OK, so its summer not spring – yes I know! And spring cleaning usually belongs in the domain of the home, not the office. But the idea remains the same, if you are sat in an office which looks more like a storage facility than a working environment then perhaps it is time to set some time aside to sort it out. And I’m not talking about half heartedly doing a bit of filing, I mean a proper spend the day on it in your jeans kind of exercise. Daunting thought? Well then I’m talking to you and you definitely need to get on with it! After all, you wouldn’t neglect your dream home in such a way, would you?

So, once you have set aside some time then ideally get some help. Either enlist your employees – whether they like it or not – or if you are a small business or work alone then perhaps get family members or friends to help. Put the radio on, buy some nice muffins for elevenses and try to make the most of a seriously dull task. The light at the end of the tunnel is of course how good you will feel when everything is sorted out. Make sure you have the right equipment at hand as well so you are not wasting time running out to fetch the essentials which, depending on your set up, might include an office shredder, bin bags or even a skip and storage boxes complete with labelling kit and parcel tape.

Begin with your desk area and create three piles as you start to go through everything on it and in it: file, shredder and deal with. On top of these categories you may well have some essential documents which you refer to regularly which need to remain in your desk and there will be the usual stationery etc as well. As we are doing things properly you need to make sure all your pens work, your pencils are sharpened and that twelve year old bottle of correction fluid which is welded shut is finally evicted from the back of the drawer. The result will be so satisfying!

Next move on to all the other storage facilities and surfaces in the room, systematically going through every item and categorising it. With items for filing they will either need to be filed and accessible or boxed for storage so make sure you sub-categorise in this way as you work through everything to save time later. Before you know it you will be finished and the room unrecognisable! A good job done, all you’ve got to do now is keep it that way…

Family life can get pretty busy and hectic, running all over to supervise the kids and make sure no damage comes. But accidents will inevitably come to all of us, so when your carpet gets stained, it is imperative to act fast and act wisely. Here are a couple of tips on two common stains.

Blood. It may not be pleasant to think about it but a drop or two can fall every now and then which can permanently stain your carpet. To remove it, make sure you use cold water rather than hot water as hot water could embed it forever into your carpet. Try not to spread the stain, so just dab at it with paper towels or a cloth. You can try putting washing liquid into the water to help the removal but again make sure it’s cold. Once the stain is gone, leave it to dry by placing some paper towels on top.

Coffee. Those dozy mornings before work may leave you with a little spillage on your carpet, which can be very troublesome. First, mix some washing liquid into a cup of warm water and apply it to the stain a small bit at a time. Using your fingers to work the stain about is better than using just a cloth; the cloth or paper towels should be used to dab the damp area after you have worked the stain. Next, mix white vinegar in with water at a 1:2 ratio and use a cloth to apply it to the stain a little at a time. Clean the vinegar mixture away with water a little at a time until it no longer smells of vinegar. Dab at the moisture with paper towels then leave to dry. A fan can often speed up the drying process.

To reward yourself after a session of stain-removing around the house, check out Fosters’ online videos of Vic and Bob!