The question is: how can you tame the chaos? 

Fortunately, we have some answers. In this post, we look at some methods you can use to retake control over your living space and get peace of mind. 

Vacuum Your Upholstery

One of the most important jobs for keeping a clean and healthy home is to vacuum your upholstery. Removing tiny dust particles can help furniture last longer and make it more comfortable. 

The reason for this had to do with the abrasive effect of dust. Constantly sitting down and standing up causes friction that can damage the fabric and cause sofa upholstery to wear out faster. 

Removing these particles regularly reduces the risk of damage. Seating is more likely to last longer and continue to serve you well, long into the future, meaning you can afford to invest more today in new seating. 

Apply A Fresh Coat Of Paint

Applying a fresh coat of paint is another way to keep your home healthy, fresh, and new-looking (even if it’s old). Plus, it’s a simple job anyone can do. 

If you have wooden elements on the exterior of your home, you’ll want to repaint them every couple of years or so. That’s because they can wear out and rot over time if you don’t. Eventually, the weather can get to them and cause them to degrade, leaving them vulnerable to insect attack. 

Again, applying a fresh coat of paint is something you can do over a weekend. Make sure you use paint suitable for the exterior that contains waterproofing elements to keep everything dry and intact. 

Focus your efforts on window frames, soffits, and sills. If wood pulls away in your hands, remove it and install new material. Don’t allow it to rot away further. 

Conduct Regular Inspections

You could also try taming the chaos through regular inspections. Checking the roofing, foundations, and other elements can prevent damage from becoming more serious and spreading more widely throughout your property. 

Things to look out for include cracks up your walls, missing tiles, leaks coming through your ceilings, broken exterior materials, and so on. You can also hire professionals to look over your property and check everything’s where it should be. 

If there are issues, consult with a contractor to deal with them immediately. Don’t leave them until later when the problem might get worse and the damage could become more extensive. 

If you have had a professional assessment that indicated problems as serious as subsidence, get work to correct the problem immediately and tell your insurance company. 

Clean Your Exteriors

Cleaning your exteriors is another critical element to keeping your home healthy and spotless. Pressure washing your driveway and brickwork prevents unnecessary damage to your home and stops organics from building up and causing chaos. 

Generally, it’s not a good idea to pressure wash your home unless you have experience. That’s because the risk of damage is high. While pressure washing is convenient, it is also risky because of the force of the water ejecting from the nozzle. 

For this reason, many homeowners use professionals once or twice a year. Experts can adjust the pressure and ensure the water doesn’t cause damage. Furthermore, they can also take care of things like drainage (which can be an issue on larger properties or those that don’t have the property systems in place). 

Add Outdoor Lighting

Adding outdoor lighting is also something you can use to keep your home looking healthy and clean. Illuminating key areas can help elevate how they appear and make them more attractive in general. 

For instance, many homeowners add lighting to the porch area so that they can see what they’re doing and avoid fiddling around for keys when they’re trying to let themselves into the house. 

People also light their driveways and paths leading to the front door. Again, this helps with accessibility and makes getting from the street to the front door more convenient. 

If you have a nice facade on your home, you might also consider lighting it up in various colors. Brightening the exterior can make the property more saleable and attractive from the street. It can also deter criminals who might want to enter your property by eliminating dark areas. 

Adjust Your Landscaping

Another way to keep your home looking healthy and vibrant is to take proper care of your landscaping. Mowing the lawn and trimming the hedges keeps everything presentable. 

If you’re clever, you can actually adjust your landscaping to make your life easier. Making more use of gravel and getting drainage right can reduce general maintenance and make better use of the space. Some people can reduce the time they spend on their front yards to just a couple of hours every month. 

Sweep High-Traffic Areas

You can also keep your home healthy and clean by sweeping your high-traffic areas and removing dust that people might drag into the rest of the home. Keeping spaces clean is easier than you might think with the right equipment. 

If you don’t have suitable flooring for high-traffic areas, consider changing your setup. Think about whether you could benefit from adding hard floors, like tiles, to the space. 

