Out of sight, out of mind. Do you remember forgotten areas when you clean? Because it’s very easy to ignore the things we can’t see. Yet not cleaning some ‘out of sight’ areas can impact the enjoyment of our home.
Getting to grips with things around your home takes time. There are certain tips, tricks, and hacks that you learn as you go along, but there are some things that you may not have ever realized need doing on a regular basis. It can be hard to clean up neglected areas, at least without hard work, but keeping on top of them will ease your cleaning burden.
Remember Forgotten Areas: Like Drains
There’s a lot that goes down our drains on a daily basis from different rooms in our house – and none of it is every pretty. There are inside and outside drains to contend with. The causes of blocking depends on the room that you’re in; in the bathroom, for example, it’s likely to be hair that’s causing the issue, whilst in the kitchen it’s likely to be fat and oil being tipped down the sink that’s clogging up the pipes.
There are DIY drain unblocking tips online, ranging from simply preventing it happening in the first place to using baking soda and vinegar in order to get rid of the hardened grime. Getting a ‘snake’ to go down your drain (twisted wire, often fashioned from a wire coat hanger is) is one of the more commonly used methods to remove amassed clumps of grot.
I suggest lighting scented candles or use an essential oil diffuser for kitchen smells when you are cleaning out drains. Or try one of the essential oil sprays specifically designed for kitchens.
Remember Forgotten Areas: Like Walls and Skirting Boards
Keeping on top of the cleanliness of walls and skirting boards is something that people don’t think about until it’s too late, and the whole thing needs a new paint job. It’s not hard to wipe over your walls every once in awhile to get rid of the grubby marks that appear (especially if you have kids). Choose one of the many washable paints now available to make cleaning even easier.
Wall marks are most common in high-traffic areas such as hallways, and you may find that they start to appear in places where people turn and use the wall as a stabiliser – so the tops of stairs, for example. When scuff marks and grime start appearing on the skirting boards, use a washable gloss paint which can be easily wiped down.
Remember Forgotten Areas: Like The Undersides
While we’re all very concerned about wiping down the tops of things – so tables, counters, cupboards – we’re not too bothered about what’s going on underneath. Simply put, if you did this for a couple of years and then decided to look at what you’ve missed, you’d be disgusted.
There’s a lot of grim stuff that harbours underneath what we initially thought was a clean kitchen counter. Going under when you’re cleaning over is something that needs to be a habit to avoid the shock of finding out what lies beneath. Just think of all the things that could have dribbled their way to the underside. It doesn’t bear thinking about in some cases. Keeping on top of it and making this a simple habit could be the prevention cure that you never knew that you were looking for.
