As spring blows in, it marks the time of year that most people plan to blow the dirt out of their homes and perform their annual spring cleaning. After a long winter, your home can usually use a bit of extra TLC to restore its cleanliness and shine. Here are some tips to help make the most of your cleaning.
Organize and sort
Before you start tackling any major project, work through the rooms of your home to pick up large clutter or misplaced items and find a place for them. This is also an excellent opportunity to identify items that are no longer used, broken or unwanted. Better Homes and Gardens suggests that you bring a few boxes or bags to help sort as you go. One can be designated for garbage, another can be for donations and a third for garage sale items. This will help remove some of your clutter and maybe even net you a few dollars.
Deep clean the floors
After the salt and sand of winter, the mud of spring is the next assault on your home’s carpeting and floors. Springtime is the right time to give your carpets and other floors some attention. Country Living recommends cleaning your carpets as mud season winds down so that you get the most of your clean carpets. Spray foam and powder treatments are a great DIY option, or you can look into renting a steam cleaner for a more thorough clean. This is also a good time to treat hardwood, laminate or tile floors to a mopping or waxing, as well, to keep them looking clean and protected.
Lighting and fixtures
Moving from the floor to the ceiling, don’t forget to refresh your hanging light fixtures, fans or ceiling vents. For fans and vents, wiping down with a cloth works wonders if they’re within reach, notes Reader’s Digest. For fixtures, a bit of all-purpose cleaner and a sponge should do the trick. Be careful with high and hard to reach places, and use a stepladder if needed. Many hardware and home supply stores also carry extended-reach cleaning implements, as well, for hitting skylights or fixtures that are too high to reach.
Refresh the kitchen
Don’t forget to give your kitchen a thorough review, including tossing old, expired or questionable items from the fridge. After you’ve weeded out the contents, clean the refrigerator using a combination of soda water and salt, recommends HGTV. The salt provides an abrasive medium to help lift grime, while the soda water adds bubbling action to help attack stuck on gunk. HGTV also notes that laying a vinegar-soaked paper towel on your faucet fixtures for about an hour can also be helpful in lifting lime and grime build up. The vinegar will soften the deposits, making them easier to scrub away.
By completing a good deep clean in the spring, you can move past the stale air and dingy dirt of winter and head into a summertime of sun, fun and enjoyment with a clean home to come back to.
