Author: don@marketproscloud.com

If you’re like most people, you probably don’t think too much about the freshness of your food until it starts to go bad. Once that happens, you realize how important it is to keep your refrigerator in top condition so your food stays as fresh as possible longer. If you use these five tips, you can make sure your fridge stays fresh even when you’re extra busy!

1) Keep The Refrigerator Clean

Spills and crumbs left on refrigerator shelves not only look unsightly but also encourage mold and bacterial growth that’s harmful to your health. Keeping your refrigerator clean also means keeping it smelling fresh, which is important if you’re trying to keep food fresh for longer periods of time. Use warm water with soap or baking soda (and a soft cloth or sponge) and wipe down each shelf thoroughly. Clean out any spills on shelves or inside containers as soon as they happen. 

Adding a box of baking soda to your refrigerator is another great way to keep it smelling fresh. Be sure not to open and close your refrigerator too often, as that can cause air circulation problems that affect food freshness. If you have an automatic icemaker, clean it regularly with warm water and vinegar or lemon juice. Don’t forget about cleaning any vents that might have accumulated dust.

If you don’t have the time or energy after a long workday to clean the fridge, let a professional cleaner do it for you! A professional cleaning service typically offers an add-on cleaning service to thoroughly disinfect and clean your refrigerator so that you can have peace of mind about your food’s freshness. 

2) Separate Fresh Food from Leftovers

Make sure any leftovers of pre-prepared meals are stored in air-tight containers to ensure they stay fresh longer. If they are not stored in a sealed container, you run the risk of the food going bad quicker and making the refrigerator smell unpleasant. Not only will the refrigerator smell bad, but it also harbors bacteria and can affect your other food items too!

Keeping your refrigerator organized makes it easier to know when something needs to be eaten or thrown out. Cooking dishes and storing them in portion-sized containers is a great way to separate out meals that you’ll eat again, but don’t put any leftovers in your fridge unless you know they won’t go bad before they’re eaten. If unsure, freeze them so they can last longer and stay safe for consumption! 

The same goes for fresh food; if you buy fresh fruit or vegetables, keep them in their original packaging until you’re ready to use them. Once opened, transfer into a container with an airtight seal (or put some plastic wrap over your produce) so that it stays fresher longer.

3) Eat Leftovers Quickly

Don’t let leftovers sit in your fridge for too long and go bad. Leaving leftovers in the fridge loo long can make them spoil faster, which means you end up throwing away good food that could have served as a great meal. If you want to keep your food fresh, eat those leftovers quickly! Try and eat any leftovers within 2-3 days after they are prepared.  Also, try storing your leftovers in airtight containers or using an airtight container like a glass container with a lid or Tupperware. When food is exposed to air it tends to dry out quickly and become stale.

4) Plan Meals Accordingly

If you plan your meals around what’s in your fridge, then you can maximize freshness and avoid food waste. Take stock of your refrigerator before each grocery trip and plan accordingly so you don’t buy items that won’t be used. 

Plan out meals for at least a couple of days—this way you decrease food waste throughout the week. For some people, planning out meals and a grocery list is the best course of action. Make sure to eat leftovers within two to three days; any longer than that and food safety might become an issue.

By planning out your meals, you’ll also be less likely to pick up unnecessary items. If you’re on a budget or trying to eat healthier, it’s a good idea to avoid buying items that won’t be used. For example, if you know that salmon is on your menu for dinner one night but will only eat it once, then don’t buy extra fish—it will go bad before you have a chance to use it again.

5) Store Food Properly

We all know food has a shelf life, but many of us are guilty of using it after its expiration date—and we might not even realize how rotten it’s gotten. To keep food fresh, wrap and store it properly (in airtight bags and containers) and regularly check your fridge. If you notice rotten or old foods that are still in your refrigerator, be sure to throw them out immediately.  Double-check the expiration date on your food items regularly to avoid the risk of eating bad or stale food.

Always check to make sure your containers are air-tight to increase the shelf-life of your food.  Over time, containers will lose their seal. This can be accelerated if the container is exposed to high heat from the dishwasher or microwave. The best type of container for food storage is a glass container with a lid that has a rubber part that seals on tightly. They are safe for use in a microwave and dishwasher and won’t leach chemicals into your food. 

Hire a Professional Cleaning Company

Hiring a professional cleaning company will allow you to avoid worrying about how clean your refrigerator is while also giving you more time in your schedule to do what you enjoy. Protect the health of you and your family with a clean refrigerator that keeps your food fresh. Call Plan: B Cleaning and save yourself some stress and a ton of time. 

Once you hire a professional cleaning service near you, you’ll find you have more time to spend with your family, play with your pets, practice your hobbies, and simply enjoy life. Call Plan: B Cleaning today at (317) 572-8515 or visit https://planbcleaning.com/ to start enjoying life more with a clean apartment or home.

Plan: B Cleaning serves the Fishers, Indiana areas for all of your residential cleaning needs. This includes Noblesville, Carmel, Westfield, Fortville, Broad Ripple, and Geist.

For most of us, springtime means warmer weather and fun outdoor activities. But if you’re feeling like your home could use some TLC, then there’s no better time than now to clean up your house so that you can enjoy the first truly nice days of the year in comfort and style! Here are some simple tips on how to spring clean your home from top to bottom.

Why You Should Spring Clean

Spring is a time for new beginnings—from outdoor picnics and camping trips to clean carpets and freshly painted walls. Spring cleaning isn’t only important to make your home look spotless—it also signifies that you’re ready to move on from winter and start the new season off fresh. With spring officially in full swing, it’s high time to refresh your surroundings by getting rid of everything you no longer need! 

Spring is a natural time to shed unwanted items because spring cleaning serves as an uplifting experience at its core; spring cleaning means we’re letting go of clutter while simultaneously preparing our homes for warmer weather. Additionally, many homeowners opt to do some spring cleaning prior to selling their house or apartment or moving into a new one—if you plan on leaving your current home soon, why not get ahead of schedule? 

Everyone has unused items that have been hidden away since last year (or longer), but these objects are typically unused and dusty and haven’t provided value for quite some time. Chances are high that you won’t miss most items that fall into these categories when they’re gone—and there will be plenty of value in your life without them!

Dirt and grime tend to build up throughout the year due to busy work and life schedules.  With spring on its way, now is a great time to clean things that have been neglected all winter long! Spring cleaning is a great time to focus on deep cleaning areas of your home that aren’t covered in your day-to-day cleaning tasks.

Start With a Plan

The best way to start spring cleaning is to plan out what you want to do before you start doing it. Sit down with a notebook and make a list of all those little things that need to be done around your home or apartment. After making this list,  prioritize them, then complete a couple of these tasks daily to reach your goals. It’s easier to get through spring cleaning when you know where you’re starting from and have set goals for your time.

One way to create your task list is to organize it by room. Start with the busiest and most-used room in your home and work from there. This is probably your kitchen or living room. Last on your to-do list can be the storage closets, attic, or basement, where you’ve probably been storing things over the winter.

