Tag: cleaning hacks

How to Clean Your House Fast for the Holidays

Post author By Trisha Lake, Owner of TLC Cleaning
Post date December 14, 2018
No Comments on How to Clean Your House Fast for the Holidays

The holidays bring merriment, cheer, family time, warm and fuzzy feelings, and, inevitably, some stress. Fortunately, the joy of the holiday season is greater than the weight and busyness, but most people can’t help but avoid certain aspects of holiday stress.

Whether it’s budgeting and shopping for everyone on your list, planning holiday meals and baking Christmas goodies, or decorating and making sure you hid your kid’s elf the night before, the hustle and bustle of the holiday season can get to you. On top of preparing and planning for a wonderful celebration, the stress of getting your house clean for guests is also likely weighing on you.

Instead of stressing about how to clean your house fast for the holidays, relax and make a plan to conquer this formidable task. With some planning and these useful tips, you can be sure to get your house clean quickly. If you find yourself still struggling, a call to TLC Cleaning may be just what you need to retain your sanity this holiday season.

Prioritize

Prioritizing might be the biggest cleaning house tip. If you are lacking the time and need your house clean in a hurry, it is essential to organize your tasks by urgency since you won’t be able to take the usual amount of time to do a detailed clean. Make a quick list of the main items you want to tackle. Certain chores can make a noticeable difference in your home, so start with those first.

Identify areas that are the most obviously in need of cleaning and complete them first. This method will give you a sense of accomplishment, and make the fastest difference in the look of your home.

Remove Clutter

One thing that can make even a clean house look messy is the accumulation of clutter and belongings everywhere. It can be hard to pick up after others in your home, but if company is coming, and you only have an hour, it’s time to power through and put things away.

Clear your surfaces of any unnecessary paperwork and miscellaneous items. Throw out anything redundant or that you’ve been hanging on to for too long. Make sure everything is in its proper place. Once your tables and countertops are free of clutter, you’ll already feel like your home is well on its way to being clean.

If you are short on time and have items that you can’t find a place for, consider placing them in a basket and leaving them in a closet until you have time to find a place for them.

Wipe Down Surfaces

A dirty counter can stand out like a sore thumb. Quickly disinfect and wipe down kitchen counters to remove smudges, stains, and crumbs. Make sure you do this before you sweep and mop, so anything that falls to the floor can be taken care of when you move on to that chore.

Wipe down appliances as well, if time allows. A fingerprint free fridge will look nice and help add to the overall clean look of the house. Don’t skip this cleaning house tip if you want your home to shine.

Clean Bathrooms

You certainly don’t want your guests using a dirty bathroom. If your guests are just coming for dinner or the afternoon, you won’t necessarily need to scrub down the entire shower. A quick wipe down will be sufficient, leaving you more time to focus on the bathroom counters and, of course, the toilet.

Don’t forget to clean the mirror and do a quick run-through with a mop. Your guests will appreciate a clean and fresh bathroom.

Floors

The last chore you should tackle is cleaning the floors. Vacuum or mop them last to ensure that any dust, cobwebs, or crumbs thrown on the floor during cleaning are taken care of. For a quicker mopping experience, consider spraying the floor with a floor cleaner and mopping after, instead of using the traditional bucket and water method.

Dining Room Table

If you are hosting a holiday meal, you’ll want to make sure the focal point of your gathering, the dining room table, is clean. Wipe down tables and chairs until they are free from anything sticky. A festive tablecloth will not only provide a holiday look for your dinner but can help hide any blemishes or stains on your table that you didn’t have time to remove.

Use Extra Time to Be More Thorough

If you were able to work through this list quickly and have any time left over before your guests arrive or your event begins, you can use this time to go over any areas you feel need it. Dusting can be time-consuming, and in a pinch, you can skip it. But if you have extra time after cleaning the prominent areas in your home, take some time to dust.

Windows are also a big job, but if you have the extra time, cleaning them will make the whole room seem brighter. Clean windows look amazing and make a noticeable difference in your home. If time allows, cleaning them will help make your whole house sparkle.

Any finishing touches you can put on your house cleaning will leave you feeling better about the condition of your home.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

If the busy holiday season has you behind on your housework, don’t hesitate to reach out to TLC Cleaning. Start the holiday season off with one of our deep cleaning packages. Let us deep clean your house, so all you have to do is keep up with it. You’ll love our attention to detail and quality work, and you’ll avoid stress and save time for holiday fun.

