The urge to spring clean is sweeping the Southern Hemisphere but with inflation currently sitting at 7.8% as of July, the cost of keeping your home spik and span has risen sharply.
In our ‘Daily hacks’ series, we bring you the latest beauty and home tips, trends and tricks to transform your life and save you money. Today, we help you better plan your spring cleaning.
In days gone by, “cleanfluencers” like Sophie Hinchcliffe (aka Mrs Hinch) and Marie Kondo, may have convinced people to opt for higher-end brands, but stats show that people are now trying to be a lot more budget conscious.
In an effort to meet the demand for more affordable cleaning solutions, retailer Game stepped in to create their latest offering, First Value.
“While private label brands have not always been looked upon favourably, that perception has begun to change as they see that they can get value for money and quality in one product,” explained Game in a statement.
“Due to high inflation, most consumer’s budgets are stretched, so they are ditching the higher priced national brands for private label products,” added Katherine Madley Vice President of Marketing from Game.
The brand recently shared its spring cleaning tips, also highlighting the spots some people tend to overlook when they do their change-of-season cleaning.
Entrances matter
“If you have door mats, clean them on both sides. The doorways are often where people track in the most dirt, and all of that accumulates on the doormat,” advised the brand.
Additionally, placing one door mat on the outside and one on the inside is another way to keep as much dirt out as possible and reduce the amount of work you might have to do when you spring clean.
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You can even go a step further and ask guests to remove their shoes when they enter.
Don’t forget your walls
Walls tend to suffer greasy fingerprints, dust and stains but according to the brand, keeping them clean is as easy as wiping them with a damp microfiber cloth.
“Bonus points if you wipe the door frames and baseboards too!”
Windows and blinds
When you eventually get the time and energy to clean your windows, Game advises doing so on an overcast day if you don’t want the cleaner to dry and leave streaks before you get the chance to wipe them off.
And much like they do on walls, microfiber cloths work wonders on blinds and windows.
Electronics
The bad news is that your cell phone harbours many germs. To clean it, power it down, then wipe it with a microfiber cloth and some disinfectant.
“Let it air dry for five minutes before wiping it dry with a paper towel or microfiber cloth once more. This method works well to disinfect other electronics, like your TV remote and computer mouse.”
Cutting boards
“Cutting boards always manage to get those irremovable food marks on them no matter how hard you scrub,” before suggesting one of their First Value products.
Alternatively, they advise sprinkling salt or baking soda on the board or running the cut side of a lemon over the board to help remove food stains and smells.
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