Under each of these rooms on your task list, create specific tasks for that room that you want to accomplish. In the kitchen, these tasks could include:

• Deep clean drawers and cabinets with disinfectant spray
• Clean out the refrigerator and freezer
• Organize under the kitchen sink
• Declutter old pots and pans
• Add containers to the drawers to organize silverware
• Add shelves to the cabinets to create more storage space
• Dust and clean the top of the cabinets

Once you have a game plan and an organized task list, you’re ready to go!

Declutter Before Cleaning

Before you attack your floors, cabinets, windows, and more give yourself a head start by decluttering. Give away or donate items you don’t use or need anymore to reduce clutter around your home and life. Getting rid of extraneous possessions not only helps make cleaning easier but also gives you space to make new memories with family and friends in your newly decluttered abode. Plus, if you have less stuff taking up space in your house, it’s easier to get a head start for spring cleaning.

Start by tackling one area at a time in your decluttering process. This way, you won’t get overwhelmed with decluttering. Focus on the areas that need it most and then decluttering will start to feel simpler! This might mean starting on your bedroom closet, a storage closet, or maybe even the pantry. Once the tough decluttering jobs are out of the way, you can quickly and easily declutter the smaller areas.

Consider donating your unwanted or unused possessions to a local thrift store that supports those in need. Your donations will not only help you to get your space organized and cleaned, but it will also help people that the thrift store or donation site supports!

Tackle One Area at a Time

Clear a shelf, clean out a drawer, or wipe down your nightstand. Just one area at a time will help you stay on top of your spring cleaning without becoming overwhelmed. Start by tackling an area that tends to accumulate stuff. How can you keep things tidy if they’re never put away? So don’t forget to put things back where they belong throughout your day so you won’t have to search for them later. This alone will dramatically reduce mess and clutter!

Creating a task list as mentioned previously makes tackling one area at a time much simpler. By going one room at a time, you can successfully meet your spring cleaning goals! Follow the tasks that you created for each specific room, and don’t be discouraged if you don’t finish in one day. Spring cleaning is a marathon- not a sprint! You don’t have to complete your spring cleaning in a day or even in a week. If you have a hectic schedule, you might even want to spread your spring cleaning plans across a couple of weeks. This way, you can realistically complete your spring cleaning and start your season off fresh!

Update Your Decor

It’s time to update your decor to better suit spring. Start by removing heavy winter blankets and drapes, then use lighter-colored throw blankets and window treatments like a linen shade or lace curtains to fill your home with natural light. Go for lighter and brighter color accents—pinks, yellows, light blues—to evoke springtime warmth. For even more seasonal change, swap out winter decor for flowers or new plants. Here’s a complete list of spring decor updates you can do to make your home or apartment spring ready.

• Change out the lighting –  Even though you’re using lighter decor and accessories, it might still be a good idea to change your lighting. Harsh lights or dim lights can dull your new springtime spaces, so consider investing in white lights or colorful lamps to add some extra warmth. If you really want an extra glow, invest in some string lights as well. You can also swap out bulbs for LED light bulbs, which can give off a soft glow without feeling too bright.
• Add color –  You’ve probably heard that green is an excellent choice for spring, but it can also be fun to use different colors throughout your home. Try using a blue wall in your bedroom or a pink accent wall in your living room. Yellows and oranges can make rooms feel warm, so try playing with these two shades in your decorating scheme. If you’re not wanting to paint, you can easily find beautiful wall art or decoration pieces to add to your apartment to bring in some vibrancy.
• Add houseplants – Houseplants are one of the easier and less expensive investments you can make to liven up your space. They’re great at purifying the air and will brighten up your space even more than colorful decor can. If you don’t have a green thumb, there are plenty of houseplants that don’t require much maintenance or lighting and are perfect for the indoors. Even if you have a busy schedule, you will be able to maintain houseplants for years and years to come. They are a gift that keeps on giving!
• Rearrange furniture –  Moving your furniture around can really update a room. It will add new flow and allow for new lighting. It may be a good idea to bring in some of your seasonal decor so you can get a feel for how it all works together before fully moving everything. After rearranging your furniture, you will feel like you’re living in an entirely new space!

Spruce Up Your Outdoor Areas

When spring finally hits and you’re able to open up your windows, get outside, and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine, it’s time to take advantage of your beautiful surroundings. You can spruce up your outdoor areas with a few simple touches. Not only will you feel better as soon as you step outside, but your home will look great too! Here are a few ways to make that happen. 

1. Add outdoor seating –  It doesn’t matter if you have a porch, patio, or balcony that gets good light in spring and summer; it can be any outdoor area where you want to spend time with friends and family on nice days or cozy up with a book on cool evenings. Adding some furniture is one of the easiest ways to turn any space into a place to relax and unwind.
2. Add outdoor plants –  A few well-placed plants can bring a whole new look to your outdoor area and keep it looking great all year long. Potted plants are some of the easiest ways to decorate, but you can also place planters on any flat surface or hang them from walls and railings with hooks, fasteners, or rope. This is especially helpful if you live in the city and need to bring some nature into your home environment!
3. Update the lighting –  Lighting is crucial to making your outdoor areas look their best. The right bulbs and fixtures will illuminate your surroundings in such a way that it makes you think spring has already arrived! Don’t be afraid to try out new combinations of colors; you might find one that suits your home perfectly! String lights are an amazing way to elevate your outdoor space and make it feel classy and relaxing for the spring weather.

Deep Cleaning Checklist

When cleaning your home for spring, it’s important to do a deep clean before you do any redecorating or rearranging. The process can be long and tiresome, but it will be worth it! Before you start deep cleaning, grab your checklist and make sure you have all of the necessary cleaning products on hand. You’ll need a window cleaner, a multipurpose cleaner, microfiber rags, dusters, a broom, a vacuum, and some time of mop. You may need some general tools for maintenance or a magic eraser for tough scuff marks or spots. Now for the fun part! Here are our favorite in-depth deep cleaning lists for spring cleaning:

If you want a list that goes room-by-room: 

• Taste of Home’s “The Ultimate Room-by-Room Spring Cleaning Checklist”: https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/spring-cleaning-checklist/

If you want a 30-day checklist:

• The Spruce’s “30-Day Spring Cleaning Checklist”: https://www.thespruce.com/spring-cleaning-guide-4134151

If you want a printable spring cleaning infographic: 

• Cleanzen’s “The Ultimate Spring Cleaning Checklist”: https://cleanzen.com/blog/spring-cleaning-checklist/

Hire a Professional Cleaning Service

Instead of trying to do a deep clean yourself, spring cleaning can actually be done by a professional cleaning service. Hiring a professional team to do your home cleaning once or twice a month can help you achieve a clean and organized house while allowing you to focus on other things. It’s easy to get busy with work and everyday life, and it’s hard to have time for these cleaning tasks, especially if they are tedious and time-consuming.

