Get your house ready for summer

Summer is here, and it’s time to spend in the sun, with our friends and family! July is the perfect time of the year to organize gatherings surrounded by your loved ones. After a tough year, it’s time for us to get out in the sun and enjoy the warmth!

With the scorching sun out, house parties are the best option to host barbeques and pool parties to enjoy an evening with loved ones and definitely food! Everyone loves to host a good party where they can have fun, but it can be a tedious job to do.

Cleaning before and after can get really tiresome even for the most dedicated ones, that’s why I have compiled a list of the best summer cleaning hacks to make it a lot easier for you

• Divide it into tasks

Cleaning will get more efficient if you perform the same task throughout the house (ex. Dusting, vacuuming, mopping) as it prevents the feeling of despair to arise as you perform the same cleaning cycle over and over in each room

• Organize yourself

As with everything, cleaning requires some preparation before diving straight into it.

You will waste a lot of time if you have all your cleaning products scattered all around the house. So before cleaning anything make sure you have your tools near you and an all-in-one cleaner, as it will save you lots of space and money.

At HealthyBuzz we advocate for the protection of the environment, that’s why we recommend Dr.Bronner’s Sal Suds Liquid Cleaner, a concentrated hard-surface all-purpose cleaner and Pure Castile Liquid Soap which has 18-In-1 uses, the best cleaning buddy!

• Left to right, top to bottom

When cleaning a room, don't start by cleaning the kitchen floor, then cleaning the counter, only to watch the dust fall to your previously cleant floor.

A good way to avoid that is to start from the top, it might sound pretty simple but you will save a lot of time if you follow an order to avoid redoing your work

Likewise starting from a side and gradually working your way to the other side will ensure no spot gets undusted and makes it more efficient as you don’t have to dart from place to place.

• Pick up the rubbish

Before doing any cleaning, clearing the surface of any unwanted clutter makes it look like a much easier chore. That way you can keep what you really want to want and throw away -or donate- the rest, while freeing lots of space.

• Dusting and vacuuming

Before you start dusting, check the windows and ceiling fans are switched off, you wouldn’t be the first person who has to start over because a gust of wind blew at the wrong moment.

When dusting, place extra attention on the top of the shelves, TV and PC screens, paintings, picture frames and under the tables and chairs.

For places difficult to reach consider using a broom or a microfiber cloth.

• Buy a pair of doormats

Doormats are the perfect trap for dirt, every time you come back home you bring all kinds of dirt from outside.

Doormats are the one thing preventing it from getting inside, just make sure you clean them regularly, remember, they can also be your worst enemies if allowed to.

• Clean your cabinets with a vacuum

Reaching the top shelves or cabinets won’t be an issue anymore, just use your vacuum’s brush attachment to pick up dust and crumbs inside.

For the outside you can use a microfiber cloth dampened with Dr Bronner’s Sal Suds Liquid Cleaner to give them a brand-new look

• Buy dehumidifiers

You have probably experienced opening a closet only to be welcomed by a musty odour coming from the mold and mildew that is inside of it, a product of accumulated humidity.

Buying a dehumidifier helps reduce those odours without any downside, you only have to empty them every couple of weeks so they can keep doing their job.

They not only help reduce the potential development of mold on furniture, curtains and clothing, but it also helps to reduce dust, both helping prevent potential allergies such as dust mites, humidity and mold.

What are you waiting for, you can get them anywhere for cheap and it will save you lots of unwanted surprises.

• Use shoe deodorant

With summer in full effect, heat has come along, and with it sweat is inevitable. Although we can’t control that, we can use some tricks that will minimize its effects

We wear shoes all day long so it’s pretty common for them to build up sweat and get smelly, so right after you get home, we recommend sprinkling some shoe deodorant in them to eliminate all odours and be ready to confront the next day in clean shoes.

You can find shoe deodorant in any supermarket, and trust me, it will make a big difference.

• Microwave the crud

It is pretty usual to have a dirty microwave as a product of the spills of baked-on-food. Those chunks can get really hard to remove, especially if they have been there for a few days.

Here’s a trick for you by Lisa Bronner, instead of battling against the microwave, use it to your favour. "Microwave lemon halves for 2 minutes, then leave the microwave shut for 5 minutes. Even the crudiest crud will wipe right off! It's a great use for leftover lemons & your whole kitchen will smell great!"

Crud will soften so you will only need to grab a cloth and wipe it down, it’s that simple.

No more scrubbing or spending money on unnecessary cleaning products

• De-stink your garbage

It’s pretty normal to have a smelly garbage disposal, if you want to get rid of the stink just run a few lemon rinds through it and follow with some cold water to get rid of any odours.

• De-funk hairbrushes and combs

We have all gone through trying to get rid of all the hairs of our combs by hand, and it’s a pain in the ass but I have a solution for you that I discovered almost accidentally.

Just vacuum them, it’s a pretty effortless thing to do and a more efficient way of getting rid of all those pesky hairs.

After doing that just put your hairbrushes and combs in the dishwasher to make the look as if they are brand-new

• Get stains off a cutting board

Cutting boards are constantly getting dirty and have to get washed after every use if we want to keep them clean, but we don’t always have time for it, drying some of the stains which makes them really hard to remove. But don’t worry, you only need a lemon and some baking soda or salt to get rid of those pesky stains.

Sprinkle some salt or baking soda on the surface of the cutting board, then run the cut side of a lemon all over it to get rid of the smells and stains.

• Retrieve your favourite mug

We all have that mug we use every day, coffee doesn’t taste the same if we don’t drink in it. But as Spiderman’s Uncle Ben said; “with great power comes great responsibility” and we have to keep it shining bright, we can’t simply drink from our dirty mug. Coffee can create some stubborn unsightly ring stains if not cleaned right after drinking it, if this ever happens just squirt a little Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Liquid Soap, and you will be left with a shining bright coffee mug!

There you go, you have your brand-new favourite mug ready to use first thing in the morning to help you take on the day.

• “Paint” the ceiling

Having to clean the ceiling, especially textured ones can be a disheartening chore. If you choose to use a broom, pieces of it can get knock down if you are not extremely careful, instead use a paint roller damped with a microfiber cloth to pick up dust and cobwebs

• Play music

As British novelist Jane Austin said “Without music, life would be a blank to me.”

Blast some music on your phone and make things more lighthearted and enjoyable. Believe me, you’ll be more motivated and focused on the job and you’ll finish faster

• Don’t let it build up

Let’s be honest, we all hate cleaning, but not doing it only makes it worse. If you really want to cut down your cleaning time you have to do it more often, you don’t want to clean several months’ worth of cleaning in a weekend.

Once the house has been deep cleaned, give it a once-over every week so you can maintain your place looking nice and clean.

• 4 hands gets it done faster than 2

Ask for some help, make cleaning a group activity. Ask your family to contribute to the house, it will make cleaning not feel like a chore!

Now since your house is cleaned and has a fresh citrus smell, it’s time to call your friends and family home to celebrate the shining summer. Keeping the house clean sounds like a difficult task, but once done you will feel a wave of relief.