Winter is finally gone and spring is here! While the trees lose their blooms and the leaves begin to grow, that spring cleaning list has probably been in the back of your mind but there’s only one problem – you don’t quite know when you’ll have time to get it all done. You’re a busy professional and between all the things you’ve got going on finishing a round of spring cleaning isn’t exactly at the top of your list.
You can easily put a check mark next to each item on your spring cleaning to-do list without sacrificing and entire weekend with these spring cleaning shortcuts:
Ceilings and Walls: It’s probably been a little while since you gave those walls a wash down. You can easily swipe ceilings and clean up the walls with a dry microfiber mop. These things have magic power that can pick up dirt, dust, and cobwebs that have been sitting there for a while and you just haven’t had time to get (or reach!). The mop will also help you to reach corners and even get behind furniture without putting too much muscle into it.
Windows: While your window treatments don’t need as much cleaning as your bed sheets it is a good idea to give them a good wash every so often. You can easily just throw them in the dryer for a tumble session on cool for about 15 minutes. When it comes to the windows, most of your issue is likely on the outside (unless you have little ones that like to look out the windows). You can give them a quick wash down from the outside or use some streak-free window cleaner and wipe ’em down with a microfiber cloth or some paper towels if you don’t have a cloth handy. If you have blinds, they’ve likely collected some dust throughout the winter but you can give them a quick clean by using the long-bristle attachment on your vacuum along the shades to remove dust and dirt.
Appliances: When was the last time you washed your dishwasher? Sometimes we assume that since we’re adding in the soap and it has the job of getting our dishes clean then it must get plenty clean itself, right? Wrong – but you can easily clean it by emptying it, adding some distilled vinegar, and running it on the hottest cycle possible. You don’t have to take the time to wipe it out with your hands – it’ll do the scrubbing for you!
The oven is a very dreaded cleaning spot for many, so you’re not the only one who dislikes it. But you can find a natural degreaser that’s free of fumes and naturally breaks down tough baked on food. If you don’t like the self-cleaning option on your oven (ours causes it to get too smoky!), you can opt for spraying the whole thing out with a bottle of oven cleaner. You may want to go with a natural one since many cleaners have tons of chemicals and dyes in them – something you probably don’t want left behind in something that cooks your food. You can also use a cleaner like this on your microwave to get off that caked on food!
Use a special surface cleaner on your refrigerator (after you remove the food, first!) to help get out stains and spills that may be in there. If there’s something that’s really stinking up the fridge you can take a vanilla-soaked cotton ball and put it in there for at least a day to help vanish odors. Once you do that, put an open box of baking soda on the shelves to keep everything smelling fresh.
Home Decor: You can easily clean off artwork, lampshades, and photos with a handheld duster or by using the long-bristle attachment of your vacuum. This will pull of dust and dirt without requiring you to to too much work and it’ll save you from ruining your art with sprays. Photos probably don’t have fingerprints all over them so you can just wipe them down with a microfiber cloth to pick up the dust. Use the long-bristle attachment of your vacuum to remove dust from lampshades.
Vacuum: Don’t forget to vacuum the carpet in your home. You don’t have to empty out the room, you can just move the furniture as you go, but it is important that you get these hidden areas clean while you’re getting ready for spring. That spot under the couch probably isn’t very dirty but it has been collecting dust since you last moved everything to get under there.
