Are you ever home alone, bored and with a little time to kill? Do you often simply twiddle your thumbs until something comes along? If you do, you’re wasting great opportunities to get those niggling little jobs around the home done.
If you’ve got an hour or less to spare, and you’re in the house, take on one of these 10 simple cleaning jobs that take less than an hour.
1. Cleaning out a drawer
Most of us have that one drawer that turns into a dumping ground for junk and general tat. As well as being an unsightly, embarrassing mess, this drawer could be harbouring an array of bacteria. Organise and clean it the next time you have an hour to yourself. Whether you’re waiting for someone to arrive or you’ve run out of box-sets to watch, this is a very productive way to use a spare hour.
2. Dust ceilings and walls
Be honest: how often do you take the time to dust walls and ceilings in your home. In badly lit areas, dust and cobwebs could be lurking unnoticed — only to be highlighted when sunlight comes flooding into your home unexpectedly. If you have a spare hour, spending it dusting these awkward areas is a very good use of your time.
3. Degrease kitchen cabinets
Every time you cook something greasy, some of that grease is carried into the air — and it doesn’t just vanish. This grease lands on anything in its path, including surfaces that are washed regularly. But you probably don’t wash your kitchen cabinets all that often, so use your spare hour to do just that.
4. Move an item of furniture
You really can’t put off cleaning behind that bedroom wardrobe any longer. Dust and dirt can accumulate under and around large items of furniture, which can cause hidden problems for allergy sufferers in your home. Use your spare hour to move an item of bulky furniture and clean behind it.
5. Freshen up your mattress
A dirty mattress can play havoc with a person’s sleep quality, and cause serious problems for people with respiratory issues. Use that spare hour in your day to strip your bed and give your mattress some serious TLC. And here’s a tip: you’ll need baking soda, a little vodka and some essential oils. Oh… and a powerful vacuum cleaner.
6. Clean your kitchen extractor hood
The average kitchen extractor hood is a magnet for grease, which in turn is a magnet for dust. Use a degreaser, a scourer and lots of elbow grease to clean your hood during that spare hour of your day.
7. Clean your skirting boards
Skirting boards are one of those areas in the average home that often get completely forgotten about. Yet they can look pretty dirty and dull unless they’re kept dust and dirt-free. Using the crevice attachment of your vacuum cleaner, remove the dust from your skirting boards, and wipe them clean afterwards.
8. Polish stainless steel appliances
A lot of people don’t realise just how good their stainless steel appliances can look until they’ve polished them. While there are some dedicated cleaners on the market, all you really need is a little warm water, some dishwashing detergent and two microfibre cloths — one wet, one dry. Wipe and polish dry with lots of elbow grease, and you might be surprised at the results.
9. Clean your handheld gadgets
Handheld gadgets such as phones, remotes and tablet computers come into contact with bacteria-riddled hands on a regular basis. Use your spare hour to wipe these items with antibacterial cloths. And take the opportunity to wipe clean handles and switches too.
10. Vacuum your sofa
Again, vacuuming all of the crevices and hidden depths of your sofa probably isn’t a daily, or even weekly, job — but it’s an essential job that shouldn’t be put off. Use your spare hour to remove all the cushions and throws from your sofa and clean every orifice with the appropriate vacuum cleaner tools.
Use your free time to perform these essential cleaning jobs, and your home could become a much cleaner place.