Hiring a cleaning service is a great way to start the spring season and make time for yourself. When you don’t have to worry about cleaning your apartment or home, you have more time to do what you love! So take that weekend trip, go out with friends for brunch, or take your furry friends to the dog park,  and let the professionals do the cleaning for you!

Plan: B Cleaning is the go-to cleaning service for your home or apartment in Fishers, Indiana. Plan: B Cleaning creates a custom client profile for each client to ensure they are meeting your specific cleaning needs and requests so that you can come home to a clean space every day.

Ready to schedule your cleaning service and take back your free time? Call Plan: B Cleaning at (317) 572-8515 or visit https://planbcleaning.com. Plan: B Cleaning serves the Fishers, Indiana area, including Carmel, Noblesville, Fortville, and Geist.

A clean kitchen is an important part of every home. Not only does it help keep food safe from bacteria, but it makes your kitchen much more enjoyable to use and look at. But many people don’t know how to properly clean their kitchen, leading to food-borne illnesses and sickness. This article will walk you through the right way to clean your kitchen in order to protect your and your family’s health!

Why a Clean Kitchen is a Necessity

It’s important that we clean our kitchens regularly since they are places where we prepare our food. What happens if we do not know how to clean it correctly? There is a risk of bacteria growth in our kitchens which will then lead to health issues such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain among other things. So make sure that you learn how to clean it up correctly!

Be sure you have all of your cleaning products readily available to alleviate the stress of preparing food. If you can keep a clean kitchen while cooking and put everything away properly, you won’t run into any added stress.  It will be easier for you to cook if you feel like you aren’t going to encounter random messes when looking for certain things in your cupboards. 

In addition, you will want to make sure that every part of your kitchen is cleaned such as countertops, stovetop surfaces, cupboards/countertops around stoves or ovens, and backsplashes around the kitchen area. By ensuring all surfaces are clean and free from bacteria, you prevent any cross-contamination or spread of illness in the food prep area.

Basic Food Safety

Before you continue cooking, it’s important that you learn basic food safety techniques. Not only will it keep your family healthy; it could also save them from experiencing long-lasting illnesses. Here are four basic rules for your kitchen. 

1. Separate your raw meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood products from any ready-to-eat foods like produce or bread; raw meats contain germs that can spread if contact is made with anything else in your kitchen. Also consider that anything that raw meat, poultry, eggs, or seafood touches, such as utensils, pans, or cutting boards, cannot be used with ready-to-eat foods because they will be contaminated with bacteria.
2. Be sure raw meats are completely thawed before being cooked. They must never be defrosted on a countertop or in hot water—this is not safe. Recommended thawing practices include in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave. For more details on thawing safety, go to www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/big-thaw-safe-defrosting-methods.
3. Keep your kitchen clean at all times; dirty counters, handles, and utensils can allow bacteria to grow and contaminate your food. Don’t forget to disinfect areas like the refrigerator handle, microwave handle, and sink handle where you frequently touch.
4. Don’t let your foods get too hot or cold; a steady, moderate temperature should be used when cooking and storing your food to prevent bacteria growth that can lead to illness.

Maintain Good Hygiene in the Kitchen

Kitchen cleaning and maintenance are important parts of kitchen safety.  To maintain good hygiene in your kitchen, be sure to wash all of your dishes before putting them away and always dry them thoroughly after washing. By doing so, you will avoid cross-contamination between food items and reduce the chances of spreading harmful bacteria or other germs that can cause illness or disease.  Also, consider keeping countertops clean by wiping up spills immediately to avoid hard-to-clean dried foods or liquids. Additionally, prevent cross-contamination when cooking with raw meats or eggs that can lead to food-borne illness and the spread of bacteria. By maintaining good hygiene, you’ll feel confident knowing your kitchen is a safe place to cook. 

Wipe Down Everything After Use

Despite how easy it is to clean your kitchen, many people don’t do a thorough job, leaving food particles and grease on kitchen surfaces. To avoid food-borne illness and increase your kitchen safety, be sure to wipe down every surface after use. The best way to make sure you’re not skipping any areas is simply by wiping down surfaces twice.  It might feel repetitive but it will help protect against germs and dangerous bacteria like E. coli or salmonella. After all, there are few things as gross as a kitchen filled with bacteria. 

Keep the Cutting Board Clean

First, ensure that your cutting board is cleaned before use! The last thing you want is a dirty surface on which you prepare food—or cross-contamination that may occur if someone else in your household has been handling food without washing their hands. 

1. Use hot water and soap to clean cutting boards; bacteria can get embedded into small grooves, so be sure you scrub thoroughly. 
2. Consider buying separate boards for raw meat, produce, fruit, and seafood—that way you can keep them away from each other and limit any chance of contamination or spreading of bacteria between foods. 
3. Always wash your hands before and after handling foods to prevent transferring germs from one surface (cutting board) or product (like raw chicken) to another (utensils). 
4. When you’re done using it, make sure to dry off your cutting board completely—you don’t want moisture lingering on it, which can encourage mold growth. 
5. If you have wood boards that need extra maintenance, consider purchasing a butcher block conditioner or food-safe mineral oil; it will help keep bacteria at bay while still preserving the wood grain of your cutting board.

Keep Your Utensils Clean

Cleaning your kitchen and your utensils properly is an important part of keeping your family safe and healthy. A properly cleaned kitchen will reduce your family’s risk of food-borne illnesses. Cleaning utensils between use prevents cross-contamination from items like raw meat or egg. 

Using hot water and dish soap is an effective way to clean and disinfect utensils for their next use. Be careful with the sponge or dish cleaning tool you use, because it could be harboring bacteria itself. You should change out your dish sponge regularly, or every two weeks to one month.

Keep The Dishwasher Clean

The dishwasher can start to build up grime and food bits over time with regular usage. To ensure the dishwasher is efficiently cleaning your dishes, you should clean your dishwasher every now and then.

It’s actually pretty easy to keep your dishwasher clean, and by doing so you can make sure any harmful bacteria is eliminated. Simply splash a little bit of white vinegar into your empty dishwasher, then run it through a full cycle without any dishes in it. You’ll find that using vinegar will eliminate many odors while also ensuring that your dishwasher stays as sanitary as possible. And, since you won’t have to worry about the smell or about keeping your dishes safe, using an odor-eliminating machine may not be necessary! This is a great way to save money on household cleaning.

Hire a Professional Cleaning Service

A professional cleaning service can ensure your kitchen is clean and bacteria-free. There are many variables when it comes to kitchen safety, but a few basic rules should be followed—after all, it’s well worth having a sanitary kitchen. The kitchen is generally one of the busiest parts of any home; in fact, it’s usually where we spend most of our time at home – as such, kitchens need to be cleaned with care. 

Plan: B Cleaning offers an efficient and effective cleaning service to get your kitchen spotless for food preparation or guests. Call today to schedule your cleaning service at (317) 572-8515 or visit www.planbcleaning.com

Plan: B Cleaning services the Fishers, Indiana area, including Carmel, Noblesville, Fortville, and Geist.

