I may be Ideal Home’s Cleaning Editor, but I’m not ashamed to admit that there are days when I just really don’t want to clean my home. Just thinking about picking up my vacuum and cleaning the toilet fills me with dread - but, thankfully, I’m not alone. Sort Your Life Out’s resident cleaning guru, Iwan Carrington, has days like that, too.
Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Iwan to discuss all things cleaning, from how we can all maintain a clean home without having to sacrifice our lifestyles to his favourite cleaning products and why ‘muscle memory’ is the best weapon we can have in our arsenal. Not to mention the exciting release of his new book, Clean in 15: Create a Clean & Happy Home in Minutes.
But while I could talk about his cleaning tips and tricks until the cows come home, I was particularly interested in how Iwan stays motivated to clean on those days when we all want to be doing anything else. And what he said makes total sense.
Available to pre-order now for a 15th January release date, Iwan Carrington's new book is chock-full of handy cleaning tips, tricks and routines to keep your home clean in a minimal amount of time.
Whether he’s working to help struggling families transform their homes on the BBC’s Sort Your Life Out with Stacey Solomon or sharing his genius hacks on Instagram, it’s fair to say that Iwan Carrington, aka Mr Carrington, has proved himself to be the ultimate cleaning expert over the years.
However, he appreciates more than most that even the thought of cleaning a home can be overwhelming - and he says that’s completely natural.
‘I’m very intuitive, and I think it is really important that we listen to ourselves,’ he told me. ‘And if you are not in the mood for cleaning, it’s not going to be the most productive thing. So, my advice is definitely to do your cleaning when you are feeling more motivated.’
That’s why his new book focuses on building this motivation slowly and cleaning in short bursts that fit easily into your lifestyle, rather than dominating it. And in his eyes, cleaning little and often is so much better than weekly cleans.
He told me, ‘A lot of us have switched up the ways that we're working and the way that we're spending our time, so to actually dedicate a set number of hours for cleaning on a specific day every week just isn't realistic to many people.’
‘I don't think anybody really, realistically, wants to be doing more than an hour of cleaning at once,’ he added. ‘That's why I've made the longest routine in the book, which is 50 minutes. Because if you go hard at it, and then you've got 10 minutes to yourself to put your feet up or have a bit of time for yourself.’
‘Personally speaking, this is the way that I maintain the cleanliness in a much more productive way, and it also stops the lead up to the overwhelm, which is where the tasks build up,’ Iwan explained.
And I’m sure we can all agree that when these tasks build up, you want to clean even less and feel more inclined to leave them for longer - and it becomes a vicious cycle that you struggle to shake yourself out of. However, Iwan’s idea of splitting these tasks into smaller chunks (e.g., 15 minutes) helps you maintain a clean home without even noticing it.
In fact, Iwan swears by using your ‘muscle memory’ to keep on top of the tasks in your home. ‘Cleaning is similar to going to the gym, or if you’re taking up running, where you can build up a bit of a habit with it and then it gets easier and it almost becomes like a muscle memory,’ he told me.
‘So, for example, last thing at night, if you're just splashing your sink down in your bathroom after you've cleaned your teeth or wash your face, and you're literally just splashing it with your hands to remove any dust or kind of product build up that might build up over that day, that can become as familiar to you as cleaning your teeth or taking your makeup off.’
He added, ‘And so it's these little things that we can do throughout the day that then almost become unnoticed to us, and it just builds as a habit.’
This is a concept that the Ideal Home team has adopted over recent years, too - whether that’s cleaning our showers while we’re waiting for our conditioner to work its magic or having a quick declutter while our kettles are boiling. Ticking off a few of these smaller tasks while you’re waiting for something else to happen is the best way to clean when you really don’t want to.
Plus, I’ll take cleaning over the actual gym any day…
Editor-approved cleaning picks
To use Iwan’s advice above, you need to have the right cleaning tools at your disposal. These are the products I’d choose as Ideal Home’s Cleaning Editor.
Almost every member of the Ideal Home team has one of these in their cleaning caddies - we love them that much. Perfect for both dry and damp dusting, the little ridges collect and trap dust in one swipe.
During my conversation with Iwan, he also professed his love for cleaning with white vinegar. The natural cleaner will break down dirt, grime and grease, and this lemon-scented version is great for those who find unscented white vinegar to be harsh.
If you're not cleaning with bicarbonate of soda yet, you should be. Mildly abrasive and with the ability to neutralise odours, it's an all-purpose cleaner that really does get the job done. I always have a box on hand in my house.
So, there you have it! Even a little go a long way when you're cleaning.
