February 24, 2021
16 Easy Spring Cleaning Tips for Your Home
We adore the spring season. Not only does it mean the weather is finally warming up, but it gives us a chance to refresh our homes. Donating things to local thrift stores, finally cleaning up neglected spaces, or going through our phone’s camera roll to delete hundreds of unwanted selfies—spring is the perfect time for a fresh start.
To help you prepare your home for this coming season, we’ve created a list of spring cleaning tips and tricks. So, put away your winter wardrobe and grab your vacuum because we have some work to do!
1. Make a schedule
Spring cleaning means finally getting to all of the nooks and crannies you don’t normally have time to scrub. And the best way to get the most out of your spring cleaning spree is to create a schedule! Planning out when exactly you want to tackle each room will help keep you focused on the task at hand.
2. Always work from top to bottom
When you think about how to deep clean your home, it’s important to start from the ceiling down. This helps force debris downward and keeps you from having to re-dust or re-vacuum throughout the day. If you have a vacuum with an extension hose, use it to get cobwebs and dust down from your ceilings, lights and fans first. Then move on to your furniture and other items before you vacuum and dust the floors.
3. Keep cleaning products to a minimum
When exploring the cleaning aisle at your local grocery store, it can be easy to get confused. These days, you’ll find a product or cleaner for just about everything—but do you really need that many? Dozens of cleaning products just means more clutter and waste that will eventually end up in the landfill. In order to keep your cabinets tidy and your environmental conscience clear, try investing in a handful of products that do multiple jobs. The real champions of spring cleaning are basic supplies like a good, all-purpose cleaner, microfiber cloths, dish soap, vinegar, a vacuum, mop and broom. Once you have those, you’re good to go!
4. Freshen up your warm-weather wardrobe with vodka
One of the best parts of spring cleaning is putting away all your winter clothing to make way for your summer wardrobe! But after six months of stagnating in tubs in your closet, they might need a little refresher. Hang all your summer clothes in your closet and spritz them with a little vodka with a spray bottle. You can also mix it with a little bit of essential oil to give your clothes a great, spring scent! This will help knock out wrinkles and freshen up your wardrobe for the new season.
5. Only wash your windows on overcast days
Unbeknownst to many, direct sun can actually lead your window cleaner to streak. That’s why we recommend waiting until an overcast day to clean any windows or glass doors. It will keep your cleaning solution from drying as you spray and will allow you to get shiny, sparkling glass in half the time. Plus, it’s easier to see any streaks you may have missed!
6. Purify the air
One of the most forgotten chores around the house is changing out your filters! During your cleaning spree, don’t forget to change out your air filter. Not only will it make your air cleaner and healthier, but it can also save you money by allowing your air conditioning unit to not have to work as hard during warmer days!
While you’re at it, spend an entire day with your windows open! The cool breeze will push any stagnant air out, fluff up your linens and get you excited for the season to come.
7. Refresh your drapes by putting them in the dryer
Just like regular laundry, your actual window drapes can also be washed (make sure to check the washing instructions, though, just in case). If you feel like doing a deep clean, throw them in your washing machine on the gentle cycle and hang them to dry. However, if you just want to freshen things up, toss them in the dryer for 15 minutes on the “air-only” cycle and immediately rehang them to avoid wrinkles.
8. Vacuum your mattress
While we know you wash your sheets fairly often, this season is the perfect time to pay attention to what’s under the blankets. Gross things like skin cells and pet fur can nestle into the fibers, creating a pretty nasty place to rest at the end of the day! Luckily, you can say goodbye to unwanted dander by quickly vacuuming your mattress directly. Just attach your vacuum’s upholstery tool to clean the top and the sides. Afterward, you can go a step further by disinfecting your mattress with a spray like Lysol.
9. Hose down your trash cans
After several months of use, our trash cans start to get pretty dirty—inside and outside! If you want to tackle that icky garbage residue this season, pool all your trash cans together in your backyard and give them all a good hose down. For some extra sparkle, you can pour in some dish soap and let them soak for a few minutes to really get all the dirt and grime off. Then, just rinse and wipe them down with a microfiber cloth.
10. Use pillowcases to clean your ceiling fans
One frustrating thing about ceiling fans is that they often tend to be located above furniture like couches and beds. This means that when you try to knock any dust off them, it winds up floating down and settling on your common spaces. You can avoid all of this by using a pillowcase! Fit a pillowcase around one of the blades and hold it taut, then just gently pull along the blade and use it as a dust rag. This way, you can catch all the dust in one fell swoop—and avoid cleaning up the aftermath later.
11. Don’t forget your walls
While we tend to think of dust as settling on flat surfaces like tables, couches and shelves—it actually settles on other places too, like our walls, light switches and baseboards. Don’t worry though, cleaning all that pesky, forgotten dust is as easy as using a damp towel to wipe it all down.
12. Wash toys in your dishwasher
The days of filling up sinks with soapy dishwater and soaking toys for several hours are gone. Thanks to the help of your dishwasher, you can get those germ-ridden toys cleaned and dried in half the time. Put your children’s or pet’s toys in the dishwasher and choose the “quick-cycle” option. For stuffed animals, gather them in a mesh bag or pillowcase and put them in your washing machine for a ride.
13. Wipe down patio furniture with dish soap
When it comes to household cleaners, dish soap is pretty magical. In addition to cleaning your dishes, it can also clean your outdoor furniture! Get your patio set ready for the warmer weather by adding a squirt of dish soap to a bowl of warm water. Then wipe down tables, chairs and anything else you have lying around outside. Finish it all off with a spray of water from the hose.
14. Clean your grill with an onion
Get your grill ready for summer barbecues by giving it a little extra love! First, heat it up and spray some white vinegar onto the grates to help loosen any residue. Then, scrub the area firmly using half an onion. Yes, you read that correctly! Onions actually have special acid that allows them to cut through grime and grease. And don’t worry about your food only tasting like onions for a while—it’s just an easy, natural way to clean without having to resort to smelly, chemical-filled mixtures.
15. Clean your cleaners
During our regular cleaning routine, we often forget about our actual cleaning devices. For your wet cleaning appliances like washing machines and dishwashers, run them empty on a cleaning cycle (or a regular cycle if your machine doesn’t have that feature) with some bleach or detergent. To remove mineral buildup in your washing machine and to eliminate any mildew odors, run distilled white vinegar through the empty wash as well. For the dryer, every few months you should go the extra step and actually vacuum out the lint trap. This will help catch any lint stuck under the filter and prevent a house fire.
If you use a broom, clear any dust bunnies stuck on the bristles by swishing the head around in warm, soapy water. And let’s not forget about your vacuum! Replace the bag, clean the dust cup, wash the filters and snip any threads caught in the brush.
16. Establish new cleaning habits
Take advantage of your fresh start to establish some new cleaning habits. Make a plan to wash your sheets every week or dust your ceiling fan every month. Something as simple as a 15-minute cleanup routine every few days can help maintain a tidy home all year long—and make spring cleaning faster and easier next year!
Do you have any spring cleaning tips?
Leave them in the comments below!
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