How much time do you spend doing laundry? If you’re like most people, it’s probably too much time—sometimes more than an hour each week! For busy entrepreneurs and professionals, this wasted time can take a serious toll on your productivity and your business profits. To help you spend less time doing laundry, here are clever ways to save time doing laundry every week and give yourself more time to focus on what matters most to your business.

Tips for Quickly Cleaning Laundry

It’s a few minutes before you’re supposed to leave for work, and you remember that you left a white shirt in your favorite pair of jeans last night (again). Now, you can either rush to finish cleaning your laundry before dashing out of the door or find ways to streamline your laundry routine. To save time doing laundry, follow these tips.

1. Staying organized is one key component to effectively cleaning your laundry quickly and efficiently; when you know where everything is, you won’t waste as much time searching through piles looking for an item.
2. Strategically sorting and folding your clothing is a great way to save time when cleaning your laundry. If you sort clothing into different piles (i.e., dark colors, light colors, delicates) before cleaning it, you can pull all of those items out of their dirty condition at once instead of sorting through them one by one. 
3. Find an effective laundry detergent that works for your laundry machine. You don’t want to have to rewash the clothes because they didn’t get clean enough!
4. Once you’ve washed the clothes, save even more time by using reusable wool dryer balls with your clothes. The dryer balls speed up drying time, prevent wrinkles, stop static, and soften the clothes.
5. Set aside time to fold and hang up clothes straight out of the dryer. This will prevent the clothes from getting wrinkly and add more time to your daily routine. Once you are in the habit of hanging and folding clothes as soon as they are done drying, you will appreciate all of the time you save not having to rewash or iron your clothes!
6. Choose cold water over hot, since hot water costs more money and uses more energy. 

By following these quick tips for quickly cleaning laundry, you’ll be able to save time doing laundry so that you can get more done during your busy day. 

What Not to Put in the Washing Machine

• Damaged Fabrics – Avoid washing clothing with any tears or holes in the washing machine, which can snag other clothes and cause excessive wear and tear. 
• Darks & Lights – Don’t mix dark-colored clothes with light-colored clothes– it will dull your light clothing and decrease longevity!
• Different Fabrics – Try to wash the clothing of similar fabrics to maintain the quality of the fabrics- don’t wash delicate fabrics with denim or towels!
• Too Many Items –Don’t overload your washing machine. If you have a full load, consider doing laundry with half of your laundry and doubling up on washes later in a day or two! 
• Delicates – Delicate clothing items should be put in a lingerie or delicates bag before being put in the washing machine, and you should avoid putting these in the dryer as well. Instead, hang them to dry with clothespins.

How to Treat Stains

Stains can be a hassle to deal with, but there are some effective ways to treat them. Treating stains at home can save you money and time over taking your clothes to a professional cleaner. Take these steps to treat common stains in your clothes 

• Baking Soda + Dish Soap – Try out a paste of baking soda and dish soap on your stain. The combination of the two work surprisingly well!
• Hydrogen Peroxide – Hydrogen peroxide is one of the best natural treatments for bloodstains. Fresh blood will clean up easily if soaked in hydrogen peroxide; it’s also kinder to clothing than store-bought stain removers containing chemicals.
• Store-Bought Stain Removers – You can find a wide variety of stain removers at your local store from many different brands. Some stain removers are specifically for colors or specifically for whites, so find one that best fits your laundry needs. 

The Right Way to Separate Laundry Loads

Separating your clothes by color and lights and darks is the best way to lengthen the life of your clothing and keep them looking new for longer. There are two ways you can separate laundry: by fabric (i.e., cotton, delicates, denim, towels) or by color (whites, colors, darks). 

By separating out loads of laundry by fabric, you dodge the risk of harsher fabrics dulling or harming delicate fabrics. Separating laundry by fabric type will prevent pilling, rips, and tears. 

Separating out laundry by color prevents any colored shirts from bleeding clothing dye onto lighter clothes. Whites will stay white, and grays won’t turn yellow as quickly or look dingy over time. 

Finding The Best Detergent for Your Needs

Detergents work by removing dirt, sweat, and stains from your clothing. However, each one is made for a different type of stain and fabric—which means some are better for your white shirts than others.

There are different laundry detergents for whites, colors, darks, and more. There are also detergents even more specific like heavy-duty, for athletes, and for sensitive skin. While there are laundry detergents that can work for all types of fabrics, you may find yourself needing something more specific.

• Gentle/ Sensitive Skin Detergent –  These detergents are ideal for people with sensitive skin and easily irritated skin. They don’t have added fragrance and they typically clean your clothes well with gentler surfactants. However, they aren’t as effective at removing stains, which is why some people don’t choose them.
• Heavy-Duty Detergent – This is a great detergent for getting rid of tough stains that won’t come out in regular washes. If you have kids or pets and have lots of messes to clean up, heavy-duty might be perfect for you! It will make sure your clothes are as clean as possible with stain-fighting power. 
• Athletic Detergent – These detergents are made specifically for high activity wear and athletes who need their clothes cleaned well while they sweat a lot at practice and games. It has added color guard technology so it can keep colors brighter longer, keeping your most vibrant clothing looking new longer!
• Detergent for Lights – If you’re looking for a detergent that specifically targets whites and light colors, look no further! It will whiten your clothes without bleaching them. It’s also great if you have a lot of these light clothing so you can keep them as bright and fresh as possible.
• HE (High Efficiency) Detergent – These detergents are made specifically for high-efficiency washers. They’re designed to work in high heat and low water so you get clean clothes but use less energy and resources. They’re great if you have a newer washing machine or if you’re looking for a more environmentally friendly option!
• Detergent for Colors – If you have a lot of colored clothing, or if you’re looking for a detergent that specifically targets your colored clothing, look no further! Color-specific detergents will keep your clothes bright and vibrant and looking like new. 

Professional Cleaning Services

The Plan: B Cleaning team is an expert on all things clean. If you are seeking a professional cleaning company in the Fishers, Indiana area, look no further! Plan: B Cleaning offers residential cleaning services and creates a custom client profile for every one of our customers so that your service is customized to you!

To get started with a professional cleaning service and get your home spotless, call Plan: B Cleaning at (317) 572-8515 or visit www.planbcleaning.com to learn more!

With air pollution getting worse each year, the need to improve your home’s air quality has never been greater. But how do you even go about it? And how much can you realistically expect from your efforts? Luckily, with the following advice, you’ll be well on your way to improving your home’s air quality and breathing easier in no time!

The Importance of Good Air Quality

Air quality has a direct effect on our bodies and minds. Most of us spend 8+ hours every day in our homes, so it’s important that we take measures to ensure we’re breathing clean air. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, poor air quality and exposure to air pollutants can cause “irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue”* in the short term. Poor air quality can also worsen asthma for those who suffer from it.  In the long term, polluted air quality in the home can cause “respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer”* which can even be fatal. For more information, visit ​​https://bit.ly/3s8O9Ee. 

