How to Spring Clean Effectively and Efficiently
April showers bring May flowers—in addition to a perfect reason to stay indoors and spring clean. In the middle of trading your winter wardrobe for summer, gather your supplies and dive into a weekend full of deep cleaning.
No matter the size of your home, cleaning every inch and crevice may seem overwhelming at first. To help you complete such a daunting task, consider following these four tips to clean effectively and efficiently.
Begin by Decluttering
You can’t deep clean if there are toys lying around your living room, dirty clothes sprawled throughout your bedroom, and leftover cooking supplies cramming the kitchen counters. Start your spring cleaning by decluttering your items, especially in the high-traffic areas.
One great idea to speed up the decluttering process is to set a timer for each room . Give yourself ten minutes to declutter before moving on to the bigger task: cleaning. Knowing you only have ten minutes in each room to finish the job will motivate you to work harder.
Clean Room by Room
When spring cleaning, you may catch yourself asking these questions: Where do I start? How much time should I spend in one area? What is considered deep cleaning versus just organizing?
Don’t let these questions overwhelm you! The best way to tackle them is to create a simple task list for each room of the things you want to accomplish. For example, in the bathroom, you may need to focus on removing hard-water stains on the sink faucet and unclogging the shower drain (thick/long hair problems!). In the kitchen, the microwave, stove, and fridge may be the highest priorities. The closets and dressers in your bedroom may need some tidying, too ( Marie Kondo-style , of course).
Arranging your cleaning list by room will help you more thoroughly clean each room in its entirety and take some stress off your shoulders.
Work from the Top Down
Have you ever swept your kitchen floor but then decided to wash off your kitchen counters, causing crumbs to fall down? No one wants to reclean, especially if they did a thorough job the first go around. To save yourself time and energy, clean from the top down . In other words, dust the ceiling fans, wipe down light fixtures, and clean the windows before sweeping, mopping, or vacuuming. This will ensure that you catch any dust from above that falls on the floor.
Don’t Overspend on Products
There is no need to run to the store and buy expensive cleaning supplies. Nearly all your spring chores can be accomplished by using common items you already have. Here are a few essentials:
- Baking soda
- Borax
- White vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Olive oil
These products are extremely effective in safely, economically, and environmentally cleaning your home and can be used in combinations or alone. Make a one-to-one solution of vinegar and water to refresh your bathroom. Mix one cup of olive oil with a half-cup of lemon juice to polish your furniture. Stir together lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda to create the perfect scrubbing paste. And lastly, add a half cup of Borax per gallon water in your cleaner’s reservoir to enhance your carpet.
If you want to spring clean efficiently and effectively, follow the four cleaning steps above. Your apartment will appear fresh and new!
