With many of us still working from home or being on furlough, our houses just cannot seem to stay tidy. It may be that you are working from home and also home-schooling children at the same time, which can be a task by itself let alone trying to keep on top of the house work.

The secret to staying on top of the cleaning is to have a schedule. You should be a bit more used to the routine with school work etc now so try and find a set time in the day when you can do your cleaning. Some people decide to not do much through the week and instead do it all at the weekend which is ok but if something comes up or you are not feeling well, then you could miss out another week.

Often doing a little bit every day allows you to keep on top of it before it becomes a mammoth task. If you live with other people such as a partner or children, you may even decide to do a rota and split some of the jobs up. Even younger children can have some responsibility such as taking their toys away or using a duster.

When it comes to cleaning everyone has their own ways in which they do things and products that they use. Some people like to use all natural products to clean their homes with whereas others may prefer to give everything a good disinfecting or bleaching with well known brands.

Cleaning is all about making something look nicer but also removing any germs or bacteria that may be lurking. Just because something smells nice may not mean that it is actually clean and vice versa.

It is important to use the right products for the job, so for example when cleaning a wooden table, you need to use wood polish as it has been specifically designed to be used on that type of surface. Using the wrong product on the wrong surface can cause irreversible damage so if you are unsure it is always worth testing it in a small area you can not see first of all.

There is often also an order as to how you should clean a room. For example, you always want to leave the vacuuming until last as dusting will cause more dust particles to go on the floor, so you want to do that last.

Cleaning is something that not many of us enjoy but all of us have to do a certain amount of. IT may be that you employ a cleaner to come in to your house once a week to give it a good clean, but really you still need to be keeping on top of the day to day cleans.

If you have children you may find that you have a lot of toys around and this can make it harder to clean. You need to have a place where you can pack all the toys away in the evening and when you want to have good clean through. This may be baskets that you can store under the stairs or it may be a toy chest or shelving unit. Ideally you want every toy to have a specific place that it should be stored away. Shelving units with removable baskets are perfect as you can have one for Lego one for dolls etc.

Every once in a while it is important to have a deeper clean. This may mean that you pull out the beds and hover under them as well as wipe down all the skirting boards. It may be that you use a cleaner to do the deep clean for you whilst you keep on top of the day to day jobs.

Cleaning is an important job, and one that many homeowners choose to outsource to agencies or individual cleaners. You will be able to find plenty of cleaners with availability in your area, but will their cleaning methods and standards be right for your home?

Probably one of the main things you will need to know is logistical – that they can come at the right time. It needs to be a time when you will be able to let them into your home, or when they can let themselves in with a key. Either way, timing is essential.

You should also check that they are able to do everything you require. If you need furniture to be moved, or stairs to be hoovered, you need to check that your cleaners are willing and able to carry out these tasks. Call the agency or cleaner and have a discussion before deciding on a contract with them.

A cleaner might seem like a luxury that few people can afford. However, cleaning services are becoming all the more affordable and actually, if you want to book a cleaner for your home, there are plenty of benefits that will make it worthwhile.

The main advantage is the time you can save. Cleaning can take far more time up than we realise and once you get that time back, you will be able to use it far more productively.

Cleaners will also tend to clean more thoroughly than you could yourself as they have the time to be thorough. You can specify that you want a deep clean at certain times as well, meaning that you can get jobs done like cleaning inside drawers and cabinets or defrosting the freezer.

Remember, a cleaner will also have access to professional-grade products, meaning that they will be able to get your home cleaner than you could yourself.