Sources of Indoor Air Pollutants

There are many sources of indoor air pollutants, including household chemicals and products, tobacco smoke, and radon. If you have allergies or other respiratory issues, there are additional concerns about mold and dust mites.

In order to control these pollutants, you need a plan for controlling each one in your home. Proper ventilation is crucial when you want to keep outdoor pollutants out while still allowing fresh air into your home. Improving how well you ventilate will also help reduce moisture levels inside your home; keeping moisture low will help prevent mold growth that can exacerbate allergies and asthma.

Use a HEPA Air Filter

If you’re interested in improving your home’s air quality, it’s a good idea to install a HEPA air filter. HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air, and these filters are designed to get rid of dirt and dust that may be in your home. According to the EPA, HEPA air filters “can theoretically remove at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria, and any airborne particles with a size of 0.3 microns (µm)”**, making it the most effective air filter you can use to improve your home’s air quality. For more information, visit the EPA’s site: https://bit.ly/3JQHKUd. 

Keep the Home Smoke-Free

Smoking in your home can make you and your family vulnerable to a host of respiratory illnesses. If you’re serious about improving your home’s air quality, it might be time to consider kicking your smoking habit once and for all. And if you have young children, quitting smoking may be an even more important goal. In fact, studies show that smoke in a house containing children can increase their risk of developing allergies or asthma by as much as 35 percent! 

Invest in Plants

Besides being a source of beauty, home plants can also improve air quality in your home. According to Eco Watch’s article, ’20 Best Air-Purifying Plants’ (https://bit.ly/3scNWA0), there are many houseplants available at your local nursery or store that can improve your home’s air quality. 

Here are the top five plants on Eco Watch’s list for improving air quality: 

1. Peace Lily
2. Snake Plant
3. Golden Pothos
4. Bamboo Palm
5. Scarlet Star Bromeliad

Eliminate Chemical Cleaning Supplies & Air Fresheners

The chemicals in commercial cleaners can be detrimental to your health, especially if you are using harsh chemical cleaners in poorly ventilated areas. 

Instead, try natural DIY cleaning products with supplies you can find in a grocery store when possible. Popular natural cleaning ingredients include white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, baking soda, borax, lemon juice, tea tree oil, and other essential oils. Natural cleaning products are not only good for your home’s air quality but are also free of harsh chemicals that can harm your health. 

For detailed recipes for DIY cleaning products, the site Madeleine Olivia’s blog is a great resource to get you started: https://bit.ly/3h94LFq

Instead of strong chemical-based air fresheners, you can use essential oils in a diffuser or vaporizer. Their pleasant fragrance will help keep your home smelling fresh without exposing you and your family to harmful chemicals.

Control Moisture

Excess moisture is a leading cause of poor indoor air quality. To lower humidity levels and improve your home’s air quality, invest in a dehumidifier. This tool can remove up to 48 pints of water from your home per day. On the other hand, the air in your home may be excessively dry. In this case, you can invest in a humidifier to put moisture back into the air.  

Before installing either of these devices, run an inexpensive hygrometer test on your home to see if there are problems with high or low humidity levels. (A hygrometer typically costs $15-$50.) After you have remedied any issues related to excess or low moisture, these tools will help keep conditions optimal for living and breathing. And that means better home air quality!

Keep Your Home Clean

Air quality can improve if you keep your home and its contents clean. Keeping your floors, walls, furniture, appliances and everything else that’s in your home spotless will not only help improve air quality but also lower your risk of developing allergies and infections. Regular cleaning is one of the easiest things you can do for yourself, as well as for everyone who lives in or visits your home. Not only does it improve air quality but it also makes a big difference to how you feel on a daily basis.

Call Plan: B Cleaning today to set up a cleaning service and improve your home’s air quality with a clean space at (317) 572-8515, or visit www.planbcleaning.com. Plan: B Cleaning serves the Fishers, Indiana area, including Hamilton County, Geist, Carmel, Noblesville, Westfield, and Fortville. 

These days, many homeowners are moving away from traditional mops and towards microfiber mops instead. What makes these mops so different? Are they really worth the extra expense? As it turns out, yes! There are many benefits to using a microfiber mop, especially if you’re interested in keeping your floors clean without needing harsh chemicals or too much elbow grease. Let’s go over the most popular benefits of microfiber mops below!

Why Choose a Microfiber Mop

A microfiber mop is an effective cleaning tool for many reasons. First, microfiber pads are lint-free and won’t leave behind any dust, dirt, or grime on your flooring. They also have dense threads that quickly pull up dirt and clean more thoroughly than other materials, as a traditional mop does. These attributes make them great for all types of hard flooring, including wood, tile, linoleum, stone, and laminate. 

Microfibers are especially good on these surfaces because they can scrub away scuff marks and prevent scratches by loosening grime instead of grinding it into your delicate flooring. Plus, they don’t need chemicals or harsh cleaners; just regular water with microfiber is effective in cleaning and picking up dirt and grime, as well as removing bacteria from the surface. You can rest assured you are effectively and efficiently cleaning your hard flooring when you use a microfiber mop head.

Advantages of Using a Microfiber Mop

A microfiber mop is a far superior choice to most traditional mops on today’s market. Why? It all comes down to how effectively they clean floors, and their capacity for deep cleaning quicker than other mopping alternatives. Here are five reasons why you should consider investing in one:

1. Traditional mops don’t use an absorbent microfiber pad, so most of your effort is wasted because grime gets left behind on your floor. A microfiber mop works differently because it uses a microfiber cloth that can pick up dust, dirt, grime—everything—and leaves nothing behind. This means you’ll spend less time mopping and more time with family or doing other activities!
2. Traditional mops make users responsible for wringing out water from their pad before moving onto another section of their home or office floor. With a microfiber mop like the Sh-mop, the microfiber soaks up the cleaning product to deposit on the floor’s surface. No wringing out necessary! 
3. Traditional mops are not machine washable and slowly build up grime and dirt, to the point where you must replace them. Because microfiber pads are machine washable and reusable, they last much longer than traditional mops and don’t harbor grime and bacteria from use to use. It’s as easy as removing the microfiber pad and throwing it in the washing machine to guarantee cleanliness for the next use!
4. Traditional mops need to use more cleaning products and water, but using a microfiber mop saves you money by allowing you to cut down on your cleaning product costs. The microfiber pad does most of the cleaning work, allowing you to use less water and less cleaning product. Additionally, you don’t have to deal with a large, lunky mop bucket that causes spills and messes.
5. Traditional mops are difficult to work with and take longer to mop with. A microfiber mop significantly cuts down on floor cleaning time! With how quickly it cleans your flooring, you’ll spend less time mopping each week and more time doing what you enjoy! 

