Home Maintenance – Page 3 – Shop Room Ideas

Clutter can be a nightmare to deal with, especially when it gets out of hand!

The act of hoarding is surprisingly not uncommon across the UK, as increasing numbers of people cling on to meaningless items for an absurd amount of time. These pointless keepsakes can present a real problem later when a spring clean becomes well overdue. Ultimately, clutter is often the product of your own worst enemy; yourself! Still, you can be your own best ally too. Here’s how to alleviate all the pressure when you’re buried under clutter.

Start Small

When facing what seems like an insurmountable task, the best thing you can do is chip away at it piece by piece.

Did you take important exams right away, or did you study over the span of years to build up to them, taking smaller tests along the way? Base your approach on this principle. Smaller items that can fit into a bin or plastic bag are the first items that require your attention. You can make progress starting here and build your aptitude for sorting clutter.

You can start small in a figurative sense too, rather than a literal one alone. For example, if you’re picking through items that you feel have sentimental value to you, then you needn’t be pressed to dispose of anything right away. Sort through the piles of what you consider to be real ‘junk’ first. That way, you can build yourself up to the trickier side of things later.

Take Advantage of Cheap Storage Solutions

Sometimes, when dealing with crippling mess in your house, you just need a little bit of time to get your head straight before you make any permanent decisions. That’s completely understandable!

Fortunately, cheap storage solutions are readily available from Jennings Containers & Storage, providing flexible rent terms and accessible, drive up access. You can come and go as you please to your small lockers or warehouse storage. Furthermore, their friendly team are more than happy to guide you and keep your belongings safe during times where you need to press pause on your daily clutter woes.

Sometimes, things need to be set to one side while you attend to more pressing concerns. Your mind can be cluttered just as easily as your home, and often the two problems go hand in hand. Get ahead of things and use cheap storage to give you time to think and get organised, breaking up your problems instead of tackling them all at once.

Sell Your Junk

Money can be a pretty sweet motivator, swapping stress for stacks of cash.

There is a fortune to be made in selling your junk, so a car boot sale or garage sale could work in your favour once lockdown rules permit the go-ahead. If you can’t quite dig deep enough to start binning your junk, disposing of it for some extra cash might turn what was once a pressure-fuelled situation into a fun-filled side hustle of sorts!

Alternatively, you could call up some of your friends and family and see if they would want to buy some oddities from you for a discount price. What is rubbish to you might be valuable to them. Who knows what money-making opportunities you might stumble upon?

Photo By: Classic Marble Design

Cleaning your home during the pandemic is going to be different than normal spring cleaning. Here’s tips for deep cleaning that’ll help keep you safe and healthy.

A clean home is a happy home, and during the pandemic cleaning supplies like lysol, paper towels, bleach and disinfectant are must-haves in order to keep you and your a. The CDC has posted recommended cleaning and disinfecting guidelines for preventing the spread of the virus, but we’ve compiled a condensed version with tips for quick reading.

Cleaning Hard Surfaces Around the House

Objects around the house that are touched on a regular basis are going to require constant disinfecting. These surfaces include (but not limited to):

Door knobs
Light switches
Kitchen cabinets
Floors
Windows
…and so on

When cleaning hard surfaces as mentioned above, you’ll first want to wipe it down with a rag that’s been dipped in a solution of warm water and soap (we like using Dawn, but whatever detergent you prefer will work as well). Wring the rag out so that it’s slightly damp and then wipe the surface.

Once the surface has dried completely, you’ll want to use some kind of disinfectant. This could be a solution of alcohol (70% or above) or bleach combined with water in a 1:2 ratio. You can spray this solution on the surface and then wipe it down with a paper towel.

You can, of course, use disinfecting wipes such as Clorox Disinfectant wipes, Lysol disinfectant wipes, and even store brands.

Pro tip: Some folks say that lemon juice, vinegar, or even vodka (what a waste!) work just as well, but we strongly recommend against it, as these homemade disinfectants won’t kill as many as a store bought disinfectant… But, they could work if you can’t find any products on the shelves.

Cleaning Soft Surfaces in the Home

Naturally, soft surfaces like carpeting, furniture, drapes and pet beds can’t be cleaned and disinfected the same as a kitchen countertop. To clean soft surfaces, you will want to clean any visible dirt and debris using a fabric or carpet cleaner (always follow the items’ cleaning instructions so that the item doesn’t get ruined!).

After you’ve cleaned away any visible debris, launder items on the warmest water setting with appropriate detergents. For items that can’t be laundered, like fabric furniture or carpeting, try using a deep-clean carpet antibacterial cleaner like the Bissell concentrated cleaner (although you’ll need a Bissell carpet cleaning machine).

Pro tip: Although the EPA says no disinfectant can claim to work for soft surfaces, they have a list of cleaners that have the “soft surface sanitizing claim,” it’ll clean 99.9% of bacteria, but it won’t get rid of virus’ or fungi like true disinfectants can. Here is a list of EPA approved cleaners for soft surfaces.

Disinfecting Electronics

Our electronics have a haven for germs! Think about how many times you touch your phone throughout the day or how long you’re typing on the keyboard. To kill the germs on these types of things, read the manufacturer’s cleaning and disinfecting instructions. If you lost the instructions, you can use disinfecting wipes or sprays with 70% alcohol content. Make sure you don’t spray too much of the cleaner on the device because you don’t want to damage it.

There’s no denying that people are afraid of contracting the coronavirus, despite some states re-opening. However, you can reduce your chances of getting sick by cleaning and disinfecting your home and anything you come in contact with.

There’s a long road ahead of us, but remember, we’re in this together! Follow CDC guidelines for social distancing, limit traveling, and wear personal protective gear whenever you go out. If there’s anything we’ve learned about this pandemic is that if we all work together, we can “flatten the curve.”