house Archives - Twits Guides Simple Tips for your House and Home Mon, 23 May 2022 21:47:23 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.2 How to Keep Your House Clean With Indoor Pets https://twitsguides.co.uk/how-to-keep-your-house-clean-with-indoor-pets/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-keep-your-house-clean-with-indoor-pets https://twitsguides.co.uk/how-to-keep-your-house-clean-with-indoor-pets/#respond Mon, 23 May 2022 21:47:22 +0000 https://twitsguides.co.uk/?p=1632 We love our little, four-legged furry friends. They are our best company, and, at times, they are our best friends. But, what we don’t love about them is all the dirt, mess,Read More...

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We love our little, four-legged furry friends. They are our best company, and, at times, they are our best friends. But, what we don’t love about them is all the dirt, mess, and bacteria that they leave behind. Because of them, our sofas are covered in hair, our rugs are stained with urine, and our walls often have paw prints made of dirt. Of course, these are not the reasons to remove your pets from your home. These are the reasons to start looking for ways to keep your house clean with indoor pets.

But, don’t worry – doing this (both looking for cleaning tips and the actual cleaning) is pretty simple. because you have us to help you out! We will do that by sharing with you some easy and effective ways to keep your house clean with indoor pets.

Hair Be Gone

If you want to keep your house clean with indoor pets, pet hair is the first thing you have to tackle. We know that it is everywhere – on the walls, floors, furniture pieces, and even on you. And, we are not going to lie to you – even if you have a pet-friendly home, there is no magical way for this pet hair to disappear. The only way your home can be free of it is if you clean every single day.

But, to clean the pet hair every day, you have to rely on some easy and effective tools and methods. One of them is, for example, investing in a good vacuum cleaner. You can even invest in a robot vacuum – the one that cleans all by itself. Then, get some good-quality lint rollers for your furniture and your clothes. And finally, make sure to groom your furry friends regularly – that will slow down the shedding process and ensure a hairless home.

A woman turning on the vacuum.

Remove Urine Stains Properly

Of course, all indoor pets are potty trained. But accidents happen! They happen with cats, dogs, hamsters, parrots, bunnies, etc. However, just because these accidents happen occasionally, you should not just leave them be. You must clean the stain as soon as you notice it. Otherwise, your home will neither look nor smell good.

To clean the urine stains (or stains from vomiting, or even from dirty paws), your best option is to scrub the spot with some pet-friendly detergent. It is crucial to do this properly and remove the stain because if the smell lingers on, pets will come back and do the same – it is just the way they are. So, either deep clean the area or call professionals.

Clean the Furniture Regularly

Once you clean the carpets from stains and hair, it is time to turn to your furniture. All the furniture pieces with some kind of upholstery you can clean with vacuums and lint rollers. But, that applies only to parts that are covered with hair; stained pieces must be professionally cleaned. You can try to clean them yourself (with specialized furniture cleaners and a mixture of water and baking soda), but, unfortunately, that rarely works. Together with smells and bacteria, stains tend to survive all kinds of ‘amateur’ cleaning.

Thus, if you have some pet stains on your furniture, call professional cleaners. But, be careful. These cleaners come with bulky and loud machines – machines your pets will be afraid of. So, make sure to do everything in your power to create a safe space for your furry friends once strangers come into the house. Those strangers don’t have to be cleaners, per se – they can also be movers or any other kind of professionals. Moving has shown to be incredibly stressful for pets, so owners need to learn what to do with pets on moving day to keep them stress-free. Thus, create a safe area for them and ensure they are as far away from the action as possible. 

A woman and a dog sitting on a couch.

Make Sure Your Pets Are Clean Too

If you want to keep your house clean with indoor pets and stay organized at all times, you have to keep your pets clean! The cleaner they are, the cleaner your home will be.  So, you know what to do – make sure to clean your pet’s paws after every walk, brush their fur once or twice a week, and bathe them once a month. Again, when doing this, make sure they are safe! Make sure you are using the right kind of brushing and cleaning products! Ask your vet to give you some suggestions on what to buy. 

A woman brushing her dog.

Don’t Forget the Area Around Their Food Bowls

When cleaning after their pets, most people focus on cleaning their oriental carpets, hardwood floors, couches, etc. But, they usually forget the most important part – the area around the pet water and food bowls. But, this may be the dirtiest thing in your house, especially if you don’t clean it regularly. Even though we don’t want to believe that the mouths of our cats and dogs are full of bacteria – they are. When that bacteria gets mixed with leftover water and food, it can become a health hazard for people.

So, whenever you are washing your dishes, wash your pet’s dishes too (and the space under and around them). For cleaning their food bowls, it is best to use boiling water only. If the stain is too resistant, use your dish detergent, which you will thoroughly rinse later on. We know that this may seem like a lot of work, but this is something you have to do if you want to keep your house clean with indoor pets.

