The next time you’re perched on a stack of teetering books, trying to access a hard to reach spot, you might be asking yourself why you didn’t buy a step ladder sooner. 

Whether it’s around the house or at work, step ladders are great for completing those small odd jobs quickly and safely, whether that’s painting a wall, pruning a tree or clearing your gutters. Versatile, indeed, and that’s why so many home and business owners class step ladders as an essential bit of kit.

But if it’s safety concerns that are holding you back from joining the majority in owning one, your caution is partially justified. However, despite the step ladder being indispensable for DIY enthusiasts and qualified tradespeople alike, some do indeed injure themselves when using one. Usually, this is through improper setting up or a faulty ladder.

To ensure you’re able to complete your tasks without being sent tumbling, here’s how to use a step ladder safely.

DO NOT USE FOR PROLONGED PERIODS

Step ladders are great for small, odd-jobs around the house and at work. If you need to use the step ladder for more than half an hour or so, however, it’s probably a good idea to think about a different access solution as their small design may not be able to withstand heavy loads for a prolonged period. Alternatively, considering enlisting professional help, should your tools and equipment not be up to the task.

INSPECT FOR WEAR & TEAR

Before using your step ladder, each and every time, be sure to give it a quick visual inspection to make sure there are no signs of damage or wear and tear. These may cause the ladder to tip whilst you are using it or for you to fall whilst mounting and dismounting.

FIRM PLACEMENT

Whilst using the step ladder, ensure both of its feet are firmly placed on level, non-slippery ground and keep them there whilst you are using it. The last thing you want is for the ladder to slip out of place whilst you are in the middle of your task. Never try to use a stepladder flush against the wall, as you would an extension ladder, and don’t try to readjust its position once you’re on it.

LOCKING

When using the step ladder, be sure to double-check that the locking mechanism is fully engaged after you’ve unfolded it. This will ease any worries of the step ladder suddenly folding whilst working on it

CLIMB ABOARD

Before climbing up your step ladder, be sure to make note of the maximum weight load and that whatever you plan on doing, you don’t exceed this amount. Doing so could again cause the ladder to lose stability which can lead to nasty and unwanted accidents. Remember, it’s not just your weight that you need to be mindful of, but also the weight of anything you might need to carry whilst climbing up or down.

When working, maintain three points of contact with the step ladder; whether it’s two feet and a hand, two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand, or if you require a hand for work, allow the stepladder to support your body.

DIRECTION

Whenever possible, ensure your step ladder is positioned so that you are facing the direction in which you need to be working. This will prevent you from twisting your body whilst on the ladder and stop you from losing your balance and falling.

DON’T OVERREACH

Whilst on the ladder, never overreach to get to a particular position or place. Overreaching again can cause you to lose balance and fall off of your step ladder. Instead, climb down and reposition the step ladder so that you are in a better place to reach where you need to. It’s generally recommended that you don’t balance on the top two rungs of the ladder when working, instead standing lower to ensure stability.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Though stepladders are both useful and ubiquitous when carrying out DIY tasks at home and at work, they need to be approached with the proper caution to avoid falls and injury. Complacency won’t do; instead, apply our safety tips and complete your jobs with confidence. 

After 14 months of a global pandemic spent largely indoors, noses pressed against the window and fingertips drumming on the table impatiently, it’s safe to say that we’re feeling a little uninspired.

Whether you share your house with a pet, partner or a larger family, there are only so many times you can ask what everyone fancies for dinner or debate which Tory gives the worst daily briefing (clue: it begins with a P). Yep, free-flowing, casual conversation has been left wanting in recent months, but with the UK opening up, we can only pray that trips to Primark and the pub beer garden might provide some new material.

Alternatively, you could look to interior design for inspiration. No, seriously. By increasing the conviviality of your living room through a few simple, affordable additions, you can bring about a fresh enthusiasm in the family for spending time at home. In doing so, you might actually entice your partner, daughter, sister or father back from the pub once in a while this summer! 

With that in mind, here are 7 features to inspire sociability in your living room for summer.

COFFEE TABLE

Whilst offices have the ‘water cooler’, where colleagues naturally gravitate to engage in salacious gossip and discussion of last night’s TV, so the family home has the living room coffee table.

Low slung, central tables in the living room, such as coffee tables, act as a focal point where cuppas are shared and conversation, both heavy and light hearted, takes place. Stack the table with magazines, flowers, ornaments and other points of visual intrigue to further enhance your coffee table’s magnetic appeal, and watch the family flock round as soon as they hear the kettle boiling.