You may even decide to treat yourself to a maintenance cleaning schedule throughout the holidays. TLC Cleaning can do your housework for you during the holiday season so you can rest knowing your home will always be looking its best no matter who drops by.

Spend the holidays with your loved ones instead of constantly working on cleaning your house. Reach out to TLC cleaning today.

Tags cleaning for guests, cleaning hacks, cleaning schedule, cleaning tips, holiday cleaning

Cleaning Tips General Cleaning

Housekeeping Checklist to Clean your House Faster

Post author By Trisha Lake, Owner of TLC Cleaning
Post date October 25, 2018
No Comments on Housekeeping Checklist to Clean your House Faster

Have you ever wished you could decrease the amount of time you spend cleaning your house? Do you want to be more organized in your cleaning efforts? As busy people, we look for ways to create efficiencies in our work and personal lives but sometimes neglect to apply those same lessons to our homes.

At TLC Cleaning, we understand you don’t have a lot of time for housework, which is why we offer a variety of cleaning services to meet your needs. If you are looking for ways to clean your house more quickly so you can spend more time doing the things you love, read on for some tips from the professionals.

The Importance Of A Housecleaning Checklist

With our many work and personal commitments, cleaning our house can often fall to the bottom of the priority list. When we finally have the time to begin, we may feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to start.

By using a house cleaning checklist, we break up the larger job into smaller tasks which can feel more manageable. According to Hartford Business, “since checklists can make us feel successful, (the list) becomes a virtuous circle where we are often motivated to accomplish more due to the positive results we get.” Additionally, we avoid duplicating or skipping tasks due to interruption or forgetfulness.

Other Benefits Of Checklists

Using checklists can also be beneficial for many reasons. For example, when we use a list, our brain does not have to remember those tasks. Instead of being distracted because we are trying to remember a household chore, we can spend more time thinking about other important things going on in our lives, such as work, friends, family, and hobbies.

Since most household chores can be completed while multi-tasking (such as talking on the phone), a housecleaning checklist becomes another way you can maximize your time while still keeping the house clean.

Use The Checklist To Delegate

Since checklists break down the work into specific tasks, they can be helpful when delegating work out to others. Others in your household will know what needs to be done because the housecleaning checklist outlines the jobs for them.

The next time you ask your roommate, spouse, partner or child for help, you can hand them a checklist to make the job simpler for everyone!

Types Of House Cleaning Checklists

Housecleaning checklists are organized in various ways for different purposes. Common types of lists include regular cleaning daily, weekly, monthly or annually. It will be useful to have a checklist when doing deep cleaning or seasonal cleaning. Some people even keep a checklist handy for when they have unexpected guests and need to do some emergency cleaning!

Daily Checklist

After a long day, it is so tempting to leave your coat and shoes at the door – or leave your dirty dishes in the sink. Taking care of these daily chores will help you stay on top of the mess, so when you begin your monthly cleaning, you won’t have to spend time picking up first.

Make the bed
Pick up your bedroom
Put away clean/dirty dishes
Wipe counters and tables
Spot vacuum and sweep as appropriate

Weekly Checklist

All of our homes can use a good weekly cleaning to remove the dirt, grime, and dust we have accumulated over the last week. In fact, health benefits from regular housecleaning include decreased stress and fatigue, improvements to asthma and allergies, greater safety, and of course, minimize the spreading of germs. Here is a handy list for weekly cleaning.

Change sheets on beds
Wipe bathroom countertops and sinks
Wash bathroom showers/tubs
Clean toilets
Clean mirrors (bathrooms and others around the house)
Dust furniture (Be sure to dust before you vacuum to avoid dirt onto a clean floor!)
Vacuum and mop floors
Clean all the kitchen appliances (including the inside of the microwave)
Don’t forget to toss old food left in the refrigerator!
Wash, dry, and fold laundry (This is a great one to tackle a little bit every day.)

If staying on top of your weekly cleaning is a challenge for you, consider our basic cleaning package. We clean the kitchen, bathrooms, bedroom, living areas, laundry room, and entryways for you!

Deep Cleaning Checklists

While we would like to think daily and weekly cleanings are enough, there are times when it is essential to deep clean as well. Using a checklist for these particular cleaning tasks ensures they get completed instead of forgotten. As you put together your housecleaning checklist, here are some additional chores to consider.

