My All-Time Favourite Super Spring Cleaning Tips
Spring cleaning is when we have a big session of deep cleaning. It’s a chance to tackle all those jobs that you are going to get around to doing one of these days. It’s where you go beyond the regular housework that most of us do (or at least should do) with the vacuum cleaner, the loo brush and the duster.
Spring cleaning (aka deep cleaning) doesn’t have to wait until a certain time of year. Any time of year can be a good time to get stuck into these household chores. Some of us who live in rental properties or who have to relocate a lot for job reasons tend to save up the heavy-duty cleaning for the moving out clean. That’s OK, but if you are in a home for more than two years, you’re going to need to give things a good going-over even if you aren’t moving out.
Oddly enough, autumn is often a good time of year for “spring cleaning”. The colder weather is starting to drive us indoors, so while we’re in there, why not clean? Darker days and wet weather also mean that we don’t have to spend a sunny day off indoors on the cleaning, as often happens in springtime. Nature itself is going through a process of getting rid of the old (leaves and the like) ready for a fresh start in springtime.
You can do your own spring cleaning, enlist the help of a friend (don’t forget to return the favour) or you can call on some expert professional help (more on that below).
Spring Cleaning Basics
Make a Checklist
Make a list of what you want to achieve. Are you spring cleaning just for the sake of spring cleaning (and a lot of people find a certain therapeutic value in accomplishing jobs around the home)? Or are there some actual things that you know you need to do and have been putting off for a while? No matter what sort of cleaner you are, it’s good to write down a list of things you want to do so that you can give some direction to your urge to spring clean your home.
Get the Right Tools for the Job
Make sure that you have the tools you need. There’s nothing more annoying – and more likely to derail your good intentions – than running out of the cleaning products you need or having tools that just don’t do the job properly. In fact, the first task on your list of things to do when you clean your home could be to make an inventory of what you’ve got and what you still need to get.
Prioritise
The unexpected always happens – there’ll be that phone call from a friend having an emergency in the middle of the time that you’ve set aside for domestic cleaning work. Or you’ll come down with a bad cold. Or you might get free tickets to something you’ve wanted to go and see or do! It’s important to think about what jobs you want to achieve most of all. Do these ones first and get them out of the way.
Target Areas
Make sure you don’t spend your dedicated spring cleaning time doing regular chores. Look for the things that you’ve forgotten to clean or haven’t been able to clean during your regular housekeeping (more on this below). Target the areas where you would not normally have the time or the tools to do. Normally these require a bit of preparation outside the scope of your weekly domestic clean.
Spring Cleaning With Expert Help
Some tasks that need to be done annually should really be left to a trained expert. Carpet cleaning is one of these: there’s more to cleaning rugs and carpets than you think, and you run the risk of things going horribly wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing. Similarly, upholstery cleaning requires specialised tools as well as techniques – things the typical London householder probably doesn’t have handy.
You may also like to enlist the help of an extra pair of hands for your spring cleaning – a maid or cleaning lady, for example. How you get the cleaning lady to help is up to you. You may assign some of the deep cleaning jobs to her (or him – there are plenty of professional “cleaning lads”), especially if you don’t know how to do certain jobs. Or you might get him/her to do the regular work so that you can concentrate on the more out-of-the-ordinary tasks.
Things You’ve Probably Forgotten To Clean
Spring cleaning is a good chance to tackle some of those home cleaning jobs that we tend to overlook. Things like the following:
Doormats
The whole point of a doormat is to collect dirt and debris from the bottom of shoes that are about to go into the house. Clean your doormat any way you fancy: hosing it down, beating it with a tennis racket, vacuuming, shaking… or all of the above!
Look Up
Ceiling fixtures such as fans and light shades often collect dust on the top where you can’t see it. You’ll be shocked when you see how much dust (and worse) that collects in these places. While you’re at it, don’t forget to dust the tops of doors (this has the added bonus of helping them open and close more easily).
Behind big things
During spring cleaning, it’s time to pull the big stuff (sofas, refrigerators) out of the way so that you can get stuck in behind and underneath them. If you are getting your carpets professionally cleaned, it’s necessary to remove the furniture before the pro comes to call so all of your carpets can get a good sprucing up. Don’t forget to pay attention to the back of whatever you’ve pulled out (especially the refrigerator) and give it a good dusting or going-over with the vacuum cleaner.
Pop on the polish
Hard surfaces can do with a regular polish to protect them and to make them look good. Dust and spills also have a harder time sticking to a shiny, smooth surface. You can polish floors the old-fashioned way by hand (it makes a great workout); borrow, hire or buy a polishing machine; or call in a professional floor cleaner.