How To Select The Best One

All microfiber mops are more effective than traditional mops, and you can find a wide variety of options of microfiber mops at most stores. One popular option is the Sh-Mop, which can be found on Amazon, along with extra microfiber pads if you want to have more than one microfiber pad for in-between washes!

At Plan: B Cleaning, we know the benefits of using a microfiber mop instead of a traditional mop. In all of our residential house cleanings, we use the Sh-Mop to clean all types of hard floors efficiently and effectively.  You can purchase your own Sh-Mop to keep your floors spotless in between your weekly and bi-weekly cleaning service!

Hire a Professional Cleaning Service To Do The Floor Cleaning For You!

If you want to take cleaning off of your to-do list and leave the mopping to the professionals, call Plan: B Cleaning to set up your weekly or bi-weekly cleaning service at (317) 572-8515 or visit www.planbcleaning.com to request a quote! 

Plan: B serves the Fishers, Indiana area, including Noblesville, Carmel, Fortville, Geist, and more!

Looking to decorate your home for Valentine’s Day on a budget? You don’t have to break the bank to add some beautiful touches to your home! There are quick, inexpensive ways to decorate your home as well as DIY projects that will romanticize your space for the holiday. Keep reading to learn how to decorate your home for Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day Flowers

Decorating your home with red and pink flowers immediately adds a bright, loving touch to your home for Valentine’s Day.  Place fresh or silk flower arrangements throughout your living room, dining room or anywhere else you want to put a splash of color and romance. For an elegant look, you can’t go wrong with roses; these timeless beauties come in several different colors that suit any style or décor choice. Incorporate roses into bouquets at each place setting as centerpieces or accent your table linens with them using floral picks.

Mood Lighting

Ambient lighting, like string lights and lanterns, can make even everyday rooms feel romantic. Pick up a few during sales in January or February (that’s right: Valentine’s Day decor often goes on sale after right Christmas), and place them around your house before V-Day arrives. 

There are also options for colored lighting that will fit in perfectly for the season! You can find a variety of pink, red, or purple lighting options. You can find Valentine’s Day colored light bulbs to switch out in your lamps, or dainty string lights in the shape of hearts to hang around the house.  And the biggest bonus of changing your lighting for the holidays is that you can use it year after year and repurpose it for other holidays and celebrations, too!

DIY Valentine’s Day Decor

You can easily use what you have around your home to create DIY Valentine’s Day decorations. Or, you pick up inexpensive supplies at the store to create DIY decor.

One easy decor piece is a paper heart garland! All it takes is some string of your choosing, and some hand-cut paper hearts. Choose pink or red construction paper to match the Valentine’s Day theme, and punch a hole in the top of each heart. String each paper heart onto the string, as many or as few as you’d like, and you have an easy, handmade garland to hang in your home!

There are so many ideas for DIY Valentine’s Day decorations on the internet, and here are our favorite sources: 

• https://www.countryliving.com/diy-crafts/g2971/valentines-day-decorations/

• https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/valentines-day-ideas/g2020/easy-valentines-day-craft-ideas/
• https://www.prudentpennypincher.com/100-best-valentines-day-decor-diy-ideas/

Scented Candles

Scented candles are an easy way to fill your home with Valentine’s Day spirit. There are always a wide variety of options for candles that are themed for the special holiday. You can find Valentine’s Day candles in reds, pinks, and purples and scented specifically for V-Day. Scents like rose, honeysuckle, sweet pea, and vanilla bean would be perfect to pair with Valentine’s Day decorations or even a romantic meal. Not only will they make your home smell great, but they will serve as a great decor piece!  

DIY Valentine’s Day Wall Art

If you’re looking for something fun and festive to do with your kids on Valentine’s Day but don’t want to break your bank account, why not get crafty? You can make decorations from scratch using things you probably already have around your house. One of our favorite DIY decorations is wall art. The design possibilities are endless—and if you need inspiration, Pinterest is filled with Valentine’s Day art examples.

All you need is a few shades of acrylic paint- red, pink, purple, and white- and paper or canvas to get started! Painting can be a relaxing and therapeutic craft for yourself to do, or it can be a fun way to get your kids involved in decorating.

Red & Pink Pillows and Throws

The easiest way to decorate your home for Valentine’s Day is with fun red and pink pillows, throws, and blankets. This time of year, many stores have decorative throw pillows in red, pink, and white that are on sale and inexpensive. These decorative cushions can pull together an entire look in just one room, or they can be used sparingly as accent pieces. 

And the best part is that you can use these pieces every year to decorate for Valentine’s Day! You can also repurpose some of the pieces for other holidays, like using the red pillows and blankets for Christmas, or the pink pieces for a girl’s birthday!

Inexpensive Stores for Decor

The first step in decorating your home for Valentine’s Day is figuring out what you want. While you’re at it, take inventory of your space and think about how much space you have to work with. Then it’s time to find stores that have inexpensive decorations for the holiday. Five places where you can find great decor on a budget are Target, Walmart, Amazon, Hobby Lobby, and Dollar Tree. 

Start by looking at the cheapest spots for decor and then move on to the higher-end stores if you still can’t find the pieces you like. Dollar Tree always has a huge selection of seasonal and holiday decorations, and you can make amazing DIY pieces with supplies found at Dollar Tree. Stores like Hobby Lobby always have coupons for pieces that you can’t live without, and Walmart and Target always have holiday decorations for cheap. If your budget is extra tight, check out the local thrift stores first to see what they have to offer!

You can also support your local small businesses by shopping at them for Valentine’s Day gifts and decorations!

Call a Cleaning Service for Your Valentine

If you want your home to look beautiful, but you don’t have time or energy to devote to cleaning and decorating, consider hiring a cleaning service. Hiring a professional cleaning service is a great gift to give your Valentine, after all, a clean home is a happy home for you and your loved one! We’ve been the Valentine’s gift that many moms prefer over chocolates throughout the years. If you think your spouse would enjoy the gift of getting time back, consider giving them a professional cleaning gift card from Plan: B Cleaning!

Call Plan: B Cleaning today to set up a cleaning service and get Valentine’s Day ready at (317) 572-8515, or visit planbcleaning.com to learn more about our services. Plan: B Cleaning serves the Fishers, Indiana area, including Hamilton County, Geist, Carmel, Noblesville, Westfield, and Fortville.

How do you describe your home’s ambiance? Do you want it to feel welcoming and warm, or crisp and inviting? Your home’s ambiance can set the tone for visitors and family members, so it’s important to pay attention to how certain furniture, furnishings, and decorations can impact the overall look and feel of your home. Here are five simple ways to improve your home’s ambiance.

1) Add Decor

One of the simplest ways to improve your home’s ambiance is by adding a few pieces of decor. Pick out two or three things you like and put them on display in a prominent area. You don’t need hundreds of dollars worth of decorations. All it takes is one beautiful painting, a vase of flowers, or even some candles and knickknacks. Decorating doesn’t have to be hard – and it can really make a difference in how you feel when spending time at home.