Monthly

Vacuum and dust vents, baseboards and trim
Move furniture and vacuum/mop appropriately
Dust blinds and light fixtures
Clean inside of the fridge

Annually

Steam clean carpet and other upholstery
Wash windows
Clean window treatments (i.e., curtains and drapes)
Wipe down cabinets

We also offer a special 7-hour deep cleaning package, so if you need a jump start on your clean up efforts, give us a call.

Put The Checklist To Good Use

Cleaning the entire house can often feel daunting, but the beauty of a checklist is the chores are broken down into small and completed tasks. According to Better Homes and Gardens, “most household chores can be completed in 10 minutes or less.” One way to utilize a weekly cleaning checklist is to pick tasks to complete depending on the time you have available.

If you finish one or two chores each day, by the end of the week, the whole house will be clean! The checklist helps you keep track of what you have already cleaned, so you don’t accidentally clean the same thing twice. The same concept works well with deep cleaning efforts – a little bit each day can go a long way!

Instead of coming home to a messy house at the end of a long day, organize your cleaning into a housekeeping checklist. You will feel less stressed out and have more time to focus on the things you enjoy because your household chores will be more manageable and efficient.

And if you like the idea of using your checklist to communicate and delegate household chores, remember TLC Cleaning would love to be part of your team. We can help with your regular or deep cleaning, so your checklist is completed faster than ever!

Tags cleaning checklist, cleaning hacks, cleaning list, cleaning schedule, cleaning tips

Cleaning Tips General Cleaning

Secrets of People with Clean Houses

Post author By Trisha Lake, Owner of TLC Cleaning
Post date May 19, 2018
No Comments on Secrets of People with Clean Houses

We all have at least one – that friend who seems to have it all together. They have a full-time job, 2.5 kids, a family dog, and their home could dominate a three-page spread of Good Housekeeping.

You could eat a steak and salad right off their counter–no plate. And you just know the beds in their house are all made. It’s as if Mrs. Potts and her crew found a side hustle outside the castle after Belle moved in.

The truth is, these people don’t actually have it all together. And, sadly, Beauty and the Beast is, indeed, a fairy tale. The people with clean houses just know a thing or two about organization and planning ahead.

And with some motivation and the right supplies, even you can have a home Martha Stewart would approve of.

Clean as You Go

You might be thinking: Talk about obvious!

But think about it–how often do you actually do this?

People with immaculate homes clean up as they go. After they dirty dishes, they go straight into the dishwasher. When they gather the daily mail from the box, they toss the junk mail and file the rest. Imagine a typical day in your own life and think about all the cleaning opportunities you pass by because you’ll “do it later.”

Save yourself the time later and do it now.

Make a Schedule

Think of cleaning your house as a marathon, not a sprint. While you might have visions of cleaning your house from top to bottom Mrs. Doubtfire style, sweeping and mopping to the sounds of Dude (Looks Like a Lady), you’ll most likely get about an hour-long cleaning spree, max, before you run out of steam (literally and figuratively if you’re cleaning carpets).

With no game plan, you’re going to get overwhelmed. Those with clean homes have a cleaning schedule, and they stick to it–slow and steady for the win.

Remember: be the tortoise, not the hare.

Start by making a personalized schedule to suit your home and family’s needs. It could be as simple as assigning certain rooms to days of the week. Or, you could go ultra-organized and choose different tasks to tackle on different days of the week. Try compiling a comprehensive checklist with a list of all the projects you’d like to get done in a week or a month. (IHeart Organizing offers a variety of personalized cleaning task templates.) Make a plan, pin it up to your bulletin board, and get scrubbing, Swiffering, and sweeping.

A little cleaning each day will transform your home before you know it, minus the stress that comes with an all-day cleaning spree.

Hire a Cleaning Service

Do you know what is more valuable than money?

Time: it’s is a precious commodity that we can’t afford to waste , and hiring a cleaning company to do our dirty work for us is worth its weight in gold.

With all-inclusive cleaning services cropping up all over the U.S., it is now a viable option to bring in the professionals to clean your home. These companies offer the flexibility of visiting weekly, monthly, yearly, and anything in between. They will clean only the problem areas you despise (moldy bathroom grout, anyone?) or do a full sweep of your abode.

