Spring Cleaning Tips and Tricks April 15 2016, 0 Comments
It’s that time again! It’s easy to put off or dread spring-cleaning because it feels like you’re unearthing a year’s worth of grime and clutter, but take it one day at a time, and don’t be afraid to take a whole week to clean! A whole house is WAY too much to take on in one day! Use these helpful tips and tricks to take your cleaning one step at a time!
Wipe Down - Wipe Down everything in your house. Get a Clean “slate”. Clean the windows; wipe down banisters, baseboards, and walls; sanitize any household electronics to wipe out the garages to sanitize and deodorize them and clean all other glass surfaces.
Vacuum / Shampoo / Mop - Vacuum in every room, vacuum the couch, vacuum chairs, vacuum cushions and mop anything you can’t vacuum. And don’t forget to wash rugs and whack the dust out of any pillows or seats. Once you’ve vacuumed, you should shampoo the carpet. Now you can hire a professional service if you want, or just do it yourself.
Fabrics - Next, you’ll move onto the beds and all other fabrics in the home. Clean the drapes, curtains (including shower curtain), valances, etc. Make sure you wash all the bedding (including blankets and pillows) and flip the mattresses. Also take this time replace any burnt-out light bulbs and dead batteries in smoke detectors, remotes, etc. Then, take a seat and a breather because you’re almost done!
Next the Kitchen! I promise its not as bad as it looks! Start from the highest places and work your way down so if any crumbs or garbage fall, it won’t be on clean surfaces. Start with the cupboards, wiping them down and changing the paper if needed. Make sure to get the outside and inside of the fridge (including coils) and then clean the counter tops, appliances, and stove/oven.
Bathrooms - This will be a piece of cake once the kitchen is done! Wipe down, sanitize, and thoroughly clean the tub, toilet, shower, sink, and counters. The mirrors should already be clean, but touch them up as needed. Also, it would be good to change the air filter if necessary and polish/wax any furniture.
Lastly don’t let all that cleaning go to waste! Make sure youre getting rid of old junk that you don’t need anymore! Take a look at the list below to help you get started!
- Old magazines - chances are, you wont read them again. Find places where you can donate your magazines to. If there's an article that really speaks to you, scan a digital image or keep a folder of magazine clippings if you like saving magazine articles.
- Receipts, bills, and documents - Throw away receipts for items that you aren't planning on returning, and ones that you won't need to use come tax time. If you're wary of throwing away receipts, you can make a digital copy.
- Clothes - Use the two-year-rule for clothes — get rid of apparel that you haven't worn in two years.
- Books - Go through your bookshelf and gather together books you haven't touched in months and ones that you aren't planning on rereading. Be realistic and make sure you're ruthless.
- Medicine and vitamins - Take a look at your medicine closet and clear out drugs that have expired, medicine that has sat on your shelf for too long, or ones that you no longer use.
- Makeup and perfume - Go through your beauty cabinet and get rid of makeup that's too old or that you don't use.
- Jewelry - Go through your jewelry and dispose of the broken costume jewelry and make plans to sell ones that you don't wear.
- Some memorabilia - Many organizing experts advise to be ruthless and throw away memorabilia like cards and gifts you don't use. But designating a small shoebox for memorabilia is much easier and only throw away anything that can't fit into the box.
- Old or unused electronics - Sell your old electronics to different online relators and toss out the old ones you don’t use anymore. With the growing age of technology if you haven’t used something in 6 months you probably wont use it again.
Sources:
http://www.cleanmama.net/2015/03/gather-your-tools-the-best-tools-for-spring-cleaning.html
http://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/Things-Throw-Away-21653157