It’s easy to find inexpensive decorations at your local thrift store or flea market. There’s no shame in buying preloved items; they’re a great way to decorate on a budget. When picking out decor, look for things that you like and things that make you feel good when you look at them. You can really curate the look of your home with the decorations you choose to match your personal preferences and style. 

2) Add Plants

If you want to make your home feel warmer and more inviting, adding plants is a great way to go. Whether it’s a vibrant plant on your coffee table or some trailing vines in your living room, you can’t go wrong with incorporating plants into your interior design scheme. It will instantly liven up any room and add a fresh new feel. There are lots of different kinds of plants out there that could complement your current home decor; just find one that complements your home.

Taking care of houseplants has never been easier with all of the online resources that are available specific to the plants you choose. You can find houseplants at your local plant nursery or at most stores like Walmart, Home Depot, and Target. 

3) Use Fresh Flowers

Fresh flowers add a pop of color and can have a positive effect on your mood, particularly when you notice them every day. They’re an inexpensive way to instantly improve your home ambiance; just make sure you change them out on occasion so they don’t wilt! (Or get silk flowers!)

Fresh flowers are a great addition when you are having guests over or just if you want to energize and beautify your home for yourself. You can change out the flowers you use to decorate to follow the seasons, with bright yellows and pinks for spring and deep purples and reds for fall.

4) Buy a Fragrance Diffuser or Candles

Studies have shown that scented candles can significantly improve your home’s ambiance by making it feel cozier and inviting. There are various reasons for that, but one of them is because when we smell something that reminds us of something else—in other words, a smell that conjures up a memory or association—we start paying more attention to our surroundings. 

There is a vast variety of candle scents and types that you can choose based on your personal preferences or for the season. You can also choose a candle based on the feeling you want in your home, like lavender for relaxation or eucalyptus for energy. There are also options like soy candles, beeswax candles, and palm wax candles if you want to choose something different and healthier than the traditional paraffin wax candle.

If you don’t think you would use candles often enough to justify purchasing them, consider a more sustainable option: home fragrance diffusers. A home fragrance diffuser is an electric device that uses technology to diffuse essential oils into your air. This can create a pleasant smell wherever you place it, and they are more sustainable options than candles.

5) Switch Out Lighting

Changing out light bulbs is one of those cheap, easy things that can make a huge difference in your home’s ambiance. And it just takes a few minutes, so it’s a quick way to elevate your home’s ambiance and change the scenery.  Simply choose some new light bulbs—preferably LED—and replace them with incandescent ones. You might be surprised by how much brighter and more welcoming your home feels afterward!

There are also colored light bulbs if you want to create a unique look in your home, from oranges to purples to green. Experimenting with colored light bulbs can be great for themed parties you have in your home or just to change up the look of your home!

You can also choose to utilize lamps to create a cozier feeling in your home with soft lighting. If you don’t have lamps, you can easily find unique and beautiful lamps at your local thrift store. The best part is these lamps can be repurposed so they are just as good as new! Look for large floor lamps or table lamps that give off enough light to illuminate a room. Make sure it fits well in your home and doesn’t look out of place. After all, it’s all about creating ambiance!

Hire an Exceptional Cleaning Service

The best way to improve your home’s ambiance is by making sure it’s clean and picked up. Dirt, grime, and clutter will prevent your home from feeling good and inviting. And, if you aren’t able to clean thoroughly on a regular basis, hire an exceptional cleaning service that can help you maintain a great home ambiance. They’ll keep things neat and orderly while providing excellent service—and you’ll be able to spend less time cleaning so you can focus on other things!

Call Plan: B Cleaning today to set up a cleaning service and begin to boost your home’s ambiance at (317) 572-8515, or visit planbcleaning.com. Plan: B Cleaning serves the Fishers, Indiana area, including Hamilton County, Geist, Carmel, Noblesville, Westfield, and Fortville. 

Plan: B Cleaning was featured on Fox 59’s news segment, Indy Now! If you missed it, check out the video here: https://fox59.com/indy-now/plan-b-cleaning-has-helpful-tips-on-cleaning-and-disinfecting-during-winter/. 

Plan: B Cleaning has been serving the Fishers, Indiana area since January of 2013, and we’re excited to be featured by one of Indy’s local news stations! The hosts of the segment, Jillian Deam Thomas and Ryan Ahlwardt, had lots of questions about our work as professional cleaners, including important cleaning and disinfecting tips to keep your family safe during the winter. 

Cleaning & Disinfecting in the Winter

Ben Lovett, president of Plan: B Cleaning, discusses why it’s so important during the winter to clean and disinfect, “In the winter, we’re trapped inside a lot. Especially kids, they’ve been playing a lot inside, so it’s a great time to keep your house clean and disinfected and safe, so that you don’t pass around germs.”

Touchpoints

Touchpoints are one of the most important spots to keep disinfected. Ben continues, “Things that you touch often, we call them ‘Touch Points’, keep them clean.” Some of the most touched items that should be cleaned often to keep your family safe include soap dispensers, doorknobs and handles, light switches, and the remote control to the TV.  Disinfecting these key spots will keep germs at bay throughout your home!

Cleaning & Disinfecting Effectively

Ben continues to discuss important tools and tips used for cleaning and disinfecting your home, “First of all, a good microfiber [cloth] will remove 98% of germs and 93% of viruses, just with water.”

“When you’re looking to disinfect, make sure you actually clean things first. So what that means is to remove the dirt and grime. If you just spray disinfect on stuff, it’s not really going to work the way you think it’s going to work. You’re not going to get the goal you want, which is to remove viruses and bacteria. So, you want to clean things off first before disinfecting.”

Disinfectant’s Dwell Time

Ben demonstrates effective cleaning with a neutral-base disinfectant and a microfiber cloth to first start by cleaning the dirty surface. The next step is disinfecting, which Ben guides, “The next thing I want to remember is that all disinfectants have what is called a ‘dwell time’. They need to sit on the surface in order to kill things.”

Show host, Jillian, then asks “How long is the dwell time?” and Ben follows by informing her that dwell time for disinfectant sprays vary by product, so reading the label is key. It’s also important to read the label on your cleaning products so you know what surfaces are safe to use the product on.

Electrostatic Disinfecting Sprayer

The co-host, Ryan Ahlwardt, also got the opportunity to try on the electrostatic disinfectant spraying machine! Ryan tries on and tests out the sprayer, or the ‘Ghostbuster-looking contraption’, as host Jillian describes it.

Plan: B Cleaning owner, Debbie Lovett, informs viewers more about the electrostatic disinfectant sprayer. “It charges the disinfectant with a positive charge, so then when it lands on a surface that you’re spraying, it is naturally attracted to the dirt and germs.”

Plan: Blessing Initiative

Also featured on the show’s segment is Plan: B Cleaning’s ‘Plan: Blessing’ initiative. Debbie shares details about the initiative to the show hosts, “So in the new year, we want to be more than just growing larger as a company, but growing more in heart and donating cleanings.”