With competitive rates, these time-saving companies are not as expensive as you might think, and their services are worth every dollar.

Minimize the Clutter

Clean freaks understand that styling your space with a “less is more” approach automatically makes the area appear larger and cleaner.

Start with one living room shelf. Pick a focal point: This could be a medium-to-large sculpture or maybe a stack of favored books. Then choose a few accent pieces of variable heights and widths.

Try not to have multiple focal points and a few accent pieces per shelf. Use this styling advice all throughout your home, from bedroom to bathroom to den.

Pare it Down

How do we pare down a lifetime of memorabilia, collections, and all the gadgets we just had to buy on QVC?

For every item cluttering up your kitchen counters or stealing precious space on your shelves, first consider its importance and the amount of use it gets. If you would not be sad to see it go, and if you don’t use the item (or even notice it) more than a few times a month, why keep it?

Next, if you have more than one (whisk, blender, vase, etc.), re-home the duplicates by donating them to Goodwill or a women’s shelter. (Unless, of course, you have a precious collection of Swarovski crystal cat statues. By all means, keep them all.)

Think of your donation as a gift to our environment and your newly cleaned house.

Create a Cleaning Station

After you clear out your coat closet (which we all know is actually a glorified junk drawer, anyway), stock it up with cleaning essentials. Hang a Swiffer and a broom on the inner door. Reusable cleaning cloths are a great, cost-effective cleaning tool and are also better for the planet than disposables.

Throw together a cleaning caddy to have at your disposal:

Start with a dollar store shower caddy.
Toss in some sponges, a magic eraser, and some microfiber cloths.
A spray bottle containing a 50% mix of distilled white vinegar and water works like a natural-cleaning charm on glass and other surfaces.

Now the kicker: Any time you have a spare five minutes to clean, grab that caddy and go to work. Having all of your cleaning supplies together will cut time and streamline your cleaning process.So, you see, even without the help of Lumiere and Cogsworth, this clean house thing is within your reach. With a little elbow grease, the right mindset, and a working plan, you can have the tidy home you’ve always dreamed of.

And that, says Martha, is a “good thing.”

Tags cleaning hacks, cleaning schedule, cleaning secrets, cleaning tips

Cleaning Tips General Cleaning

The Best of TLC Cleaning Hacks

Post author By Trisha Lake, Owner of TLC Cleaning
Post date May 12, 2018
No Comments on The Best of TLC Cleaning Hacks

Some people love to clean, while others accept it as a reality. Either way, we all can use these cleaning hacks to make the job quicker and easier!

Clean Your Sponges

Sponges are known to be hoarders of bacteria. Think about it: it’s just sitting there wet. Then you pick it up, and you wipe those other surfaces in your kitchen with it. To ensure that you aren’t spreading that bacteria around to other surfaces, you will need to clean that sponge.

Two options that work: drop it on the top rack of the dishwasher with your next load of dishes, or microwave it for one minute. We suggest the microwave because it releases moisture which will help loosen up any dried substances on the inside of your microwave, making wiping it out even easier. Two birds, one stone. A side note about the microwave method, don’t pick the sponge up right away! It’s going to be very hot.

Blender Love

Made some smoothies? Need to clean up that blender? Easy-peasy! Put some water in there with a couple of drops of dish soap and blend away. Rinse. All clean!

Coffee Pot or Tea Brewer

For a lot of us, the coffee pot is the start of our day. A quick and painless way to clean it up is to run one part water, one part vinegar through a cycle.

Hard Water Stains

Quickly and easily remove hard water stains from those bathroom surfaces or your kitchen sink with a lemon. Simply rub a cut lemon on the problem areas, and let the juice sit for about ten minutes and then rinse it with warm water.

Coca-Cola can clean your toilet. It’s easy to find an alternative to whatever cleaners you’ve been using. Grab a 20 ounce Coke, and pour it into the bowl. Use care to make sure you hit every area. Now, different from the other cleaners that you are accustomed to using, you need to let the Coke sit. Allow it to sit in there for at least an hour. After your wait time is up, grab your brush or rag and get to scrubbing. Scrub every spot, get the entire inside of your bowl. Once you think you’ve gotten it all, give it a flush and watch the sparkle!