BRIGHT, OPEN WINDOWS

If your living room is dark, it’s likely that it will look uninviting. And with the appeal of sunny days spent on the beach and in the park so strong after a lengthy lockdown, who is ever going to choose a dimly lit space instead?

Indeed, a bright open space is much more welcoming. If your curtains or blinds are limiting the natural light that enters your living room, you might want to consider taking them down for summer or replacing them with something lighter which allows more light in. Roller blinds tend to allow for the most visibility when inactive, whilst Venetians afford residents some privacy whilst still letting light in. When compared to heavy, winter-friendly curtains, such blinds will make your living room a far more sociable place to spend time.

DRINKS TROLLEY 

Once a staple in homes across the country in the 1970s, drinks trolleys are back in vogue. We think every home should have one – they add some fun and implore those nearby to let the sociable, good times begin! The great thing about a drinks trolley is that everyone can help themselves. Simply load it with bottles, mixers and glasses and you’re all set for an exuberant time filled with lively conversation.

SOFT FURNISHINGS

A cosy-looking living room is one that is most inviting. On the flip side, hard chairs and a lack of soft features might make your living room look uncomfortable and insufficiently sociable to keep the family unit together. 

So, prioritise throws, blankets, and cushions that will make the room and its seating options more comfortable. If you’re keen for your living room to be a sociable space this summer, instead of laying empty, make sure the soft furnishings are super comfortable. 

To go the extra mile, you could add soft bean bags style chairs for extra guests to sit on. If you have a hard wooden or concrete floor, adding a tactile, thick rug might help insulate the room better and make it more inviting, too. 

TASK, MOOD & AMBIENT LIGHTING

Natural light doesn’t last all day, and if you’re keen to keep the family together in the evening, rather than it fracturing into disparate units once night falls, you’ll want to think about the evening lighting in your living room, too. 

Bright lights may will likely lead to a clinical, functional feel, which is the opposite of what you should be channeling. Instead, consider a mixture of task, mood and ambient lighting for best results:

• Mood lighting helps to set the mood in a room. This type of lighting tends to be low-light and warm, often creating shadows and pockets of intrigue.
• Task lighting helps you to perform a specific task, such as a desk lamp illuminating a surface from which you write/illustrate/compose your masterpieces. It gives light to your workspace and provides a very specific job. It isn’t meant to light a whole room and instead creates focal point in one specific, designated space.
• Ambient lighting is meant to be used throughout the home so that you can move from room to room without a transition too stark. It can replace sunlight during the evening hours, which means it should be bright enough to stand its ground in darker periods. Ambient lights tend to be wall or ceiling mounted.

WALL ART

If you’re looking for a conversation starter, then hanging some thought provoking art in your living room might inspire sociability. Of course, it needs to fit the overall aesthetic of both the room and your house as a whole, but a few flourishes of artistic flair can make your room feel funky, fashionable and most importantly, friendly.

Read: 8 tips for choosing the IDEAL artwork for your living room.

SEE SOME SCENTS

We hope this article has helped you see sense regarding your living room’s sociability. But before you leave us, let’s see some scents, too. Or rather, let’s smell them.

If you want a room to feel inviting, don’t underestimate the power of aroma. Scents such as vanilla or cashmere, in particular, are known to ignite a feeling of warmth which can attract people in. 

The living room is a place most people go to relax in, after all, so a soothing and calming scent is ideal. A warm aroma with soft furnishings and mood lighting are all great features to make your living room the ultimate cosy spot in the house. 

If you want to use the living room for more social occasions, an uplifting and fresh fragrance may be the best choice. Scents such as citrus fruits or fresh linen are good choices to make a room smell fresh and uplifting. 

Moreover, the soft flickering of a few well-placed scented candles can instantly make your living room feel welcoming – talk about seeing some scents!

And if you’re keen to use your nose further, check out these 5 IDEAL scenes to transform your mood.

Wash your hands and sing happy birthday…how quaint that counsel feels now! Since that rather lacklustre advice was issued some 14 months ago, our relationships with hand hygiene and our dedication to sanitation have changed irrevocably.

It seems like our home cleaning routines during the global pandemic have seen several stages of severity. There was that phase when we thought we should be microwaving our letters for fear they were contaminated. Or, that period of leaving our grocery shopping outside the door for several days to ensure all germs had taken flight before bringing it inside.

And who remembers that time we hosed down the postman? Oh, just us? Let’s move on.

Since then, as scientific consensus has solidified, some of these extreme practices have faded away; all but a distant memory of a peculiar time.

