It’s nearly that time of year again, where the days get longer and the sun starts shining, illuminating murky windows, trails of dust and finger marks on the TV. There’s also something about the spring that makes us want a fresh start, to clear out and tidy up. Tell me I’m not the only one who is dying to find the time to sort through untidy drawers, give the kitchen cupboards a good clean and to pull out every heavy piece of furniture to sweep, dust and mop under? I’m ready for a Spring Clean!
Don’t get me wrong, I keep my home tidy, clean and presentable but every now and again I love to blitz through and disinfect, scrub and scour every nook and cranny until there is not a single speck of dirt to be seen. It feels good to know there are no dust bunnies cowering in the corner and that even on top of the kitchen cupboards (yes a place that never gets seen) is sparkling clean.
The Big Spring Clean Sort Out
Before I even reach for the bleach I find it’s best to have a real good sort out. The kind where you end up with bags full of unwanted and never used goods ready for the charity shop and a few more for the tip.
I would advise tackling one room at a time. To take on the house in one go is overwhelming and you’ll probably give up or get distracted by an old photo album you’d forgotten about (Just me?) Sort through your things and pile them up in to 4 categories. Keep, Sell, Charity, Bin. Be strict with yourself – if something has been living in the back of the cupboard for the last year and you haven’t missed it – do you really need it? Could you sell it on eBay and earn yourself a few extra pounds? Better than storing it at the back of your cupboard that’s for sure!
Once you’ve sorted through what you can give to charity, take it straight to your local shop. The longer you keep it in your home the more likely it is that you’ll dip into it and bring out the old stuff. Out of sight, out of mind.
Once you know what you want to keep, make sure you organise and store it properly. A shoe rack can tidy up the pile of shoes you keep by the door and under bed storage can hide away anything you don’t need immediately.
The Deep Spring Clean
Next comes for what I call the “Deep Spring Clean” Rubber gloves on, duster, polish, brush, bleach, broom and mop at the ready… scrub! Again take it one room at a time, I usually start with the kitchen, disinfect and bleach every surface, the sink and faucets, clear out the fridge and freezer, scrub the microwave, tackle the oven and hob, sweep and mop the floors. I also have awkward kitchen door handles, so these little brushes help me scrub the grease and grime from the ridges. Our Oven Mate Cleaning Gel comes highly recommended. It’s surprising how grubby an oven can get, but this really does cut through all the grease and grim with hardly any effort.
Don’t forget the out-of-reach and hard-to-clean places such as light fittings, behind radiators, under big appliances and Venetian blinds.
Your windows may also be in need of some TLC. Smudges, water marks and general grime will all be made more prominent when the sun shines on your windows, reach for the Smear Free Window Foam. By far one of our best sellers and most raved about products. It will leave your window clean and streak free, plus a lot of our customers have found other uses for it such as mirrors, shower screens and even granite worktops.
The bathroom generally gets a deep clean once a week so there isn’t really any need to do a massive deep clean, although I do like to treat the plug holes with a drain cleaner and give the tiles and grout a really good clean.
It’s also a good idea to shampoo your carpets regularly, kill any mites or bugs that could be hiding and to get rid of marks and stains. Plus a carpet shampoo does the room wonders, it really can make it looks as good as new. (Without splashing out on a new carpet!)
Once your home is looking spic and span, why not invest in a nice air freshener or a diffuser?
A big Spring Clean does sound like a lot of hard work but with the right tools and cleaning products you can halve the time you spend on it.
