How satisfying is it when you come home after a long day to a house that is clean, smelling fresh and practically sparkling? I know cleaning from top to bottom can be overwhelming and pretty much impossible to do in one go, not to mention time-consuming and tiring. I find it much easier to break it down room by room or appliance by appliance. The best thing about Spring Cleaning is you can pick it up and put it down as little and as often as you’d like. Have a spare 10 minutes? Tackle the list. Have a free weekend, tackle the list.
Consider this your DIY Spring Cleaning checklist: Work through item by item for a total spruce up or focus on your home’s dirtiest rooms/appliances when you have some spare time on your hands.
Preparation is key so make sure you have all your favourite cleaning products before you start. A cleaning caddy is also a handy little thing so your not running up and down the stairs because you forgot a cleaning essential. Anyway, let’s get started shall we?
#1. Spray Down Windows And Blinds
Did you know the direct sun can lead to streaking? I didn’t either so wait for an overcast day or work from the shadiest spot, raise blinds or shades and wash windows with glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth. Now you’ve got those windows nice and sparkling, you can’t forget about the blinds which can hold all sorts of dust and dirt, so it’s time to take a hoover to them and clear it all out so that sunlight can shine through. And if you’re willing to spend a penny or two, window vacuums are a great investment and can leave your windows streak-free.
#2. Take Down All Curtains And Wash
A quick spray of Febreze keeps your curtains smelling fresh but they do need a good clean occasionally. Every 3 to 6 months take your curtains down to either throw them in the washing machine on a delicate spin or get them done professionally. This will help reduce the amount of pollen and mould than can get into your room, so especially helpful if you’ve got allergies. This can be a daunting task if you’ve got a lot of rooms to get through, so I tend to stick to one set of curtains a week as I take on the spring clean journey.
#3. Wipe Down Walls And Woodwork
Keeping your walls free from sticky or greasy fingerprints is a tough job especially if you have little people residing in your home. So here’s a little spring cleaning hack for you, simply wipe down walls and woodwork around the home with a damp microfiber cloth from top to bottom, and for another quick spring cleaning tip use a small amount of washing up liquid on those pesky door frames and skirting boards, this always manages to work wonders.
#4. Clean Doormats
Want to trap dirt before it enters your home, use two doormats one on entry and one on exit. When needed simply hose them both down and allow them to air dry, giving both a quick hoover afterwards to ensure all and any loose dirt is grabbed up. Ensuring sure they don’t hold onto too much dirt from your shoes that can get carried through to your home without you knowing, making this an essential part of any spring clean.
#5. Freshen Up Carpets
Refresh your carpets in between deep cleans by hiring one of our portable carpet cleaners https://itphire.co.uk/product/carpet-cleaners-karcher-puzzi-10-1/. You will be amazed at all the dirt it removes. To rid your carpets of any pet odours simply sprinkle baking soda onto the carpet, then using a soft brush, brush in and let sit for 15 minutes. After this, all you need to do is hoover up and the smells should vanish.
#6. Steam Clean The Microwave
We all know microwaves can get rather messy. With foods that can splatter all over the place, it’s no surprise really. Using a bit of DIY spring cleaning magic, fill a large microwave-safe bowl with 1 cup of water and either a chopped-up lemon or lime and place inside. Turn on high for a couple of minutes or until the water boils and the window becomes steamy. Let cool for another 5 minutes and then wipe away with a damp cloth and all that food mess should be gone.
#7. Deep Clean The Fridge
This task can seem like a rather large one, but with a few little spring cleaning tips, you’ll have it sorted in no time. Start by removing all food from the fridge being sure to check the sell-by dates of those jams, sauces, butter etc. as you do. Once the food is out remove the shelves and storage compartments, once clear wipe down the inside of the fridge using a small amount of washing up liquid and a microfiber cloth. Soak all the shelving and storage compartments, rinse off and dry. Finally, replace and restock the fridge accordingly. I would love to be one of those super-organized people you see on videos re-stocking their fridge, I am not one of those people.
#8. Wipe Down Kitchen Cabinetry And Drawers
Kitchen grime is a build-up over time of cooking grease, oil and dust that congeals and just becomes pretty disgusting really. To keep on top of this run the extractor fan over your cooker every time you cook up a storm to keep grease from settling in. Unfortunately, some grease still gets through, to de-gunk choose a cabinet cleaner to cut through any dirt and nastiness. Make sure to do an extra sweep around places that grease can stick to like handles and door pulls. Drawers need to be removed and wiped out including cutlery trays (Have you ever seen how dirty these things get? I just don’t understand how it happens when clean cutlery goes in there!)
#9. Shine Up Granite Worktops
If you are lucky enough to own granite or stone worktops, you will know they are by far maintenance free. Dig out the granite or stone cleaner, preferably something pH-balanced that will leave the granite with that same shine as when you had them installed and to help repel stains on your kitchen countertops and ensure they’re safe to be part of the food preparation process when needed. To keep on top of this, wipe away spills as soon as possible despite granite’s relatively non-porous nature, some substances can penetrate and leave irritating watermarks. To avoid any risk, if something spills onto your granite worktop, wipe immediately.
#10. Reorganise The Junk drawer
We all have one, random batteries, elastic bands, pens of all shapes and sizes and any other random stuff you can think of. Empty out the drawer and hoover. This is a part of the spring clean you need to be brutal with and chuck out anything you no longer need. Everything else goes back in, keeping it as organized as it ever will be until eventually more and more is eventually added in its place and it’s time to spring clean the draw once more.
#11. Hoover Soft Furniture
Pull out the hoover and put it to some good use on all the soft furnishings around the house, grabbing up any crumbs or dirt they may have collected, this will keep your furniture looking and feeling fresher for much longer. Now it’s time for some heavy lifting, pull your sofas, footstools, and any other furniture you can away from walls and hoover behind them. Even if you can’t see it normally it’ll still be in need of a good spring clean, be sure to get at those skirting boards hidden behind too when hoovering and give them a good wipe down so any dust or dirt that managed to escape can no longer hide.
#12. Tackle Dust Mites In Your Mattress
Every night you lose dead skin, hair and around a pint of fluid while you sleep. So, deep cleaning your mattress helps keep your sleeping environment clean and healthy. To start this part of your spring cleaning journey, clean your mattress press firmly with your hoovers upholstery tool to clean the tops and sides. After hoovering sanitise with a sanitizing spray, for any accidents that may have occurred, use a baking soda on a soft brush, leave for 15 minutes and hoover up.
With Spring now upon us, I hope all these tips for your 2022 spring clean keep every room in your house feeling, looking and smelling fresh even giving you a couple of new pieces of advice you didn’t know along the way. And don’t forget, I’ll be here waiting for next year as another spring clean roles around.