It hardly seems possible that the summer holidays flew by so quickly,
but now it’s time to look around, survey the wreckage and get everything back
in some semblance of order again. So where do you start?
in some semblance of order again. So where do you start?
No doubt the house has been fully and comprehensively cluttered by your little darlings so the first step in a post-holiday clean-up is the de-clutter. Now, we’re not suggesting that you go through the kids bedrooms and throw out the toys they should have grown out of by now, that’s just asking for a tantrum. Instead, focus on getting your own house – or room – in order.
Start with the wardrobe; you know that tee you’ve been clinging to all through the summer is worn to death, and you know you’ll want to replace it next year, but you still have it hung up in the wardrobe. Cull it. Get rid of anything you’ve been meaning to repair and haven’t anything that’s faded, out of shape or falling to bits. You’ll find another one. We promise.
Autumn is also a good time to tackle the linen cupboard, moving everything around so that the things you use most are within easy reach, and things like lightweight summer duvets are consigned to higher shelves where they can wait until the next warm spell arrives.
Are you a hoarder? We bet that if you go through your bedroom and bathroom cabinets right now there’s a whole load of makeup you never use, beauty samples you keep meaning to try out, and that eye shadow you wore once that made you look like a refugee from the eighties. Be ruthless. Throw them out. Anything out of date can be binned, too. Didn’t know that make-up went out of date? We’re afraid so.
Apply the same ruthlessness to your kitchen cupboards, and throw out or donate any food that’s out of date or just never likely to be used. We all have cans in the kitchen cupboards with soups and sauces we’ve bought and then decided against. Or multipacks where only one has been eaten because the kids didn’t like them. You can donate in-date food to local food banks, and anything past its best, well it’s not as if you were going to eat it anyway. We know waste is bad, but if it’s just going to sit in your cupboard, taking up space where the nice food could be, you may as well just get rid of it.
Once you’ve done all that, you should be feeling very pleased with yourself. The last thing to do is give the carpets and upholstery a really good clean to get rid of the dust, mud and dirt that’s probably been ground in by marauding children over the holidays. The best thing to do, as you’ll be tired from all that de-cluttering, is make a nice cup of tea, sit down and let the professional carpet cleaners do it for you
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