What Is The Five-Hour Home Reset?

If the sudden urge to refresh your home hasn’t arrived with the sunshine, these handy tips might be the motivation you need. Here’s how to create a cleaning schedule and perfect the weekly home reset, starting with the handy five-hour method.

How To Create A Cleaning Schedule

When it comes to keeping your home clean and organised, the trickiest part is finding a routine. Whether it’s weekly to-do lists or monthly clearouts, sticking to a schedule will help you keep on top of things – which is why the five-hour reset method is particularly transformational. 

Beginning with a few homemade cleaning products, the reset involves splitting your day into five separate tasks spanning work surfaces, bathroom fixtures, and fabrics. By the final hour, your house should be sparkling, leaving you with only a few 15-minute cleaning tasks to do throughout the week.

Sound too good to be true? We asked Adam Clark, an expert from My Local Toolbox, how to nail the five-hour method – and how to create the perfect cleaning schedule.

Weekly Cleaning: The Five-Hour Home Reset Method

Step 1: Degrease The Kitchen

What you’ll need:

• 175ml distilled white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sodium carbonate
• 1 tablespoon washing up liquid
• 10 drops of your favourite essential oil
• 400ml boiling water 

The first hour of the reset is dedicated to degreasing your kitchen. Mix the above ingredients to create a powerful homemade degreaser, patch test it on a small section of your worktop, and then apply across your kitchen. 

‘The mixture can also be used on oven interiors and extractor fans,’ Adam adds. ‘Leave it to soak whilst completing the remaining tasks in the reset.’

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Step 2: Anti-Bac Bathroom Fittings

What you’ll need:

• 120ml white vinegar
• 60ml lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon citric acid powder
• 1 teaspoon glycerine
• 350ml warm water

While your kitchen degreaser is working its magic, it’s time to get started on the bathroom. 

‘Apply your homemade Anti-Bac solution to bathroom fixtures and fittings, as well as shower screens and tiled surfaces,’ Adam explains. ‘Rinse with warm water, then dry with a microfibre cloth to avoid smears.’

Step 3: Deep Clean Upholstery

What you’ll need:

• 3 tablespoons fabric stain remover
• 2 tablespoons washing crystals
• 1 tablespoon citric acid
• 1 teaspoon glycerine
• 550ml hot water

The third step of the reset is all about deep cleaning your fabric. Adam suggests tackling ‘upholstery, curtains and rugs’ with the above solution: ‘It can be spot-applied on stains, or used on large surfaces,’ he notes.

Step 4: Anti-Bac The Kitchen

What you’ll need: The homemade anti-bac solution above

By the fourth hour, the degreasing will be complete – so return to the kitchen to wipe down your surfaces, says Adam, before going in with the anti-bac solution.

Step 5: Clean Bathroom Surfaces

What you’ll need:

• 240ml disinfectant
• 120ml distilled water
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 5 drops of your favourite essential oil
• 5 drops tea tree essential oil

In the final section of the reset, you’ll need to head back to the bathroom. With the fixtures and fittings sorted, all that’s left to do is turn your attention to the surfaces: ‘Rinse bathroom surfaces and apply a multi-purpose surface cleaner to high-touch areas such as cupboards,’ Adam states. 

Daily Cleaning: The 15-Minute Method

If you schedule a five-hour reset every Sunday, you’ll ensure that your home is deep-cleaned regularly. To keep it in good shape between these periods, however, you can focus on daily 15-minute tasks. Adam’s suggested schedule is as follows:

• Monday: Clean kitchen surfaces with diluted degreaser
• Tuesday: Focus on bathroom surfaces using multi-purpose surface cleaner
• Wednesday: Dust surfaces with a vinegar/water solution (a 1:3 ratio is best)
• Thursday: Spot-clean floors with a solution suitable for your surface type
• Friday: Refresh fabrics with diluted textile cleaner (a spray bottle will speed up the process)

Monthly Cleaning: Appliances, Mattresses & Air Vents

Between your five-hour reset and your quick daily tasks, all you’ll need to remember are a few larger (and less urgent) areas which you can tackle once a month.

‘Clean the washing machine with a citric acid solution and deep-clean the refrigerator using a baking soda paste,’ suggests Adam. ‘You’ll also want to refresh your mattress using sodium bicarbonate and essential oils. Cleaning air vents with microfibre cloths and diluted vinegar is also an important monthly task.’ Just like that, your cleaning schedule is sorted…

Featured image courtesy of Original Style. originalstyle.com