Stove Hood Vent Cleaning

This is an out of sight out of mind spot. It’s up there, collecting grease. Thankfully, it’s not that hard to clean. Buy some borax in the laundry section of your store. Fill your sink with hot water and add ¼ cup of borax. Place the hood vent in the water. You might want gloves; borax can be rough on the skin. Swish it around, then let it sit and allow the borax to do its thing. After about fifteen minutes, come back, glove up, and check on it. Wipe it with a paper towel. If any grease remains, repeat steps one and two. Then wipe the edges and rinse thoroughly with water. Allow your sparkly clean vent to dry and replace.

Air Vents

There are a few tools that come with most vacuums that making cleaning air vents simple. However, if you find that the job doesn’t get done well enough, try using a rag and your favorite cleaning agent. Wrap the cloth around a screwdriver or a butter knife to be able to slip it between the vent pieces. Cleaning this reduces dust being sent into your room every time the air kicks on, as well as remove any blockage allowing your unit to function better overall.

Window Blinds

Often, window blinds become big time dust offenders in many homes. Here’s a quick and easy solution to clean up the dust and dirt that accumulates here. Take equal parts vinegar and water, use a rag or a sock dipped in the mixture and then simply wipe the blind slats. Dust and grime disappear.

A Brilliant Way to Make Your Stainless Steel Appliances Shine.

Many homeowners find that stainless steel appliances are beautiful, but, they seem to be littered continuously with fingerprints. Giving them a new shine is easy. Grab some rubbing alcohol and a lint-free or microfiber cloth. Another quick fix: spray it with WD-40 and wipe it off. If you want to see your reflection in your appliance, you can go the extra mile. After washing it down with some dish soap and water, dry all of the wet spots. Next, wipe it with a couple of drops mineral, baby, or olive oil on a clean, soft cloth.

Shower Scum Can be Easily Cleaned

Ready to destroy that problematic soap scum and yucky grime that’s been creating a home inside of your shower? We have the answer for you! Take a dish wand with a sponge on the end and a handle that holds the liquid soap, and fill it with half dish soap and half white vinegar. You can now get to scrubbing those walls! If you don’t want to use the sponge handle, a toothbrush or an old sponge will work too. Mix the solution in a cup and dip the brush or sponge into it.

Don’t Forget The Shower Head

This is an easy cleaning solution where soaking it does all the heavy lifting. Grab a baggie big enough to fit around your shower head. Mix equal parts water and vinegar right in the bag. Take a rubber band and secure the baggie around the shower head so that the head is submersed into the solution. Let it soak for 15 to 20 minutes.

Use Tape or a Lint Roller to Clean Up Dust

Use a lint roller or some strong tape wrapped around your hand to pick up dust, debris, and crumbs pretty much anywhere around the house. It works well for lampshades and the insides of drawers.

Use Your Dishwasher

We already talked about throwing your sponge in there, but I bet there are a ton of other household things you never thought to throw in the dishwasher to save yourself some time and effort. You can wash hair brushes, tweezers/nail clippers, makeup brushes, shoes, toothbrush holders, pet bowls, even some of your kids’ plastic toys. Don’t forget about those stove knobs, and drip pans either. Make sure the temperature of the dishwasher does not get high enough to melt anything.

Garbage Disposal Freshening

Lemons. Cut them in half, drop them in your disposal and turn the water and the disposal on. Done.

Short on time for these hacks? Give TLC Cleaning a call, whether you need some weekly spot cleaning or a seasonal deep clean; we are here for you anytime.

Tags cleaning hacks, cleaning tips

Prioritize

Remove Clutter

Wipe Down Surfaces

Clean Bathrooms

Floors

Dining Room Table

Use Extra Time to Be More Thorough

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

The Importance Of A Housecleaning Checklist

Other Benefits Of Checklists

Use The Checklist To Delegate

Types Of House Cleaning Checklists

Daily Checklist

Weekly Checklist

Deep Cleaning Checklists

Put The Checklist To Good Use

We all have at least one – that friend who seems to have it all together. They have a full-time job, 2.5 kids, a family dog, and their home could dominate a three-page spread of Good Housekeeping.

Clean as You Go

Make a Schedule

Hire a Cleaning Service

Minimize the Clutter

Pare it Down

Create a Cleaning Station

Some people love to clean, while others accept it as a reality. Either way, we all can use these cleaning hacks to make the job quicker and easier!

Cleaning Homes, Caring For People

Cleaning Homes,
Caring For People