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We have been using your cleaning service since May 2015 and are very pleased with the cleaner we have each week. She is very trustworthy, reliable and helpful and I am very happy with the service we receive.

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Keeping your home office under control

For many of us, it’s a time of great upheaval and we’ve been plunged into uncharted waters for our working lives. It’s a time of learning: just as we learned a new word around six months ago when parliament was prorogued, our vocabularies have expanded again as the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme has seen many people furloughed in an effort to avoid job losses or business bankruptcies.

 

For those that can work from home, however, this has become the new normal. Some will have worked from home before, but few for such a sustained period, and even fewer in teams that are all working remotely. If you, like me, are finding your way through this, you’ll know of what I write. 

 

It’s a new world of online messages and meetings, of Zoom and Teams and Slack. Of fitting the working day’s tasks around keeping the kids focused and engaged in their own remote schooling. And it’s the challenge of making and maintaining an environment that allows you to concentrate on, complete and achieve the work you need to get through. And this is difficult when the boundary between At Work and At Home becomes blurred.

 

In an effort to organise myself, I’ve put together a few tips and tricks I’m attempting to turn into good habits while my home is my workplace.

 

If you can, dedicate a space to working. 

This can be difficult if you’re tight for space, but this makes the next tip even more important

Be minimal. Like, really minimal. 

You need to get really Marie Kondo with this. More Scandi than a noir TV murder mystery set in IKEA. Clear your desk completely, give it a clean, and then only return the things to it you use all the time. Everything else can go in a drawer, a box, or if it’s actually not required: the bin.

Go wire free. And if you can’t, hide them away.

Wires are a pain. They get in the way, they’re a pain to clean around, and they’re a magnet to inquisitive cats and dogs, who can inadvertently (or indeed, er, advertently) cause untold damage to some of your most valuable items. Thankfully, wires are slowly becoming a thing of the past, but not nearly fast enough for my liking. WiFi, of course, is ubiquitous. Well it is to my mind, anyway, but not to my offspring. Like many of their peers, they are horrified if they have no web connection for longer than ten minutes. 

Wireless charging is becoming more widespread too. This only tends to be available for smaller devices like phones and peripherals, and not to those that traditionally draw more power. To keep your desk as clear as possible, try to go as wireless as you can. Eliminate them wherever possible. It’s just not possible for everything yet.

So, we’re stuck with at least a few wires for now. Power cables tangle with USB cables, which then knit themselves to HDMI cables to external screens. And of course gravity steps in the second you disconnect your laptop to help them jump off your desk and make them hard to retrieve and reconnect. This is where cable tidying solutions come to the rescue. There are a wide range of products and methods available to keep control of your wires. Combine keeping them together (on your terms, obviously!) as much as you can with an anchor or system to keep them where you need them, even when your computer is disconnected.

Go digital.

I’ve been drowning in notes. Every call I make or receive, every Zoom or Skype meeting, all the ideas I have for pieces of work have been going on paper from a pad, then torn out and placed so I can’t forget about them. Trouble is, my desk is like a tea tray compared to the acres of desk space I’m used to at the office and there are so many bits of paper building up that they do get forgotten or, worse, lost. So I’ve ditched the paper (it’s more green anyway) and gone digital for my notes and to-do list. Check out my previous blog on going digital!

Keep your desk clear.

You’ll probably find yourself having a few meals at your desk. Your ‘desk’, after all, might also be your dining table. But try and keep it clear by putting plates and cups back in the kitchen once you’ve eaten. It’ll make your working environment feel less cluttered. And it’ll stop you thinking about food again, next time you’re procrastinating …

Don’t just clear your desk.

Working in a clear environment can help you concentrate and move around easily – it’s recommended that you stand up and walk around at least once an hour and you’re more inclined to do this if you have space in which to move. Or zumba. Or whatever works for you.

 

These are just a few tips. Let us know if you have any good new habits you’ve started since working from home. Or even some of the bad new habits you’ve acquired!

Bespoke Service

We are not happy until you are! Your cleaner will usually tailor their services to fit exactly with your requirements, including spring cleaning and ironing.

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Only 1 in 50 applicants makes it on to our carefully screened database. We interview them twice, visit them in their own homes and take up at least two references. And if they still subsequently don't measure up to your standards, we will send you someone who does.

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We don't operate in teams, and therefore you get the same cleaner every week. This is good because you develop a relationship with your cleaner. We have some clients who have had the same cleaner for years and years - and that's what we want for you.
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Cleanhome Rugby
0800 612 8789
33 Wolsey Road Rugby, Warwickshire, CV22 6LW

COVID-19 5th January Update

 

Just to let you know we are open for business as usual and you can continue to have your cleaner clean your house.

The government has made it clear that cleaners are still permitted to work inside peoples' homes as long as Government Guidelines on social distancing and staying safe are followed (see below). In summary:

You can be outside of your home for work purposes where your place of work remains open and where you cannot work from home, including if your job involves working in other people's homes.

The full text can be found here New National Restrictions from 5 January (in England; there are similar texts available for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Specifically relating to cleaners, the guidance continues: 'This guidance applies to those working in, visiting or delivering to home environments. These include, but are not limited to, people working in the following areas:

  • 'This can include work in other people's homes where necessary - for example, for nannies, cleaners, social care workers providing support to children and families, or tradespeople (this is not an exhaustive list)'

Note this guidance is for people who are fit and well, and is dependent on the following social distancing guidelines being followed:

  • No work should be carried out in a household where people are isolating or where an individual is being shielded.
  • The cleaners can continue work, providing that they are well and have no symptoms. No work should be carried out by a cleaner who has coronavirus symptoms, however mild, or when someone in their own household has symptoms.
  • No work should be carried out in a household where any occupants are clinically extremely vulnerable to coronavirus, or households with a possible or confirmed case of coronavirus.
  • Whilst in the house. a cleaner should maintain a safe distance of at least two metres from any household occupant at all times, and ensure good ventilation in the area where they are working, including opening the window.
  • Upon entering the home, cleaners should wash their hands using soap and water for 20 seconds.
  • Cleaners should wash their hands regularly, particularly after blowing their nose, sneezing or coughing, and when leaving the property.

The good news with regard to cleaning is that the cleaners can social distance from their clients very easily, and we would advise that, if you are at home when they are there, that you remain in a separate room to your cleaner.

If you are happy to adhere to the government guidelines - and if your cleaner has not been in touch already - then please just call the office and we will ensure that your cleaning continues.

Best regards

The Cleanhome Team