If you can’t do that, think about putting down mats and rugs you can clean and wash by themselves. 

Make The Bed

Finally, it helps to make the beds regularly. Changing and washing the sheets eliminates the bed bugs that could eventually make their way into your mattress and cause damage. It also removes pollution particles that could have gotten inside by coming in through the windows. 

Once you’ve made the bed, you’ll feel cozier and happier in your room. All of a sudden, your home will feel more like a sanctuary and less like somewhere you have to survive. 

The post Taming The Chaos: How To Keep Your Home Healthy And Clean appeared first on InstantELLA.

Develop a Cleaning Schedule

Creating a cleaning schedule can help distribute tasks evenly throughout the week, preventing chores from piling up. Break down cleaning tasks into daily, weekly, and monthly activities. For instance, make your bed and do a quick tidy-up each morning, vacuum and dust on weekends, and deep clean the kitchen and bathrooms once a month. Breaking down the task into smaller chunks can make it seem a lot more manageable and less of a gargantuan effort.

Prioritize High-Traffic Areas

Focus on areas that get the most use, such as the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. Keeping these spaces clean can make the entire house feel more organized. Wipe down kitchen counters and appliances after use, clean bathroom surfaces regularly, and ensure the living room is clutter-free by tidying up each evening.

Declutter Regularly

Clutter can make a clean house appear messy. Dedicate a few minutes each day to decluttering. Use storage solutions like baskets, bins, and shelves to keep items organized and out of sight. A clutter-free home is easier to maintain and reduces the time needed for cleaning. Keeping the home clutter-free is also going to literally make it easier to clean since clutter tends to attract more dust.

Use Time-Saving Cleaning Tools

Invest in time-saving cleaning tools and products. A robotic vacuum can keep your floors clean with minimal effort, while multi-purpose cleaning sprays can tackle various surfaces quickly. Microfiber cloths are excellent for dusting and cleaning, as they require little to no additional cleaning products

Outsource When Necessary

You don’t have to do it all yourself if you have the means to get some help in the home. If your schedule is particularly demanding, consider hiring professional cleaning services for periodic deep cleaning. This can alleviate the burden and ensure your home remains clean and healthy. Alternatively, consider using laundry or dishwashing services to free up more time for other tasks.

Involve the Whole Family

Cleaning should not be a one-person job. Involve your family or housemates in maintaining a tidy home. Assign age-appropriate chores to children and encourage everyone to pick up after themselves. A collaborative effort can significantly reduce the time and effort required to keep the house clean.

Adopt Minimalist Practices

Adopting minimalist practices can make maintaining a clean home easier. Keep only what you need and use regularly, and be intentional about new purchases. Less stuff means less clutter, fewer things to clean, and a more streamlined home environment.

Maintaining a clean home when you’re busy requires a combination of organization, efficient time management, and the involvement of everyone in the household. By developing a routine, prioritizing tasks, and using the right tools, you can keep your house clean and enjoy a more relaxing and orderly living space, even with a hectic schedule.

The post How Do You Keep Your House Clean When You Just Don’t Have Time? appeared first on InstantELLA.

Some people may choose to live elsewhere temporarily, perhaps at a family member or friend’s house, but if that isn’t an option for you, you might have no choice but to stay put while the work is being done. And, sometimes you may even have little to no access to your bathroom or kitchen for parts of the day, which can be very frustrating. You may even have restricted access outside too because of tools and machinery being used in your remodel.

But, the good part of staying put is that you can be there to oversee every part of the project, which could save a lot of time and money. The big question is, how can you stay sane when your home is being remodelled?

Hiring a Trusted Professional

The easiest way to keep your sanity during a home remodel is by hiring a great professional. Home remodeling projects often involve a wide range of tasks, from structural changes and electrical work to plumbing and finishing touches, all of which require different skill sets. Take basement remodeling as an example: it can involve water management, proper ventilation, electrical wiring, and structural support—areas where a specialized professional makes all the difference. Similarly, bathroom renovations come with their own unique challenges, like plumbing layouts, waterproofing, and tile installation. Hiring experts who are experienced in the specific type of remodel you’re planning ensures the work is done efficiently, safely, and to a high standard, helping you avoid unnecessary stress along the way.

Forget about cleaning for now

If you’ve ever had a remodelling project before, you’ll know that there’s no way of escaping the dust and the dirt. While you should absolutely lay down plastic sheets to protect furniture that isn’t being removed during the project, you should probably forget about cleaning your home (or at least that area) for the time being. It might be difficult, but you’ll end up losing your marbles if you’re trying to clean during the remodel. Instead, you could research some residential cleaning services to come in and clean up once the work is done.

Plan where to store things

As mentioned earlier, your belongings and furniture will probably need to be moved or removed during the project, so now is a good time to plan where you can store things so that you can access them easily if you need them. If you’ve got a garage, consider temporarily moving those items in there so that you don’t have to go far to access them. If that’s not an option, ask friends and family if they’ve got any space they can spare for a short while. And, if that’s not going to work, you could look at storage space while the remodel is underway.

Keep the end in sight

Finally, it can be difficult to stay positive when your home is being overrun and is full of strangers remodelling your home. But, it’s important to keep the end in sight, and to remind yourself of why you’re going through this in the first place. Take the time to imagine the end result and picture yourself enjoying the newly remodelled space in your home. Imagine having family and friends over to reveal the end result – it will all be worth it! Just sit back, relax, and your time will come soon to enjoy your new space.

The post How to Keep Your Sanity During a Home Remodel appeared first on InstantELLA.

1. Serenade Your HVAC System

The HVAC system isn’t something you think much about unless it isn’t working and then you really miss it, so, after a long winter of keeping you cozy, it’s begging for a little TLC, and you are going to want to give it some if you want it to keep working. Scheduling a service for your HVAC is like taking your car in for a tune-up; it ensures everything runs smoothly when you really need it. Plus, a well-maintained system is more efficient, which means more money in your pocket for summer fun. So, give your HVAC the serenade it deserves, and it’ll sing you sweet, cool melodies all summer long.

2. Give Your Gutters Some Love

Next on our spring saga is gutter cleaning. It’s a dirty job, but think of it as a treasure hunt. Who knows what you’ll find up there? Last autumn’s leaves, sure, but maybe a lost frisbee or the neighbor’s cat who’s been MIA since New Year’s. Clean gutters prevent water damage and keep your home’s foundation as solid as your grandma’s fruitcake.

3. Spend Some Time with Your Windows 

If your windows are still sporting their winter grime, it’s time for a wash to get rid of all that mud and debris that the winter weather has blown around the place. Sparkling windows not only let in more sunlight (hello, natural mood enhancer!) but also give you a clear view of the springtime majesty unfolding outside. Plus, it’s the perfect workout – who needs a gym membership when you have windows on a two-story house?

4. Decluttering Delight

Spring cleaning isn’t just a tradition; it’s a necessity, well it is for those of you who want a nice, clean and fresh home to relax in this spring. Clutter accumulates like mystery items in the back of your fridge. Tackle one room at a time and be ruthless. If you haven’t used it since the last spring cleaning, it’s time to say goodbye. Think of it as a reality show elimination round for your stuff – may the best possessions win.

5. Give Your Garden Some Love

Your garden has been patiently waiting under a blanket of snow, dreaming of the day you’ll return. Well, the wait is over. Pull on those gardening gloves and show your green space some love. Whether it’s planting new flowers, starting a veggie garden, or simply pulling weeds, your garden will reward you with blooms, food, or at least a good reason to enjoy a cold beverage outdoors after all that hard work.

Spring chores might seem like a drag, but they’re definitely worth investing some time in.

By tackling these tasks, you’re not just cleaning and repairing; you’re setting the stage for a season of relaxation, entertainment, and, dare we say, a bit of well-deserved laziness. So, crank up the tunes, get down to business!

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