11 expert cleaning and decluttering tips to kick start the new year

It’s a brand new year and what could be more satisfactory than having a major sort out?

Be it cleaning, getting organised or transforming your space, the sense of achievement may boost your mood and set your home – and life – up for 2024.

To put you on the front foot, home expert, best-selling author and resident cleaning expert on ITV’s This Morning, Lynsey Crombie shares some simple strategies to tackle those tasks.

Declutter

“The best way to go into the new year is with a clean canvas – get rid of stuff you haven’t used over the past year and be ruthless,” says Crombie.

“Go digital where you can and shred paperwork rather than hanging onto it. Decluttering can be really overwhelming so do it in chunks and enlist the help of others.”

She says to choose one section of your wardrobe at a time, and dedicate a solid 10 minute block to sorting out dresses one day, trousers the next and so on.

“Once finished, ensure you get it out of the house as soon as possible… make a trip to the local charity shop, recycling centre or leave a table outside and let passes by help themselves.”

Deep clean

Once the decorations come down, Crombie says to start the year off with a thorough deep clean – and really go for it.

“A deep clean normally involves moving furniture and cleaning behind it, washing skirting boards, taking down curtains, cleaning blinds, cleaning under beds, the oven and so on.

“A sparkling home is one of the best ways to kick off the New Year,” encourages Crombie. “And once your big clean is done, all you really need to do is just keep on top of it.”

Build yourself the perfect cleaning caddy

She says to never run out of cleaning products by putting together a few cleaning caddies, to help keep you keep on top of the housework.

“Pop one downstairs and one upstairs so products are always to hand. Choose multipurpose products that will tackle more than one cleaning task, as well as a good collection of cleaning cloths and durable sponges.”

And to stock check these on a regular basis.

Create a cleaning plan

Put together a cleaning plan and delegate tasks to everyone that lives in the home, she advises.

“Even younger children are capable of putting their clothes in the laundry basket and making their beds in the morning.”

“Keep this somewhere where everyone can see it and keep it simple, so it’s not too overwhelming and puts people off doing the task.

“For example: Monday – mop the floors; Tuesday – deep clean the toilets; Wednesday – tackle windows and mirrors; Throwaway Thursdays – get rid of rubbish; Friday – sort the fridge; Saturdays – clean the shower or stairs; Sunday – change the sheets ready for a fresh start to the new week ahead.”

Streamline your laundry

If you’re a larger family, Crombie says to make a point of doing a load of laundry every day to keep you on top, ensure no one leaves dirty clothes in their room, and use colour catchers so you can mix colours together, to save doing additional loads.

Work smarter, not harder

Know how to use cleaning products to get the best out of them, and read labels on bottles, suggests Crombie.

“Most of the time instructions will advise you to leave the product for at least 10 minutes to get to work before rinsing away.”

Whilst the product is doing it’s job, she says to use this time wisely and do another task such as emptying the dishwasher, or getting rid of a pile of washing up.

Clean the things that clean for you

“Make sure you regularly clean your vacuum cleaner, there is nothing worse than pushing around a vacuum squirting up dirt because the filter is full – and keep on top of the roller brush.”

“Monthly clean your washing machine and dishwasher – the general rule of thumb is to clean these after every 30 uses,” notes Crombie. “A dirty dishwasher will not be cleaning your plates properly.”

Start at the top

When you start to clean any room always start at the highest point, says Crombie.

“This will normally mean tackling the cobwebs first and then dusting higher up shelves and cabinets, dry dusting the wall and cleaning mirrors and windows.

“Dust falls like snow, so vacuuming and doing the skirting boards are always the last tasks when cleaning a room.”

Have a no shoes rule in the house

Reduce the time you spend cleaning by keeping the dirt outside, suggests Crombie. Place heavy duty door mats at your home entrances and shoe racks/baskets for shoes, so you can put them away as soon as you come in.

“Knock mud outside so it doesn’t come in, and if you have a dog create a dog station full of old towels; so when they come in you can dry and wipe them up before they travel further.”

Keep a squeegee in the shower

To save yourself hours of scrubbing hard water and limescale from your shower screen or glass door, she says to keep a squeegee in the shower and after each use, spend a few seconds removing excess water and soap scum from the screen or door.

“Doing this will save you so much time, but just ensure the rest of the household is onboard with this one too.

“If you don’t have a squeegee, you can also keep a large thick microfibre cloth to hand and soak up those soapy suds, and hang outside after use to dry.”

Don’t be a perfectionist

Crombie says: “Don’t put pressure on yourself to do everything and keep up with others… do what you can and remember not every home is a show home.”