5 tips to make spring cleaning more efficient
Useful and practical tips for spring cleaning
As winter ends, now is the best time to spruce up your home. With a thorough spring cleaning you create order at home and ensure a tidy and homely atmosphere. Not only is a clean home nice to look at, but it also increases your feeling of well-being. When you follow some tips for spring cleaning, you will be guaranteed to succeed.
Tradition of spring cleaning
Basic cleaning and tidying of your home in spring is a long-standing tradition. This is even reflected in the name of the most popular month for spring cleaning, February, which comes from the Latin word “februa,” which means “purification sacrifice”. Even the ancient Romans used this time to cleanse their homes. In other European countries as well, the time after the snow melts has been considered optimal for cleaning and tidying for many centuries. Since homes were heated by fire in the past, a lot of dirt and soot accumulated in homes over the winter period. This was removed with the arrival of spring, which was often combined with renovation work and painting the walls. Spring cleaning is thus anything but a new phenomenon.
Spring cleaning checklist
For effective and thorough spring cleaning, it is helpful to create a checklist. This way, you ensure that all planned cleaning and tidying tasks are completed and proceed according to a logical plan. In the checklist, you should not only include the work itself, but also list the cleaning materials needed for this. Cleaning cloths, gloves, a bucket, a duster and all-purpose, glass and toilet cleaners are required. Vinegar or citric acid can be used to remove limescale deposits, and an upholstery and carpet cleaner can be used to remove stains from textiles. For the oven, an oven spray is recommended to remove burnt-on food residues without leaving any residue and for the toilet, a pipe cleaner can be helpful. However, for environmental reasons, it should only be used when a suction cup does not work. You can also clean the grout with a brush and a mixture of club soda and water.
Cleaning the apartment systematically
By systematically cleaning every room in your home, the effort needed will be reduced and thus your spring cleaning will be successful. In every room, first clean the windows, along with the cabinet and table surfaces. Next the upholstery and floors should be vacuumed before you clean the tiles. Ideally, you should clean each room one-by-one, cleaning living areas with smooth flooring last. Dusting should be done before vacuuming to avoid unnecessarily stirring up dust that could be problematic for allergy sufferers. For effective cleaning, it is best to wipe and clean from top to bottom and from back to front.
The 5 best tips for your spring cleaning
Cleaning one’s home for spring is a tradition with many benefits, but it does require time and effort. With a few tricks though, you can simplify the work. The easiest way is to do all the cleaning in one day. It’s important to pick the right day to ensure there is enough time, such as a Saturday or a vacation day. Also, it helps to create an atmosphere that will make it easier for you to do the work, like listening to your favourite music. You can save time cleaning the windows by using a glass cleaner with a rubber squeegee. White home textiles such as curtains and tablecloths can be cleaned by mixing detergent with baking soda and using vinegar essence instead of fabric softener. Mattresses, upholstery and carpets can be cleaned using a hand-held steam cleaner. Alternatively, sprinkle both with baking soda and work it in with a cleaning sponge. Once everything has dried, the residue can simply be vacuumed away.
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