No one knows exactly how and when the concept of spring cleaning was created. However, one thing is certain – it’s something that motivates even the laziest of people to declutter and clean their homes, preparing them for the sunny days ahead. If you’re a rookie in this, you’d need some small help organizing the spring cleaning of your house. Here’s a short list of to-dos and some easy tips to motivate you and make this venture as easy as possible!
- Decluttering
We all have a bunch of useless stuff lying around we’re unwilling to part with. Even if you got rid of all the things you didn’t actually need during previous spring cleaning, your place has probably become cluttered with all sorts of junk – again. Gather everything that clutters your space. Throw it away, give it to someone or organize a garage sale.
- Working from top to bottom
When you finally start cleaning, always work from the top down. First, vacuum the ceiling and wipe the walls with cleaner. If you skip painting this year, at least give your walls a proper cleaning. Don’t forget about scrubbing the bathroom and kitchen tiles. When you’re done with dusting the upper shelves, move on to lower level and finally – the floor.
- Mirrors, windows and doors
Your home won’t be sparkling clean if you skip cleaning windows, mirrors and other glass surfaces. You’ll need a microfiber cloth, glass spray cleaner, dishwashing liquid and a bucket of lukewarm water. First, scrub each glass surface with dishwashing liquid and brush and rinse well. Then, polish mirrors with glass cleaning solution and clean cloth.
- Cleaning upholstered furniture
Before you start vacuuming and washing your upholstered furniture, take cushions (and all parts of furniture you can pull out) outside and beat them. This will remove most of the dust and mites that are living in your furniture. Before vacuuming, apply some boric acid and leave it for 15 minutes – it will kill the rest of the dust mites.
- A thorough dusting
When dusting, most of us will clean what we see – especially if we don’t have enough time on our hands. Therefore, from time to time, you need to do some thorough dusting and apply your dust brush on every crevice and hidden, hard-to-reach spot you can find. Take all the books off the shelves and dust each of them separately.
- Carpets and floors
When you remove carpets, take care of linoleum and wooden floors – clean them and polish them with a wax. The, treat your carpets with a yearly wash or steam cleaning. Regular vacuuming is not enough – you need to remove the dust mites, carpet bugs and other pests and disinfect your carpets thoroughly. Call professional services if you don’t own a proper equipment.
- Maintaining wooden furniture
Let’s move on to wooden furniture – tables, chairs, desks, etc. At least once per year, your furniture should be maintained with wax. When you finish dusting, gently wipe the surfaces with a damp cloth which you previously dipped in water and mild soap. This will remove wax leftovers from the previous spring clreaning. Then, apply a new coat of paste wax and let it dry!