Erin's Energy Blog

Sometimes, as a result of mobility problems, mental health conditions or other personal issues, people can struggle to keep their homes clean and tidy. In some cases, this can lead to the person's property becoming severely cluttered and unsanitary. If someone you know is currently experiencing this problem and you have offered to help, here are some tips which should make this process easier for everyone involved.

Hire a skip bin

If a person's home has not been thoroughly cleaned and de-cluttered for more than a year or so, there will almost certainly be a substantial amount of rubbish and clutter that will need to be removed from the property. The homeowner's residential refuse bins are unlikely to be large enough to hold the amount of rubbish that you will end up throwing away. As such, you will need to decide how you will dispose of this refuse.

If you have a car, you could use your vehicle to drop off a few bags of rubbish at the local landfill at the end of each day. However, this will take up a lot of time; time which might be better spent cleaning and de-cluttering the property.

One alternative would be to find out if there is a business in your area that offers skip bin services. Hiring a skip bin and keeping it on the property for the duration of the cleaning project will allow you to easily dispose of rubbish, without having to waste time on trips to the landfill, as the company providing the bin will take care of the disposal process on your behalf.

Arm yourself with the right products

Cleaning and de-cluttering an extremely neglected house can be a messy business. As such, it's important to make sure that you arrive armed with the right products for this job.

A pair of thick, heavy-duty rubber gloves will be essential. These will prevent you from coming into contact with potentially dangerous bacteria and viruses when sanitising particularly dirty areas of the house, and will also spare your hands from becoming sore or damaged by any harsh cleaning chemicals that you end up using.

You should bring a high-quality dust mask or a respirator, if you intend to clean any areas which are likely to contain mould, mildew or large quantities of dust, as inhaling these particles could irritate your lungs and exacerbate any respiratory conditions you may have.