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44<br />
Fresh New Year<br />
<strong>January</strong> is a great time to catch up on all those household<br />
chores and get going with an early ‘spring’ clean. Make<br />
it more enjoyable and planet-friendly by choosing goodlooking<br />
tools and eco-conscious supplies.<br />
This coconut fibre scourer<br />
has a bamboo handle, both<br />
of which are plant-based and<br />
biodegradable; the stainlesssteel<br />
wire is easily recyclable.<br />
Bambaw reusable bamboo<br />
dish brush, £6, beaumonde.<br />
co.uk.<br />
Good-looking storage makes organisation<br />
more enjoyable.<br />
Matt black steel and bamboo caddy, £10;<br />
all-purpose hob cleaner, £3; bamboo and<br />
plastic scrubbing brush, £2; bamboo round<br />
dish brush, £2; all dunelm.com.<br />
Make light work of house cleaning<br />
• If you can’t bear the thought of tackling all the<br />
cleaning at once, divide it into manageable tasks,<br />
and devote perhaps an hour a week – or else tackle<br />
one room at a time, maybe over a weekend.<br />
Generously sized and made from pure<br />
cotton, this gingham apron features a pair<br />
of handy patch pockets.<br />
Auberge apron in Wedgwood blue,<br />
£16.99, waltonshop.co.uk.<br />
Take the effort out of everyday cleaning.<br />
Long-handle dustpan and brush, £25,<br />
gardentrading.co.uk.<br />
The sustainable<br />
way to clean dirty<br />
dishes. Simply<br />
compost when<br />
finished with them.<br />
Natural latex<br />
rubber gloves, £3,<br />
zerozen.co.uk.<br />
• Be prepared. Have a thorough clear-out and tidy,<br />
change into old clothes and rubber gloves, and<br />
gather the necessary equipment and products.<br />
This is where a sturdy caddy, a tool belt, or an apron<br />
with plenty of large pockets becomes invaluable –<br />
keeping everything with you as you go will save lots<br />
of time.<br />
• As you work, try to be organised, whether it’s one<br />
room at a time or one task at a time. The chores will<br />
generally divide into five main areas: vacuuming,<br />
dusting, mopping/scrubbing, washing and wiping,<br />
and polishing, so bear this in mind when planning,<br />
so as not to miss anything out.<br />
• Don’t forget specific tasks such as turning<br />
mattresses, spot-cleaning upholstery, deepcleaning<br />
the oven, defrosting the freezer, descaling<br />
the shower head and steam cleaning carpets.<br />
• Work from the top of a room to the bottom (in other<br />
words, dust the pendant light before polishing the<br />
table beneath it). Prioritise the hardest-to-clean<br />
item in the room to do early on – then the rest of<br />
the room will be a breeze.
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