At McCreery Contract Cleaning we have a huge interest in housekeeping and cleaning. We all know that household life in the 1950s was more arduous, with no gadgets such as washing machines or dishwashers to lighten the load.We were shocked to discover that housework in the 1950s took a whopping 57 hours a week on average.

The introduction of technology - such as dishwashers and microwaves - is thought to be behind the fall in housework chores over the last five decades.

Unbelievable as this may seem compared to today’s standards; would it surprise you to learn that according to the latest research, women do more than double the amount of housework than that of Irish men!

Facts and Figures

According to Good Housekeeping over 92% of women do at least part of the cooking and nearly 70% do all of it! Women spend almost 20 hours a week on household chores. A few hours of chores here and there might not seem too bad, but when you add it all up over time, it amounts to a large chunk of our lives.

As we start the New Year the post-Christmas clean up brings with it some unique cleaning challenges. From the lingering scent of a slow-cooked Christmas bird, to the overused washing machine. But fear not. We at McCreery Contract Cleaning will give you our top tips and tricks for tackling the cleaning after Christmas.

Cleaning the Grimy Post-Christmas Dinner Oven

Between the Christmas bird, the roasted veg, and whatever else you cook, the oven takes a battering during the festive period. So this is a good chance to give your oven the cleaning it deserves.

In fact, most kitchen appliances can be cleaned using homemade cleaners you can easily make in a matter of seconds with products you probably already have in your pantry.

Baking soda is a very effective cleaner; it’s abrasive enough to remove caked on debris but won’t scratch surfaces.

Christmas has got to be our favourite time of year but it can be an accident prone time too! With the bustle of having the whole family gathered round, little sticky sugarcane fingers and huge feasts can lead to a few mishaps!

Here is McCreery Contract Cleaning guide to the most common Christmas mishaps and how to clean them!

On the first day of Christmas – How to clean nail varnish spills

With all those Christmas parties to attend it’s only a matter of time before a little nail varnish spill occurs. Simply blot as much as you can to remove any excess polish. Using a sponge or cloth and apply a small amount of window cleaner to the stain. Scrub in a circular motion. Rinse the affected area with water, and let dry. The stain should disappear.

For fabric, blot the area with nail polish remove and use a cotton ball saturated with nail polish remover to blot the backside of the fabric. Rinse, repeat and launder as usual.

On the second day of Christmas - How to clean chocolate streaks

Christmas is just around the corner and for most of us that means a little time off with the family and a chance to catch up with aunties, uncles, cousins, friends and in-laws.

Indeed we are a sociable nation and never more so that during the holidays.

This time of year we recommend our Deep Cleaning Service, ideal ahead of this busy season, freeing up your time to spend with the family and giving you the confidence to enjoy your visitors knowing that your home is gleaming.

The benefits of your deep clean will last far beyond the festivities and into the New Year.

Benefits of a Deep Clean

Boosts the overall appeal of your home

Make your home a show house and arrive home to find every surface and window pane sparkling, all dust destroyed, and every trace of grease and grime gone. Flawless floors, brilliant bedrooms, immaculate kitchens, spectacular sitting rooms and sparkling bathrooms – the kind of home you want to show off to your guests! With the attention to detail that our cleaning team brings, our deep cleaning will last for months with just a small amount of maintenance needed to keep it spotless all year round.

Long lasting protection

McCreery Contract Cleaning is delighted to announce that it had joined Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce as a category sponsor for this year’s Kilkenny Business Awards 2016.

The awards were set up to recognise excellence in business throughout the county and to celebrate the variety of innovation and industry across Kilkenny. With 20 diverse categories available, McCreery Contract Cleaning is proud to sponsor ‘Craft Producer of the Year’ at this year’s awards.

At McCreery Contract Cleaning we are fortunate to work with many of Kilkenny’s forward thinking and dynamic enterprises and have witnessed first-hand the high level of professionalism and dedication that they have.

It was a pleasure to sit on one of the judging panels for the interview round of the awards process in our role as category sponsor and to meet face-to-face with some of the leading enterprises from Kilkenny. We found the standard of entries extremely impressive and we are more convinced than ever that entrepreneurship is alive and well in Co. Kilkenny!

We took our role to help decide on the overall winners very seriously and having given the matter considerable thought. A decision has been made in each category and the winners will be announced on Saturday, November 19^th at a black-tie gala awards ceremony at Lyrath Estate Hotel.

We look forward to a fantastic evening to celebrate and recognise Kilkenny businesses. We are proud to support this important event in Kilkenny and to acknowledge the top businesses in the county and we commend Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce for everything that it does to support enterprise in Kilkenny.

March may be the traditional time of year to undertake the annual clean but as the autumn months roll in and the children have returned to school or college now is the perfect time to blow away the cobwebs and get the house winter-ready!

At McCreery Contract Cleaning we are busy helping time-poor families enjoy some extra quality time together while we get their home spick-and-span for the holiday season ahead! Here are some of our ‘autumn’ cleaning tips.