5 Top Tips For Spring Cleaning Your Home

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As the weather warms up and we look forward to spending more time outdoors, it’s a great time to get a jump start on your spring-cleaning schedule.  Here are 5 tips to help you save money, stay productive and get back to being summertime ready – sooner.

1.Clear the clutter and organize your home

One of the biggest parts of spring cleaning is often getting rid of clutter. We suggest that you start by sorting your belongings into four categories: trash, give away, store, or put away.  As soon as your belongings have been sorted, explore ways to get rid of what you don’t need, including a charity donation box, consignment, or plan a yard sale.  The biggest rule of thumb is if you haven’t used it in about a year or so, then the likelihood is you won’t, but someone else might.

2. Clean Room by Room and Top to Bottom

Approach your spring cleaning from the inside of your home then move to the outside on warmer days. Start simple by tackling the low-traffic rooms such as your dining and living rooms – your speed in tackling these rooms will keep you motivated to keep going. Dust and clean all your knickknacks.

Another handy tip is to work from the top and move down to the bottom. Start from the ceiling. Dust and clean your light fixtures and remove any cobwebs from ceiling fans. This top to bottom approach will push the debris downward and help you skip the step of re-dusting and re-cleaning. After you’ve done the ceiling and fixtures, proceed with dusting your furniture and accessories before vacuuming. This will save you a lot of time in the long run.

3. Use multi-function cleaning supplies

You may have a myriad of cleaning products in your closet, but it’s a good idea to opt for a good all-purpose cleaner as well as microfiber cleaning cloths, a microfiber cleaning mop, and a steamer. These will work on almost all of your surfaces and save you a lot of time in the long run. One of the best approaches to cleaning products is to keep them as environmentally friendly as possible. Here’s a simple recipe by Melissa Maker of Clean My Space that can be used to clean appliances, sinks, quartz, marble, and granite counters:

• ¾ cup water
• ¾ cup rubbing alcohol
• 5 to 10 drops of your oil of preference (peppermint, orange, or lemon are recommended for that nice fresh smell)
• 1 squirt of natural dish soap

Mix together the following ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well before spraying onto surfaces.

If you’re not the DIY type check out this great slideshow on 9 green cleaning products for great results.

4. Wipe down your walls, windows, blinds, or curtains

The walls and windows of your home also need a wipe down after going through the winter season. For your walls, use a damp cloth to wipe down from top to bottom. For the windows, start with your blinds by dusting these top to bottom, then remove your window screens and wipe them down. To clean your glass windows, you don’t need a cleaner you can use a steam cleaner with a squeegee or if your windows are smeared wipe them down by mixing 2 ounces of water and 5-10 drops of lavender or lemongrass oil which helps remove smears.

5. Make bathroom and kitchen cleaning second nature

You will love some of these tips on how to keep your bathroom and kitchen clean year-round so it doesn’t become one of those dreaded cleaning tasks.

Bathroom clean up

You may already do this, but if you don’t – it’s a game-changer! Leave a squeegee in your shower to easily wipe down your walls when you’re in the shower. You can take this a step further and also leave a dish wand filled with equal parts of dish soap and vinegar. It’s so effective, and if you do this once a week while you’re in the shower you don’t have to worry about it!

Kitchen clean up

• Start with spraying your sink and let it sit for 10 minutes
• While the sink is soaking, wipe down your cabinets and countertops
• Wipe down your stainless-steel appliances, use a gentle cleanser or steamer
• Go through your pantry and fridge, throw away any expired items and wipe down the shelves
• Lastly, add a dryer sheet to your kitchen garbage can to get that fresh smell.

For more tips on how to take care of your home check back with us and to learn about our development projects subscribe to Dilworth’s newsletter.

Image Credits: Unsplash Photography, Pixabay

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