(Professional) tips for the ultimate ‘Springtime clean’

This post has useful and practical tips and tricks by Vaida Drungilaite, owner of VIP Cleanings (shortlisted for the Best Cleaning Company of the Year Award at the Clean and Tidy Home Show 2023). Vaida has taken her professional cleaning business to soaring heights over the past two decades while simultaneously revolutionising the cleaning industry with eco-friendly solutions. She shares her most valuable tips for the ultimate Springtime Clean (or basically, keeping your house clean and fresh all year round!).

But first, a little about her own cleaning company…

Vaida started VIP Cleanings in 2002 – ironically because she needed money to finance her dream of becoming an architect! Of course, this then became her new dream, passion and expertise, and twenty plus years on, she is still making a mark in the field.

“Everything I learnt in the cleaning world was through first-hand experience and trial and error. I took my clients’ feedback very seriously and spent hours researching the best cleaning products and techniques,” she states. While simultaneously studying for her Degree in Architecture at University, she was slowly but steadily growing her business, relying only on “word of mouth and personal recommendations” to get more work and hire more cleaners, to whom she passed on all her knowledge and skills. As her company grew, she enrolled in a number of professional courses to further her expertise, while also attending numerous cleaning shows and testing out new eco-friendly products.

Today, her company has two managers, more than forty cleaners and caters to over 600 properties in London (domestic, end-of-tenancies, commercial offices as well as smaller projects like carpet and upholstery cleaning).

Vaida’s top cleaning hacks for busy mums

Cleaning – especially for busy mums/ people – is a dreaded chore, but one that has to be done! Mums often feel the pressure of keeping a clean and tidy house, and feel it’s a never-ending job, especially with little children in the house. Vaida believes that a little done often is better than doing a big clean once in a while. Here are some of her tried-and-tested cleaning hacks to make cleaning less of a chore (and bore)!

• Less is more. Doing small bits of cleaning everyday is more productive than doing a deep clean once a week. She suggests dividing the house into sections (per floor or per room or even a particular area of a room like sorting your wardrobe or cleaning out the fridge) and doing a section or two everyday or, if tight for time, at least once or twice a week.
  
• Vaida finds making lists helps her plan and organise better so you could make a list that works for you. It could look something like this:
  Monday – Bathroom – 15 mins
  Tuesday – Kitchen counters, tops of cupboards – 15 min
  Wednesday – Dusting and vacuuming bedrooms – 30 mins
  Having a dedicated day and time slot for cleaning various parts of the house makes it seem less overwhelming and more manageable. And who doesn’t like ticking things off their to-do list?!
  
• Clean and organise at the same time to keep the area clutter-free. It’s a lot easier to keep a room clean when it’s organised.
  
• Keep a time-table of things that must be done on a daily basis, for instance, do the dishes and a quick hoover of the kitchen after dinner so that you don’t feel overwhelmed walking into a messy kitchen first thing in the morning.
  
• Time management is also key to cleaning; after all, who wants to spend hours cleaning?! Do as much as you can in the moment rather than leaving it for later:
  
  – Start washing the dishes or cleaning up the kitchen while waiting for dinner to cook, so that there’s less to do after dinner.
  – Give the bathroom sink and area around it a quick wipe down while brushing your teeth, so that the dirt doesn’t accumulate. This way you will have one thing less to do when doing your weekly bathroom deep clean.
  
• Do a deep clean of rooms like your bathroom at least once a week, and your kitchen once every 10-14 days. Don’t forget your fridge and pantry – they need a clean too every once in a while!
  
• If you can afford it, hire a cleaner (at least once a month). “Value your time and prioritise your needs – would you rather be cleaning or doing something else? It is one of those luxuries I urge women to indulge in…”

Insider tips for each room… from the expert herself

Here are some other gems that Vaida herself practises everyday, to keep on top of her cleaning schedule:

• Keep your wardrobe more organised and make more space by swapping your winter and summer clothes when the seasons change, especially if there is a space constraint. Store clothes away in zipped plastic bags and remember to put anti-moth balls or sachets in the storage bags if storing in the loft. Wash or dry clean them before wearing again.
  
• A tip to keep your bedroom sterile – and this will come as a surprise – DON’T make your bed as soon as you wake up! Instead, let your bedsheets air (open your window for ventilation if possible) for around an hour before making your bed. Dustmites like humid conditions so airing your sheets helps keep them fresher and more sterile.
  
• Keeping as much as you can inside cupboards or drawers (especially in the bathroom) makes cleaning quicker and easier, as all you need to do is give the surfaces a quick wipe down. Keeping beauty products and other bottles inside a cupboard or drawer rather than around your sink area makes your bathroom look neater and less cluttered as well.
  

The importance of cleaning products

Vaida is extremely passionate about using eco-friendly, sustainable products and is continuously testing new products that are both, effective and kind to the planet. Here are some of her recommendations for fuss-free cleaning products and equipment:

• The power of microfibre cloths:
  
  You don’t need lots of different and expensive cleaning materials – a simple microfibre cloth can clean most things perfectly – including mirrors. Microfibre cloths are multi-purpose and effective (Vaida keeps a number of them around the house) and if looked after well, last a long time too. Her advice for making them last and last is not to wash them on high temperatures, not to use a fabric conditioner, do a quick cycle and don’t dry them on a hot radiator.
  
• How to keep your windows clean and shiny
  
  Surprise, surprise, but you don’t necessarily need a special window cleaner or spray for the job. All you need is a mixture of dishwashing liquid and water and a sponge to clean the dirt off, then dry with a microfibre cloth and shine with a glass cloth (which can also be used on mirrors).
  
• Keeping the dreaded bathroom clean
  
  Let’s face it – nobody likes cleaning bathrooms! But if you’ve got the right products and tools, the job can be done quicker and better. Vaida suggests a liquid limescale remover over a spray and a probiotic bathroom cleaner for tiles, surfaces, the sink and the bath. It’s more effective than other cleaners as it is made with good bacteria and thus fights the bad bacteria and accompanying unpleasant smells (which also makes it perfect for use around the bin area).
  
• The advantage of probiotic cleaners
  
  As stated in the previous point, probiotic cleaners are made with good bacteria and thus fight the bad bacteria more effectively. More importantly, they are chemical-free and gentler, making them a safer option especially if you’ve got crawling babies or pets in the house. A probiotic floor cleaner cleans just as well (or better) than a chemical floor cleaner, and is far more safer.
  
  Vaida advices to shake the bottle well before each use to activate the good bacteria. Her preferred brand is Clean Living.
  
• Keeping grout and mold at bay
  
  Grout, and worse still, mold are two words you don’t want to hear when cleaning the house. Vaida advices using a grout brush once a week: “If you see pink on the grout around and between tiles, it implies there’s a buildup of water and if not wiped off in time, this will turn into mold.” Bleach (left overnight) can lighten the mold but you will need special products to kill it, and that is a long and painful process. “So use a grout brush regularly – prevention is better than cure!”
  
• It’s the little things for the little corners
  
  Cleaning around corners and in tiny spaces can be tricky, and Vaida relies on the Oxo Good Grips brush set for this, as their angled brushes can tackle even the most difficult of spaces.
  

Check out more cleaning tips, tricks, hacks and product recommendations on Vaida’s Instagram account.