If you're like us, we're not sure if winter and spring are locked up in a basement somewhere battling out on a worn wrestling match on who's going to come out on top. Regardless of the temperature timing though, it's getting close to emerging from cold hibernation and getting our spring cleaning on the calendar.
Read below for some tips that we've gathered from the best of the world wide web!
- Tip One of Ten:
Break cleaning down into 10-minute chunks.
Sometimes, spring cleaning is a marathon - but it doesn't have to be. Instead, break tasks down into short, highly productive chunks of time. Here are four things you can spring clean in the next 10 minutes. Set your phone timer and make sure you stop once it goes off to reset. Ready, set, go!
Dust: Brush a dusting wand over all open surfaces. A few minutes to spare? Break out the furniture polish for a quick shine.
Clean doors and switch plates: Using a damp microfiber cloth, remove fingerprints, smudges, and germs from light switch plates and doorknobs.
Dust ceiling fans: Place a pillowcase over the fan blade, then pull it toward you to collect the dust. After dusting, use a cloth dipped in warm, soapy water to clean off each blade. Then dry.
Baseboards: Use a microfiber mop to swiftly clear dust and debris from baseboards.
- Tip Two of Ten:
Adapt to your cleaning personality.
Some people are stress cleaners, while others are chore procrastinators. Identifying your cleaning personality is the first step to coming up with a plan or routine that works for (rather than against) you. For example, if you're an angry cleaner, go ahead and let that emotion motivate you to tackle tough cleaning tasks, like scrubbing grout. To identify your cleaning personality, go here: Your Cleaning Personality, Decoded (realsimple.com)
- Tip Three of Ten:
Mix up your own all-natural cleanser.
Whether you're trying to clean with fewer chemicals or just want a backup for when you run out of your usual cleanser, it's a good idea to know how to mix up your own natural cleaning solutions using ingredients you likely already have around the house. Here's a simple recipe from Melissa Maker of Clean My Space, which can be used on quartz, granite, and marble counters, plus appliances and sinks:
Ingredients
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup rubbing alcohol
5 to 10 drops peppermint, lemon, or orange essential oil
1 squirt natural dish soap
Steps
1. Combine all of the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well.
2. Spray onto the surface and wipe with a clean cloth.
- Tip Four of Ten:
Make your trash smell better.
Cooked fish for dinner? Help your kitchen trash can smell a little more pleasant every day by placing a couple of dryer sheets (even used ones will work) on the bottom of the can. They will absorb spills and help mask odors.
- Tip Five of Ten:
Make shower cleaning second nature.
Keep a squeegee in the shower so it's easy to remember to wipe down the walls. Or keep a dish wand filled with equal parts dish soap and vinegar in the shower so you can scrub while you're already in there.
After each shower, spray a soap scum dissolving mist like Method's eucalyptus-scented cleanser. That's it. No scrubbing necessary, the solution will dissolve soap scum.
- Tip Six of Ten:
Dust blinds in half the time.
Instead of tediously wiping each individual blind, use a cleaning tool that dusts multiple blinds at once, so you can get the job done much more quickly.
- Tip Seven of Ten:
Clean your windows.
Remove the smudges, water stains and muck from your windows to let in the springtime light. Erica Thompson, home organizing and interior stylist at Organized by Design, advises cleaning your windows with filtered water instead of a traditional glass cleaner. “Not only is it more ecological, it’s also the professional window cleaner’s trick to streak-free glass."
- Tip Eight of Ten:
Get some music going.
Did you know that spring cleaning can actually be fun? Well, as long as you have the right playlist. Music could be just another tool in your cleaning kit.
Put five of your favorite songs on a playlist and commit to tackling one tiny zone before the last song is up. You can start with your makeup drawer, under the bathroom sink or the kitchen junk drawer.
- Tip Nine of Ten
Do a digital detox.
Pay heed to your email inbox, too. Set a 15-minute timer every day and seeing how many of those pesky sales and spam emails you can unsubscribe from. You might consider archiving old emails so you can clear out your inbox and start fresh.
Want a helping hand? Services like Unroll.me and Unlistr allow you to easily opt out of email subscriptions. Something to note: Unroll.me works with Google, Yahoo!, Outlook, or AOL accounts, whereas Unlistr only work with Outlook.
- Tip Ten of Ten
Plan a party
When all else fails, there’s nothing like having company over to encourage you to get cleaning.
Suddenly, you’ll automatically find yourself folding your bathroom hand towels hotel-style, sprucing up your sofa with plumped pillows and throws, and clearing clutter throughout!