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Selling Your Home Is Not Easy! https://twitsguides.co.uk/selling-your-home-is-not-easy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=selling-your-home-is-not-easy https://twitsguides.co.uk/selling-your-home-is-not-easy/#comments Sun, 15 Sep 2013 11:01:42 +0000 http://twitsguides.co.uk/?p=76 After the house preparations are done it is time to get those buyers through the door, but how easy will it be to actually sell the house? My main concern was that no one would be interest in the house and all my efforts at de-cluttering will have been a waste of time.

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After the house preparations are done it is time to get those buyers through the door, but how easy will it be to actually sell the house? My main concern was that no one would be interest in the house and all my efforts at de-cluttering will have been a waste of time.

So will I have any viewings?

Thankfully, I had multiple viewings all booked on the same day, with the estate agent sneakily timing them so as one viewer leaves the other would enter. Increasing the competition? – Maybe.

contract and floor plansAs I had lived in the house for more than twenty years I had agreed to show it to the viewers, being able to inform them how wonderful my sweet home was. Occasionally you got some people who came across as dis-interested, which I was, of course, expecting to a certain extent. One viewer for example did not want to enter the garden which in my opinion is the best part of the property so evidently I thought he was not interested. This certainly was not the case with him making an offer the very same day. Sometimes you just can’t know what the other person is thinking.

The clearout for sure paid off, with the house looking clutter free, compliments on how spacious the house was just kept coming, it was a good idea to put the extra furniture in the self storage units. And guess what, people actually do look inside the cupboards, good thing I had tidied them up too. The magnolia colour sure paid off as well, with comments such as “we could put the table there”. The downstairs bathroom paid dividends with people loving the new Philippe Starck tiles. I am very grateful that all the changes I made before placing the house on the market were noticed by the viewers, that can only mean one thing,- that they were worth it.

Is it sold?

front door keysAfter only two and a half weeks my house has been sold and taken off the market. It is an odd feeling I have to admit, the idea of having other people live in your home after 20 years of living there, but it’s a new adventure for me and that’s what I am looking forward to. The key factors for getting my house sold in such a short space of time come down to three points:

  • Realistic pricing- as I had five valuations with one being higher than the rest I naturally wanted to select the highest one, but there must have been a reason why the rest where all similar. So I sensibly picked one of the other four valuations.
  • The clearout- placing the things which cluttered the house in the loft, garage and in the cheapest self storage I could find, allowed the house to look spacious and tidy.
  • The final touches- by doing the few minor repairs to the house it improved the overall look which impressed viewers.

 

Where does that leave me?

With my house sold just 3% under the asking price it just leaves one problem, where am I going to live? Should I stay in London or not? There are multiple reasons why London is the perfect location but is it time for a new place? The whole idea of having to pack all my personal belongings, transport them to a completely new place and then unpack and start exploring a new town is both exciting but daunting at the same time.

I recently read an article, where in some parts of the world you can move the whole structure of your house to another location which best suits you instead of having to move to a new house. To us in the UK this sounds a little crazy, but in countries such as the USA, Canada and New Zealand it is a well known. It normally happens when the land the building is on has been designated for redevelopment and therefore by moving the house they will preserve the historic building. I do wonder if I had the option if I would ever move my house to a new location. It would be an easier process than having to search for a new house which ticks all the boxes; however, do you still get the same excitement that you would do when you are relocating to a new house? –I don’t think so, but then again at least you have a house.

 

Bidding Wars

I have found myself in a bidding war twice since my house search began. With the first house I put an offer on I got so caught up in the moment and offered more than I ever thought the house was worth and not only that, I would need around £100k to fix the house up. It wouldn’t have been great to move in with only 50p to spend. Luckily I was outbid, but that has left me still on the search with the added pressure of wakening up and seeing a SOLD sign outside my window.

I have been constantly searching the internet, local paper and bugging the estate agents but there has still been no success. It looks like my possessions will have to stay in the storage a little longer; well at least I’m learning how to be minimalstic, in my eyes any way. One thing I didn’t realise was the amount of move related leaflets you would get through your door once that SOLD sign appeared, but they just keep coming through. I can’t wait for the day that I will be able to pick out of the dozens of leaflets the best house removal firm.

The whole idea that you have to soon move out and new people will move in marks a significant end to a chapter in your life. Nevertheless this was even harder due to the fact I still had not been able to find a house which I want to start my new chapter in, making me question if I had made the correct decision. Even though I had doubts in my mind I knew this was the right choice and the perfect house will come up soon; I just have to be patient, so for now the search continues…

 

 

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