Spring is here! With the nicer weather, you probably want to give your home a fresh start. We are here to help you with 10 spring cleaning tips!
1. Start with a schedule
Spring cleaning your home will seem a lot less overwhelming if you have a schedule to follow. It could be helpful to start with the rooms that need the most cleaning, so that you can get them out of the way. Having a plan will prevent you from forgetting to clean certain areas, causing you to have to go back to rooms you thought you had already completed.
2. Work from the ceiling down
As you clean, dust and debris will fall. Working from the ceiling down will prevent you from having to re-clean surfaces. Tackle dust and cobwebs on your ceilings/ceiling fixtures, dust your furniture, and then clean your floors.
3. Make sure to dust your ceiling fixtures
Use an extendable duster to clean up ceiling fans, hanging and recessed lights, moldings, etc. Again, be sure to do this first in each room so that you don’t have to clean your furniture and floors twice.
4. Don’t forget about your walls and windows
Your walls and windows can be easily forgotten when you are doing a deep clean of your home. To clean your walls, wipe them down with a damp microfiber cloth or mop (from top to bottom). If you have paper, fabric or grass cloth wallpaper, use a dry cleaning sponge. Clean your windows with glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth, lower the blinds and dust them, then vacuum your drapes.
5. Refresh your carpets
An easy way to refresh your carpets is to use a portable carpet cleaner with a rotating brush. If you notice an odor coming from your carpet, just use baking soda! Sprinkle it on, work it in with a soft brush, let it sit for 15-30 minutes, then vacuum it up!
6. Deep-clean and organize your fridge
While you should wipe down your fridge’s interior shelves regularly, you should also give everything else in there a deep clean every once in a while! Take out the door shelves and bins and wash them in warm, soapy water. This will help to get rid of food bacteria and spillage. While everything is out of your fridge, this is the perfect opportunity to reorganize! Throw away any old items, put similar items near each other, and put older food items in the front so that you don’t forget about them before they go bad.
7. Clean your oven
It’s extremely important to clean your oven to eliminate grease buildup and reduce the risk of contamination. To get rid of baked-on grease, use your oven’s self-cleaning function. If your oven doesn’t have this function, place a hot, wet cloth on top of burned spots to soften the grease. Then, use an oven cleaner, wipe off with a wet cloth, and wipe dry.
8. Pick up and prevent hidden crumbs
If there is a gap between your stove and your counters, it’s inevitable that food crumbs will fall down there. Use a vacuum with a crevice tool to clean up these crumbs, then place down a stove gap cover to prevent this from happening in the future.
9. Don’t ignore the junk drawer
First things first, empty out that drawer. Now, you can vacuum up any crumbs and wipe down the interior surfaces. Evaluate what has been sitting in that drawer and throw out anything you no longer need. Put everything back in an organized matter, and consider using drawer organizers. You can also repurpose any old bowls that you no longer use to serve as drawer organizers!
10. Washing machines need to be washed too
Residue can get stuck in your washing machine, which can create odors and clog the inner mechanisms. In order to prevent this, use bleach and the special cleaning cycle, or use a washing machine cleaner.
