Exercise 4A, page 5 - English File Studetn's book, pre-intermediate, Oxford

5 LISTENING

a Look at the photo. Does this situation often happen where you live?

The bathroom needs cleaning!

I'm really tired. And I hate cleaning. Can you do it?

I hate housework too! Let's leave it.

They hate cleaning... but they want to live in a clean tidy house. What do they need?

The Lazy Person's Guide to a clean and tidy home: quick cleaning tricks for people who hate cleaning.

b You're going to listen to a video blog of The Lazy Person's Guide to a clean and tidy home. Look at tips 1–7. With a partner guess what the missing words are.

1 Clean quickly but _________.

2 Keep cleaning products in the _________ place.

3 Clean the _________ regularly.

4 Use your dishwasher to _________ things.

5 Tell people to take off _________ when they come in.

6 Use your socks to clean the _________.

7 Listen _________ while you clean.

c 4.11 Listen and check. How many did you guess right?

d Listen again and answer the questions about each tip.

1 How long should you clean for and how often? What can you do to motivate yourself?

2 What is the right place to keep cleaning products? What happens if you don't know where the product is?

3 How does he recommend cleaning the microwave?

4 Why does he mention flip-flops and tools?

5 What does he suggest you do if people refuse to cooperate?

6 What kind of floor does this work for? What do you need to do when you finish cleaning?

7 What kind of housework is this especially good for?

e Can you think of anyone who would find the The Lazy Person's Guide to a clean and tidy home useful? Do you have any other tips?

4.11

I’m lazy, but I like living in a clean tidy home. Maybe you’re the same. It doesn’t matter if you live by yourself, with a partner, or with a group of friends. You’re always going to have to do some housework. Learn a few cleaning tricks and you can have a clean home – and still have plenty of time to relax and do nothing.

Tip 1. Clean quickly but often.

Clean for just ten minutes twice a day. This gives you time to, for example, load the dishwasher and do one other thing like vaccuming. Set an alarm on your phone to motivate yourself.

Tip 2. Keep cleaning products in the right place.

Put cleaning products near the place where you need them. Keep bathroom cleaners in the bathroom, keep bin bags by the bin, and keep dishwasher tablets on top of the dishwasher. Sometimes you don’t clean if you can’t immediately see what you need, and you don’t want to look for it.

Tip 3. Clean the microwave regularly.

You probably use this every day and it gets dirty quickly, believe me. But cleaning it is super easy. All you need to do is pour a little water into a microwave-safe bowl, slice a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the water. Then, put the two halves of the lemon in the bowl and microwave on high for three minutes. Leave the door closed for another five minutes, and then clean the inside with a cloth.

Tip 4. Use your dishwasher to clean other things.

If you have a dishwasher it’s probably already your best friend. But did you know that it can clean much more than just kitchen things? You can use it to clean all kinds of things made of plastic like toys, or even flip flops or other plastic shoes, and also for things made of metal like tools, or keys.

Tip 5. Tell people to take off their shoes when they come in.

If you hate vacuuming, but you also hate the floor because you don’t do the vacuuming, there’s an easy solution – tell your housemates and guests to take off their shoes at the front door. And if they refuse, give them the vacuum cleaner.

Tip 6. Use your socks to clean the floor.

If you have a hard floor, like wood or stone, for example, make your socks work for you. Take your shoes off, and slide across a different part of your floor each time you move across it. It’ll soon be completely clean. Then, just throw your socks in the washing machine.

And finally tip 7. Listen to music while you clean.

Sometimes you really need to do some housework that you hate, like ironing or cleaning the bathroom. Put on your favourite playlist and focus on the music, not the boring housework.

And one last word.

Many people say that lazy people are often the best employees, because they find the most efficient way to complete a task. That’s the way you need to think when you’re cleaning. Good luck!