Spring Cleaning; 8 Tips for This Nearly Forgotten Art

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Spring Cleaning; 8 Tips for This Nearly Forgotten Art

While it might sometimes feel as if spring will never really arrive, one day it will, and with it, comes the beauty of removing storm windows and doors, opening blinds and drapes and letting in the beautiful sunshine which shows…just how much dust and dirt the house has accumulated since the fall. Ugh.

For most people, spring cleaning involves some extra dusting, vacuuming, perhaps even a bit of mopping behind the bench in the mudroom or washing the windows but compared to the way our grandmothers (and possibly even our mothers) did spring cleaning, we look like real slackers.

We’ve made a list of some of the top 8 tips that will really make your house sparkle and shine this spring and make your grandma proud!

Tip #1- Rent a Dumpster

Our grandmothers might not have gone this far, but chances are that you are going to want to rent one so you can dump everything at one time and not fill up your regular trash can over the next 8-10 weeks! Ew- and no one wants to see all that trash sitting around anyway.

Renting a small dumpster is super economical, environmentally friendly and it will cost a lot less than you might think. Trust us here, you are going to want to get a dumpster before you begin this chore. We rented a 20-yard dumpster from nearby Yellow Dumpster Service and they dropped it off to our home in Baltimore within a few hours!

Tip #2- Start with Your Cleaning Closet

Everyone has at least one cleaning closet and sometimes two or more! Start by taking inventory and throw out all those half-used bottles of cleaners you didn’t like, the vacuum that hasn’t worked since 1996, the broom with a half dozen bristles, you name it. Once the cleaning closet is organized, you are ready to get down to business.

Tip #3- Start in the Bedrooms

In addition to all the usual chores, this would be a great time to purge those closets! Get rid of work out shoes, boots, jackets, flannel underclothes, worn out socks and long-sleeved shirts that no longer fit or that no one wears.

Tip #4- Don’t Walk Away Just Yet

Clean and freshen up those mattresses by sprinkling about half of a small box of baking soda on each side of the mattress. You can add a few drops of some sweet-smelling essential oil if you like, such as lavender or cedarwood. Wait a few hours while the baking soda absorbs the dirt and odors, then use your vacuum to get rid of dust bunnies underneath and the baking soda on top. (This works great with sofas too!)

Tip #5- Head to the Head

Decluttering is one of the first things you should do here as well. Open the linen closets, under the sink, or any other storage area and get rid of old cleaners, hair curlers, curling irons or blow dryers you no longer want or that don’t work, old toothbrushes, those half used shampoos and towels that have seen better days and pitch it all into the dumpster you rented.

Tip #6- Kitchen Time

There is always plenty of cleaning to do in the kitchen, but you will want to purge and organize here before you start scrubbing the walls. Use stick on hooks to put pot lids on cabinet doors. Go through your plastic storage and ditch any container that doesn’t have a lid or lids that don’t fit any containers. Go through that junk drawer and be brutal about what to keep and what to throw away.

Tip #7- The Pantry Awaits

If you don’t have a pantry, you probably have cabinets with food items that will work the same way. It’s time to throw out old cans of food that have serious dents, swollen tops, those with expiration dates of more than 1 year, and cans that don’t have labels. Throw out old cereal, oatmeal, flour, cookies, or any other grain product that has expired or is questionable. Don’t think of this as lost money, think of it as saving yourself from future food poisoning!

Tip #8- Consider Going Marie Kondo

You’ve done a great job decluttering inside but consider going all out Marie Kondo by getting rid of all the unnecessary junk in other places, such as the garage, the basement, the storage shed, or tool shed. Nothing makes your home feel fresh and clean like lean and mean! Get rid of anything that no longer works or that no longer suits your life and be done with it.

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