet hair to lift off the fabric and stick to the gloves.

Use sticky tape

Cut off a length of sticky tape, such as sellotape or parcel tape, and dab or pat it several times on hard or soft surfaces to lift up pet hair. The hair will stick to the sticky side of the tape. The stronger the tape, the more hair it will lift and more easily. When the tape stops picking up hair, simply get a new piece of tape.

Add a softener to your washing

When washing items, such as blankets, bedding or rugs, which are covered in pet hair, in the washing machine. Add around half a cup of liquid water softener or white vinegar to help loosen the hair in the washing machine.

Reduce shedding

To reduce the amount of pet hair you will need to clean up, you should regularly groom your pet, or have them groomed, to stop them shedding as much. Brush your pet outside if you can, to prevent the hair from getting on things inside the house. You could also try lint rolling your pet to collect up any loose hairs before they shed off.

If you are struggling to remove pet hair from your home, or would simply prefer to leave it to the professionals, you may want to consider hiring a cleaner to take care of your cleaning for you.

Time For You specialises in providing properly screened and vetted domestic cleaners to private households to provide you, our client, with more time for you. Find a cleaner near you by simply entering your postcode, and let us take care of the cleaning, so you do not have to.

Time For You is the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners which clean tens of thousands of homes around the world every week.

Your bedroom should be a place of comfort, where you can retreat to for rest and relaxation. If your bedroom is messy or cluttered, it can make it hard to relax and get a good night’s sleep. You know what they say - a tidy space makes for a tidy mind. So, here are some quick and easy tips for a tidy bedroom.

Remove any pots

First, collect up any drinking glasses, mugs, plates, or bowls and take them to the kitchen so that they are out of the way and to prevent any accidental spills or stains from occurring whilst you are tidying up.

Take out the rubbish

Grab a bin bag and go around the room getting rid of any obvious rubbish, such as used tissues and paper, receipts, and empty packaging. Save the deliberating over whether to keep or throw out items for when you have more time.

Sort clothes out

Collect up your dirty clothing and put it in the laundry basket or washing machine and put any clean clothing away in your wardrobe or drawers. Try to get into the habit of putting clothes in the laundry basket or putting them away as soon as you take them off or bring them to your room to avoid having to do this as much.

Clear the clutter

If there is anything else left on your floor or surfaces, such as on top of drawers, that shouldn’t be, pick everything up and put the items where they should be. If you are short on time or have an assortment of items that do not have a designated home, pop them in a box or basket to sort out another day when you have time to go through them and have a more thorough tidy-up.

Make the bed

Making the bed can quickly make a bedroom look better and less cluttered, plus it can make you feel and sleep better too.

You do not need to spend a long time doing this - just pull the duvet up, plump the pillows up, and put any decorative cushions and throws on. This is a small task that you can do every day that can make a big difference to the appearance and feel of your bedroom.

Have a quick clean

Quickly run a mop, sweeping brush or vacuum around the bedroom floor, and dust any large or particularly dusty surfaces. There is no need to move furniture or items around when you are just having a quick clean-up.

If you are short on time, going away, or would simply prefer to leave it to the professionals, you may want to consider hiring a cleaner to take care of your cleaning and ironing for you.

Time For You specialises in providing properly screened and vetted domestic cleaners to private households to provide you, our client, with more time for you. Find a cleaner near you by simply entering your postcode, and let us take care of the cleaning, so you do not have to.

Time For You is the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners which clean tens of thousands of homes around the world every week.

Dating back as far as 10,000 years, white vinegar is a household staple that has stood the test of time. Although the most obvious use of white vinegar is fermentation, there are in fact many ways to use white vinegar which make it a must-have for any home.

Used for cleaning, de-clogging, eliminating odours, stain removal, and pest control, white vinegar is one of the most versatile and effective, yet inexpensive, housekeeping items. Read on to discover some of the best ways to use white vinegar around your home.

Deodorising

White vinegar can be used to eliminate the smell of smoke or other unpleasant odours. Smells can linger for years if you let them, lurking in your carpets, rugs, sofas, cushions, and curtains.

Place a shallow bowl of white vinegar in a room for around a day, or until the smell dissipates. If the room is large or the smell is particularly pungent, place several bowls around the room.

If you burn your cooking or if someone smokes inside your home, it is best to combat the smoky smell quickly. Instead of or as well as placing a bowl in the room, you could moisten a cloth with white vinegar and wave it around the room.

White vinegar is also effective at removing pet odours. Simply soak the affected area or item. If the smell is particularly bad, try adding some drops of tea tree oil to the white vinegar.

To help keep your home odour-free, create a homemade spray. Make up a solution from one teaspoon of baking soda, one tablespoon of white vinegar, and two cups of water, add the solution to a spray bottle, and spritz away!

Cleaning

One of the most common uses for white vinegar is cleaning. It is a multi-purpose cleaner that can be used on many household items, including both hard surfaces and soft furnishings.

Simply mix white vinegar and water to create a cheap and efficient cleaning solution. This is typically safer to use on more surfaces than products made specifically for cleaning, as it does not contain any harsh chemicals.

A white vinegar cleaning solution can be used to clean blinds, curtains, rugs, carpets, furniture, drains, silverware, and many more items.

De-clogging

White vinegar is great for unblocking and de-clogging pipes. Add one-third of a cup of baking soda to your drains and follow with a generous amount of white vinegar then run very hot water to ensure your pipes are cleared.

Removing stains

No matter how careful you are, stains are bound to happen, but if you act fast they are going to be easier to remove. Stains are commonly caused by sweat, wine, coffee, and grease.

You should rinse a stain immediately after it occurs, then soak the area or item in a white vinegar and water solution. Always keep a white vinegar and water solution in the house so that you can treat stains quickly.

For older or more set in or severe stains, leave them to soak overnight then scrub them in the morning with a bristle brush and dish soap.

Cooking and baking

Probably the most obvious way of using white vinegar in your home is in your kitchen, to aid in cooking and baking. White vinegar is the key to perfecting hard-boiled and poached eggs, and vegan cakes.

Adding white vinegar to the water in which you cook your hard-boiled or poached eggs will help to prevent cracks in the boiled egg shells, and to encourage poached egg whites to coagulate quickly.

Even just a teaspoon of vinegar can seriously transform vegan cakes, making them more fluffy and light than those without.

These are just some of the many ways that white vinegar can be used around your home.

If you are short on time, or would simply prefer to leave it to the professionals, you may want to consider hiring a cleaner to take care of your cleaning and ironing for you.

Time For You specialises in providing properly screened and vetted domestic cleaners to private households to provide you, our client, with more time for you.

Find a cleaner near you by simply entering your postcode, and let us take care of the cleaning, so you do not have to.

Time For You is the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners that clean tens of thousands of homes around the world every week