“You can go to our website and nominate someone you believe is in need of being blessed with a cleaning, and we will vote as a company and try to bless people each month.”

To nominate someone in your life who could use a blessing, go to https://planbcleaning.com/plan-blessing.

Hire an Exceptional Cleaning Service

If you’re interested in hiring a cleaning company to clean and disinfect your home, hire the professionals at Plan: B Cleaning. We are knowledgeable and skilled in cleaning and disinfecting your space to keep you and your family healthy throughout the winter months!

Plan: B Cleaning serves the Fishers, Indiana area, including Hamilton County, Geist, Carmel, Noblesville, Westfield, and Fortville. Call us today at (317) 572-8515 or visit planbcleaning.com.

Your home is supposed to be your sanctuary, the place where you can find comfort and peace away from the rest of the world, but even then it may be hard to relax in your own house if it’s cluttered and disorganized. It doesn’t have to be that way, though; you can learn how to get organized so you can find everything you need in your home easily and have an overall better experience with it. Here are some easy ways to declutter your home.

Why Organization is Important

Keeping your home clean and organized can make you happier, healthier, and more productive. The less time you spend cleaning up or organizing things that don’t matter, the more time you have for fun activities. Plus, when everything is in its place, it’s easier to keep everything looking neat and tidy.  

And even if you’re not a neat freak, being disorganized just isn’t good. It wastes time, wastes money, and reduces productivity—not to mention how messy homes are stress-inducing! With a few tips for decluttering, some tricks for organization, and some tactics for making sure you keep everything as organized as possible (or at least cleaner than before), we can put an end to clutter and chaos once and for all!

Start With the Visible Areas

The first step in organizing any room is simple: evaluate your current state. Take a look around and see what you have, where it’s located, and how much of it is taking up space. Once you can visualize all that stuff, it’s easier to start asking yourself questions about how you want to use your space and how much clutter each item adds to your surroundings.

Start by organizing and putting away things that are sitting out visibly in your home. Any items that are sitting out and cluttering up your space and easy and quick to pick up and store away to create a visually pleasing space. Start with these items first, then move on to larger spaces like your closets or kitchen cabinets. You can’t assess how much clutter you have until you can see it all—so start from there.

Organize Your Office

As you clean out your home, begin by organizing your office. Whether you have a small space in your home or a separate room dedicated to work, you’ll want to start with these tips on decluttering and organizing your work area. It’s important to have an organized office that will inspire productivity and keep distractions at bay. 

File away necessary papers and recycle documents that you no longer need.  Have only one place for each of your most frequently used items; if you have multiple storage spaces for pens, for example, find a central location where they will all be within easy reach. The less time spent looking for what you need, the more time can be dedicated to actually doing your work. 

Organize Digital Clutter 

With physical organization figured out, it’s time to tackle digital clutter. First, we highly recommend backing up your computer files just in case something gets lost or damaged in storage. If possible, switch over to an online file-storage system that you can access from any computer with an Internet connection (such as Dropbox). 

Then scan through your email inbox and delete any emails without value so that you’re not wasting time trying to sort through outdated or unnecessary correspondence later on. Last but not least, organize your desktop by creating folders for frequently used applications, documents, and shortcuts; if you haven’t cleaned up your browser bookmarks recently, now’s a good time to do so.

Next, you can organize your smartphone. It’s easy to get decluttered with apps, notes, and photos. Start by transferring your photos to a photo management application so you can remove them from your device and save storage space. A great photo management application is Google Photos to manage your photos easily. Next, go through your apps and delete the application that you have never used or are just taking up space.

Organize Your Kitchen

Organizing your kitchen is all about making sure you have items that you actually use on a regular basis, which will help ensure that your kitchen stays clutter-free.  If you’ve built up a large collection of cups or plates, it may be time to donate some to the thrift store and only keep what you need and use.

It’s also important to go through your refrigerator and freezer and discard any expired food that is taking up space. Utilize reusable storage containers for your food that makes stacking easier. By organizing your fridge, everything will be easier to access when it comes time to make meals. Also, you won’t find yourself buying extras when you know exactly what you have.

The pantry can get cluttered easily, but it’s important to make sure you have easy access to everything in it. You can utilize storage bins and containers in the pantry to organize by type, or designate each shelf for a different type of food item, like pasta, canned foods, chips, etc. Also, discard any expired foods or items that have gone stale.

Organize Your Closet

Organizing your closet can seem like a daunting task. Rather than focus on everything you need to put away, we recommend starting small with one section of your closet, so that it feels more manageable. Start by going through every item in that one area and asking yourself if you’ve worn it in over six months. If not, find a new home for it or donate it.  No matter what you do, don’t stuff it back into your overcrowded closet. As with any organizing project, start slow and tackle one area at a time! After all: Slow and steady wins the race! 

Once you have figured out what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of, you can organize your closet by type. One section can be shirts, tank tops, or coats. This makes it easier to find what you want to wear for the day and saves you time. 

If you want to organize even further,  you can organize each of these sections by color to create a visually appealing closet.

Organize Your Bathroom

Walk into most bathrooms and there’s one thing that stands out—the chaos. It’s not uncommon for a bathroom to contain over 30 cosmetics and personal care products, toothbrushes, razors, mouthwash, shampoo, conditioner, soap, makeup, and more. The best way to organize your bathroom is by categorizing all of these items as well as any others you may use in your daily life. This will save time, effort, and energy when you get ready in the mornings.

Declutter the countertop by putting away all of the unnecessary items under the sink in categorized containers or bins or in the cabinet if you have one. You can organize toiletries by type in different storage bins such as hair products, makeup, skincare, and oral care.

Organize Your Storage Closets

A good way to organize your home is through storage closets. By purging and organizing these closet spaces, you’ll maximize your space and make it easier to find what you need when you need it.  When done correctly, all items should have a place and not be thrown haphazardly into cabinets or drawers where they won’t be found again.

Put away items that aren’t being used for some time—like holiday decorations or seasonal clothing—to give more room for essentials. Ask yourself if an item can be better utilized somewhere else such as in the garage, shed, basement, etc. Consider donating unwanted decorations and other household items to charity that others could benefit from but are new enough that many individuals would appreciate them. 

It’s also a great idea to organize the cleaning appliances stored in closets like brooms, mops, and vacuums.  When items are not in use, they should be stored neatly so that you can easily access them when you’re ready to clean. Consider using hanging storage solutions to hang brooms and mops to save space!

Hire a Cleaning Service

Decluttering and organizing your home can be a daunting task, hiring a cleaning company to clean your home can be a great way to motivate and support you as you work to get organized. By teaming up you get a feeling that change is happening and you won’t feel like it’s an uphill battle. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in please call Plan: B Cleaning today to schedule your service at (317) 572-8515 or visit planbcleaning.com. 

Plan: B Cleaning services the Fishers, Indiana area, including Carmel, Westfield, Noblesville, Northern Indianapolis, and Hamilton County.