For most of us – whether we are high flying business executives, overworked interns, or stay at home moms (or dads) – our day to day lives are busy: really busy. There seems to be a non-stop stream of things that need to be done, and what’s more – this stream often rushes along a circular path. As each week draws to a close with a million tasks completed, another day is dawning that signals the start of a new week and a million more tasks we have yet to begin. Working hours increase year on year, not to mention people’s appetites for instant gratification, leading to the demands on your time growing ever greater. On those rare evenings when your diary shows a blank page or the kids are staying at their granny’s, you need to grab a few precious hours of ‘me time’ and relaxation. Coming home to a messy or unclean environment will sap any energy you may have left to enjoy and make the most of your respite from the rat race. Even worse – waking up in this kind of environment each morning will set you up for a bad day making everything seem twice as stressful. Your home should be your haven – a den of tranquillity away from the shouted demands of the outside world; here’s how to make sure that it is.

We all know that mess and disorganisation are the enemies of productivity. It is difficult to achieve and maintain any level of focus if you are surrounded by clutter, constantly having to search through piles of paper or unkempt drawers to find the object or file you need. Walking into a messy office instantly puts you in a bad mood, and the longer you spend there and the more difficult it is to work the more stressed out you will get. By the half way through the day it is likely that you’ll feel ready to give up and walk out for good – throwing a lit match over your shoulder as you leave. In a messy office your world becomes an endless round of missed deadlines, lost messages, and unconstructive hours spent staring at a blank screen (or even playing games on Facebook). Fear not, one simple act could change your life! All you need to do is clean and organise your office space – be it a corner office in a corporate suite, a small business office, or even a home office – to instantly feel more at ease and see your productivity rocket. In this article we’ve put together the best tips the internet has to offer for turning your office into a den of tranquillity and productivity.

Getting housework done sometimes seems like a never ending and thankless task. You do it because it needs to be done, not because there is any great reward. Worst of all, when you finally get finished with the week’s to-do list, the next week comes around and you have to do it all over again. When faced with the thought of all the chores that need to be done, it can be very tempting to simply throw your hands up and walk away. Chances are, you often find yourself doing anything but the housework – making up excuses or putting things off until you ‘feel more like it’. If you find yourself saying,” just one more episode” of the show you’re watching on Netflix, “just one more level” of that Facebook game you’re playing, or “just one more chapter” of the book you’re reading before you crack on with the chores – time and time again – it is likely that you will benefit greatly from creating a cleaning schedule. In this article, we’ll give you some great tips on how to go about creating a schedule to best fit your life.

Looking for a new apartment can be both exciting and stressful. You get only a limited time to look around before making a choice on whether or not to rent, and often the property is still inhabited by its current resident. The excitement of finding a place that looks perfect on first glance can turn to aggravation and disappointment when you move in and issues crop up that went unnoticed at the time of your viewing. Good lettings agents should insist on professional end of tenancy cleaning and maintenance for all newly let flats. However, sometimes this does not happen, particularly when dealing with private landlords or looking for accommodation with a tight budget. It is worth stipulating that you expect a thorough end of tenancy clean to be carried out prior to moving in, before you sign any contract. While this should ensure that the property is in an acceptable state of cleanliness, it is also beneficial to arm yourself with a checklist to help you make sure everything is up to standard. You should use this checklist to look for potential problems both when first viewing the flat, and again when you are given the keys. Flagging up issues straight away is the best way to ensure that they are resolved and that your deposit is secure. We’ve put together a list of some commonly overlooked issues you should look out for when viewing and inspecting new apartments.

At DS Eco Cleaning, we recently uploaded articles to our blog explaining the hazards that chemicals contained in many commercial cleaning products can pose to our health and the environment. The health risks associated with these products range from skin irritation and breathing difficulty right up to cancer and liver failure. It is clear that we all need to take a long hard look at what is in our cleaning cupboards if we want to live healthy lives on a healthy planet. This begs the question though, what exactly should we be looking for when it comes to choosing cleaning products? The simple answer is to look for products that are natural or eco-friendly. The more natural the ingredients, the less likely the products are to pose any danger to you, your family, or the environment. The problem with this is that many products labelled as containing natural ingredients do so alongside dangerous chemicals. Even products that are labelled eco-friendly may only be so relatively speaking. Since there is no legal obligation for companies to list specific ingredients on packaging, it is wise to take “natural and safe” claims with a pinch of salt. By far the best way to ensure that your cleaning products are safe, healthy, natural and eco-friendly (not to mention significantly cheaper than commercial chemical products) is to make them yourself using only natural ingredients! Here are some of nature’s most effective cleaners:

Busy schedules and increasingly high costs of living can make getting the recommended amount of exercise seem like a difficult chore at best – and impossible at worst. Even if you can manage to squeeze an hour into your day for exercise, the cost of gym memberships is likely money that you could put to better use on necessities or would much rather spend on a little luxury treat than a gruelling fat burning session. Many sources say that exercise should be fun; not only is it a way to keep fit, but also time to clear our minds and reset our inner balance. Unfortunately, the guilt we feel at leaving the chores undone or at overspending often means that this is not possible. It is very hard to achieve focus and get the most from a workout with a head full of chores that need doing at home or financial worries that need to be addressed. The great news is you can turn your housework into a workout – effectively eliminating all these problems. You will be fit, toned and healthy; your house will sparkle from top to bottom; and best of all – you’ll be left with free time to relax and some extra cash to treat yourself! Here’s how to do it: