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If you're a little late getting started on your New Year's resolution to deep clean your home, there's no time like the present. We've rounded up advice from the Which? experts on the main areas to tackle plus the products you'll need to get your home looking its best.
Let's face it - the first two weeks of January can be tough, with dark days and post-holiday blues making it hard to find the motivation to be productive around the home. But now that we've made it past the doldrums of Blue Monday and days are finally starting to get longer and lighter, it could be time to finally tackle the trail of evidence from Christmas and New Year festivities.
From new stains on your carpet to smelly bins, follow our tips to get started.
Decluttering, deep cleaning and generally refreshing your home will make it a more pleasant place to be and set a good vibe for the rest of the year. But if your home hasn't had more than a cursory surface clean for a few weeks (or months), the sheer scale of the task may seem overwhelming. If so, the key thing is to break it down into manageable chunks.
Rather than flitting from room to room wafting a duster at random areas, experts say that it's best to start a single task and finish it properly, giving you a satisfying sense of achievement.
A good first step is to tidy and declutter all your rooms. Rather than just moving items around, put away clothes, toys and unused items.
Next, get out your duster and vacuum cleaner to tackle the worst of the accumulated dust and any stray pine needles. Make sure you choose the right vacuum setting for the surface, and go over surfaces more than once to suck up every last speck. Check our advice on how to vacuum your floors effectively to reap maximum rewards for your efforts.
Once your surfaces are clutter and dust-free, it'll be easier to identify what's in need of further attention. Here are some key areas to tackle that can often be overlooked.
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Cooking up and indulging in a series of Christmas feasts can result in the accumulation of grease, and areas in need of a proper scrub, including.
If, despite your best cleaning efforts, your bathroom still looks a little worse for wear, some parts may need a bit more TLC. Making your bathroom look good doesn't have to mean replacing the whole suite, though: check our helpful tips on how to update your bathroom on a budget.
With working from home back on the cards for the time being, many of us will be spending plenty of time in our living rooms. Giving yours a proper refresh can make it a more pleasant place to work. Key areas to tackle include:
Need a bit of help getting your home ship-shape? For professional cleaning services, including carpet cleaners, search for a Which?-endorsed Trusted Trader near you.
Your bedroom may not have suffered as much as other areas from the impact of the holidays, but that doesn't mean it should be entirely ignored.
A particular area for attention should be your mattress. This is easy to forget about as it's covered by bedding most of the time, but cleaning your mattress is key to avoid dust mites, which can trigger or cause allergies, and remove stains. Check our guide on how to clean a mattress.
If you've had your mattress for more than eight years, it could be time to consider replacing it. Take a look at our best buy mattresses to find one that give you the right support now and for years to come. Alternatively, if you're looking for better sleep on a budget, a new mattress topper might be a good option.
The start of the year is also an ideal time to declutter your wardrobe. Sort through your clothes, and send any that are old or don't fit you to charity. They'll be happy to resell anything in good nick. Some charities or clothes recycling banks will even be able to make use of worn out, holey items - even socks and underwear. Alternatively you can recycle your oldest clothes as cleaning rags; old t-shirts make particularly good kitchen rags.
If you're feeling particularly enthusiastic, January can also be a good time sort out minor DIY jobs that can help you make the most of your space.
Whether it's finally putting up that picture that's been propped against a wall for months, putting together a new flat pack unit to tidy away your books, or fixing a wonky shelf, our reviews of the best screwdriver sets and hammers can help make light work of these small but important home improvements.