Keeping your home clean day-to-day can be a big task for anyone for seniors it can become quite an overwhelming and difficult chore.
We have put together some of our favourite tips from professional home cleaners to help seniors with the maintenance of a clean home.
We hope you find these tips helpful — happy cleaning.
A Broom is Not Just a Broom
Try using your broom to clean hard to reach places. Use a clean broom and your favourite cleaner to scrub your shower and tub. This will make cleaning those hard to reach places easier.
Another trick is to simply wrap a cloth around your broom and secure it with a rubber band. Then spray with your favourite cleaner to easily clean your baseboards and walls.
Press n’ Seal your Fridge
Try lining your refrigerator shelves with Glad Press n’ Seal for easy clean up and to keep your fridge clean for longer. When it’s messy simply peel off toss and replace.
Beyond Dishes
Did you know that your dishwasher for things other than dishes! Try it to rinse foods such as potatoes, toys, your air vents, oven knobs and more. Check this list of surprising things that you can clean with your dishwasher here.
Bins and Labels
Using labeled bins in the refrigerator can really help keep food items organized. To keep your refrigerator neat and organized, you can use labeled bins to keep snacks as well as labeled containers to store fresh cut veggies and fruit in the fridge. This makes it not only tidy but you can see at a glance what you need when you need it.
Easy to Reach
Relocate canned goods from your cupboard to your counter tops. Reaching up towards high cabinets can be touch and put unnecessary strain on your back. Instead try some stackable bins on the counter to store canned goods, fruits and veggies for easy access.
Toilet Tip
Nobody likes cleaning toilets. White vinegar to the rescue! Simply fill a mason jar with white vinegar, and put a few holes in the lid. Place the jar inside your toilet’s water tank. This will keep your toilet spotless for weeks.
Lint Roller Your Lampshades
Lampshades are notorious duct collectors and the often odd-shapes make them hard to keep clean. This easy trick can done quickly with little effort. Simply run a lint roller up and down them a few times and your lampshades will be lint free.
Rubber Gloves for Pet Hair
Pets are great companions but their hair can be a big hassle. Rubber gloves are a surprising solution! They are efficient at picking pet hair off with a few swipes of your hand. Simply put the gloves on and run your hands over the furniture. The static is generated makes even the tiniest hairs stick to the gloves. Rinse your hands and the hair will all fall off.
Microwave to Disinfect Sponges
Sponges pick up bacteria every time they are used to wipe down a surface. But you don’t have to toss them after every use. Sanitize sponges by simply placing them in a bowl of water mixed with lemon juice. Then, squeeze them out, and place them in the microwave for one minute. Bing, the sponges are bacteria-free, and have fresh lemon scent.
Clean Microwaves in a Snap
Keep that lemon water you just used in the above tip and place the bowl in the microwave for one minute. This will generate steam and make it easy to wipe down the walls of the microwave.
Vinegar is Your Friend
So many cleaning products on the market contain harsh chemicals that can irritate seniors. Vinegar to the rescue! It can take care of even the toughest jobs.
Lime scale that builds up on faucets and other fixtures in the kitchen and bathroom is a major frustration for anyone. Try simply wrapping the fixtures in a towel soaked in vinegar to make the lime scale dissolve without having to put any elbow grease into the job.
Extension Tools
Avoid reaching or climbing on stepladders by adding extension poles to your cleaning tools. Dusting the tops of doors and ceiling fan blades will become a breeze. Claw-style grabbing tools can also be used to pick items up off the floor without having to bend down and stoop.
Streak-Free Windows
Let the sunshine in, with streak free windows. Store-bought cleaners often use those irritating chemicals and can still find they leave those annoying marks. Enjoy perfectly clear windows by simply washing them with a microfiber cloth that is dampened with water. Be sure to use a second dry cloth and wipe the window dry. (Microfibre cloths are available at most dollar stores).
Sparkling Oven Racks
Oven racks are a pain to clean, and the most don’t fit in the kitchen sink. Also the harsh cleaners used are particularly harmful to seniors. But don’t give up on having a clean oven! Simply run warm water in the bathtub, squeeze in a dash of dish soap and allow them to soak for a while. Once they have had a chance to soak wipe them down using a fabric softener sheet. This will loosen baked on grease and grime. Give them a rinse with a fresh tub full of water, and allow them to dry.
Clean Blinds —Fast
Cleaning blinds can be a time-consuming task. But you can cut your cleaning down by half with this little tip. All you need is a pair of old socks and some tongs. Put the socks on the tongs and run them through each row of blinds. Gently squeeze the tongs as you go so that the socks hit the blinds, and you will pick up dust.
Ask for Help!
We all need a hand from time-to-time and if these tasks are becoming too overwhelming it’s time to reach out to family and friends. Making a day of it can be a fun way to get the jobs done and you get sometime with your loved ones.
CANES Community Care is also here to help with our homemaking services. We have trained staff who provide light housekeeping such as vacuuming, dusting, laundry, meal preparation, general cleaning, and even some grocery shopping.
Learn more https://www.canes.on.ca/services/homemaking