That said, it’s still important – pandemic or otherwise – to sanitise your home from time to time, to ensure you’re keeping germs and pathogens at bay. Considering domestic sanitation essentials, here’s how to leave your home spotless.

KEEP A DAILY ROUTINE

As laborious as home chores may be, and as tyrannical it sounds to be drawing up a cleaning rota, it’s essential for a spotless house that you have a system in place. Dishes, dusting and de-scaling don’t just happen by chance; you have to set aside a specific slot to do these tasks. If you care about your home being spotless rather than simply clean, then these chores are going to have to be done daily.

Effective cleaning is all about scheduling, routine and timing things with precision. A simple way to pull this off is by tackling things room by room; set aside a day of the week or a specific time slot to clean a particular room or space, and stick to it. 

Focus is a great driver for efficiency and stops you from spreading yourself too thinly. A ‘little and often’ approach is also a prudent one; if you do your chores systematically, completing tasks regularly bit by bit, you’ll more likely be able to maintain acceptable levels of cleanliness without ever having to a do a blitz job because things have gotten way out of hand.

GO HARD ON THE KITCHEN

Certain areas of the house are particularly prone to getting dirty and accumulating bacteria, and these should be wiped down several times a day, ideally. 

Interestingly, according to Home and Garden, the areas in your home which boast the most bacteria are:

• Sponges and tea towels in the kitchen
• Kitchen sinks, countertops and chopping boards
• Door knobs, cupboard handles and light switches

It’s in the kitchen, then, that you should pay closest attention. Use wipes and surface cleaners to help you sanitise hard surfaces and touch points, in particular, which tend to be the most touched – and therefore, dirtiest – places in the home. Always wash your dishes immediately after eating, and regularly sanitise your kitchen sponges in full strength vinegar for five minutes.

Indeed, many experts believe that the kitchen even harbours more germs than the toilet. The professionals behind Do It Right Cleaning point out that it’s important to clean down these areas most regularly as they are some of the most used in the house. You want to be careful of foodborne germs that can spread easily and cause harm to you and your family, so go hard on the kitchen cleaning to ensure your house as a whole is spotless.

Read: 4 kitchen appliance cleaning tips you need in your life.

CLEANING THE BATHROOM

The bathroom and toilet is the first place your mind goes to when you think of germs in the house, and so we naturally take extra measures to clean the bathtubs and toilet bowls regularly. Unfortunately, in honing in on the obvious, we ignore a few ‘forgotten’ places where germs breed in the bathroom. This includes the walls, the faucets, the toilet flusher and door knobs. 

To ensure you’re not missing a spot:

• Endeavor to use disinfectant sprays to clean these often forgotten places 
• After a bath or shower, wipe down the tub and walls of the bath. Clean the shower glass using a solution of equal parts water and white distilled vinegar after each use
• Use bleach in the toilet regularly, and use disinfectant wipes on the seat after every use
• Dispose used tissues properly, and empty the bathroom bin daily
• Don’t forget to sanitise your toilet brush – this can be done in bucket, using boiling water and bleach

USE SANITISER SUITABLE FOR SOFTER FABRICS

Many of us clean our carpets only when they get visibly dirty. However, bacteria, bad odours and dust mites can quickly get out of hand.

You want to use sanitisers that can be specifically used on soft fabrics such as rugs, couches, and throw blankets. These items can also carry allergens that can affect those in your family who are allergy-prone, have sinus issues, or suffer from asthma, so do need sanitation, as fabrics are adept at holding onto airborne germs.

Alternative, you can make a DIY solution to clean soft furnishings. Get rid of dirt, grime and smells from your carpets by sprinkling them with bicarbonate of soda around 20 minutes before hoovering. If you like, you can also spray the carpet with white vinegar for added effect.

USE AIR PURIFIERS AND LED SANITIZERS

Air purifiers and LED sanitizers are a great way to help keep your home clean. They can be set on a timer to operate at various time intervals, which will chime nicely with that strict cleaning routine we recommended earlier.

You’ll find yourself having to dust a lot less and you can rest assured that your LED sanitiser is working to clean your home without the need for heavy cleaners and harsh chemicals. 

DON’T NEGLECT THE EVERYDAY ITEMS

Did you know some of the most bacteria-laden items in your home are sitting right under your nose? Or rather, sitting right in your pocket. Indeed, smart phones, credit cards, keyboards and remote controls are all items which we are constantly touching, and are therefore prone to accumulating dirt and germs. To keep in the loop, check out these 7 everyday items you might not be sanitising enough. Happy cleaning!