As we are all in some form of lock-down at the moment with the Covid-19 Coronavirus outbreak, we’re all faced with the reality of cleaning, whether we like it or not.

In addition to realizing how important this is anyway in order to maintain hygiene at these times, with endless hand-washes and clean surfaces, with all this time on our hands stuck at home or wherever, leaves us with no choice but to get on with things.

Therefore, here are 10 extra cleaning jobs around your home that we’ve identified as easy that can be on your do-do list with time to kill:

1. Kitchens and Bathrooms

Don’t just do the usual flick around – delve in deeper and get these areas sparking.

Items like toilet basins, baths, showers, sinks, and taps – they see heavy use, so now’s the time to give a good scrub up.

Remember, don’t be too harsh as you don’t want to scratch them, use separate cloths for these, and certainly have gloves on as well.

Plus, spot the little extra jobs around these like using an old toothbrush to scrub the grout between tiles, or glass cleaner for wiping down shower cubicle screens.

2. Big-Ticket Items

On a similar line, and often found in kitchens and utility rooms anyway, look at cleaning the big everyday household items as well.

Washing machines may need the drawers cleaning, or ovens a full-on clean.

And fridge freezers could be defrosted and cleaned, or microwaves with splashed foods wiped off inside.

Plus, the good old vacuum cleaner – emptying the bag, and wiping all the dust and grime off around it and the nozzles.

3. Bed Linen & Washing

This is a nice and simple one really, keeping your bed linen, sheets, pillow cases, and duvets fresh and clean.
This means a proper wash on a regular basis, giving time to fully dry, but also a daily freshen-up and re-alignment of them every day, not just slinging them back over the bed.

Plus, towels and washing items as well, even if it’s just re-folding them after a shake-up.

4. Getting on Top of Clothing

So, ironing is an obvious one here, particularly if you have lots to go at and border-line items like T-shirts, but also making the effort if you’re carrying out a full re-wash of other items.

But don’t forget simple things like carefully re-hanging items in your wardrobe, getting rid of old items to the local charity shop, or packing and folding less-often used items away.

5. Cleaning the Cupboards

Bread-and-butter stuff with a spring clean – all kinds of cupboards from kitchen, bedroom, and general storage.

Take the time to get everything out, and give a good wipe down of all shelves, sides, and tops with hot soapy water and a cloth, or some form of cleaning spray.

And don’t forget to wipe excess water off and allow time to dry before placing items back in there.

6. Smelling Nice

We see this one misses a lot of time, and makes such a difference when one of your other senses is nicely tantalized – your smell.

Don’t just rely on the natural smell of cleaning products, which at best will eventually disappear after a few hours, but look into little extras like potpourri smelly-oils and plug sockets, and even scented liquids for your clothes washing.

7. Electrical Touches

There’s all kinds of electrical points and items that get missed, but which can benefit from some ‘tender loving care’.

A simple wipe around switches and sockets, clearing of dust along cables, and duster around wall and ceiling light fittings.

All, of course, being careful and safe with any live electrical points.

8. The Hidden Gems

These areas are again classic spring-clean areas to focus in on, but not always obvious to see.

Look behind things like radiators and cupboards and sofas in order to uncover a whole host of dust and even potential bugs.

And more obvious ones will certainly show a difference in areas like the top of skirting boards, picture frames, and door frames.

(Sshhhh, don’t tell everyone, but a real-simple way to check if any cleaner is worth their weight in gold is quick flick of your finger along the top of a skirting board to see what dirt and dust you come up with).

9. Windows and Accessories

Windows naturally offer a good source of natural light, and it is amazing how many people don’t notice the dirty and smeared glass when the sun shines through.

Therefore, good window cleaning is the name of the game here – both inside and outside, and frames as well as glass if possible.

Plus, remember the items around them like curtains, blinds, and curtain rails which will undoubtedly have collected dust etc that needs a good freshen up as well.

10. Showed Descaling

And a small and simple one to finish, make sure your shower head gets a good de-scale to not only get rid of horrible germs, but allow a better spray of water afterwards.

These are often just a case on unscrewing the spray-head at the end of the hose, and allowing to soak in a bucket of water with a mix of de-scale substance to soon get all nice and clean.

Channelling Your Covid Frustration

As we face the reality of continued lock-down in Australia, then here’s how to make the most of things.

If you suspect you have a coronavirus outbreak on your premises, you need to ensure that the appropriate surfaces and assets are cleaned in the appropriate manner. This process is called Touch-point cleaning, or deep surface cleaning.

Touch-point cleaning – what surfaces to clean:

• Desktops and work surfaces

• Doorknobs, doorplates & handles

• Light switches

• Computer keyboards / Mouse

• Telephone equipment

• Chairs

• Canteen furniture

• Sinks and kitchens

• Toilets – Taps / Flushers / Dispensers

• Water fountains

• Vending machines

• Tablets and digital devices

• Lifts and escalators

• Handrails.

Save lots of money, use your valuable time productively, and reduce the risk of catching the Coronavirus.

Even after this outbreak, these are of course good habits to still develop going forward.

And don’t panic, it’s not a mad rush – even one-a-week will soon help keep on top of things.