Community & Business
20 August, 2023
Greet spring with a thorough cleaning
SPRING is only a few weeks away so it’s time to start thinking about giving your home a thorough refresh after a long winter when the doors and windows have been closed to keep the cold out.
So where do you start? The best advice out there is to firstly write a list of everything you want to clean, and then allocate jobs to members of your household.
The most efficient way to get it all done is to take each room at a time and concentrate on those things that get missed during your weekly chores – that deep cleaning, dusting, polishing and wiping of items and surfaces that get a bit neglected week to week.
Here’s some tips that might come in handy as you work your way throughout the house and yard.
▪ Declutter before you start. Go through each room and get rid of any clutter, placing the items in boxes to giveaway, throw out or sell.
▪ Be sure to pick a cloudy day to wash your windows. If it's too sunny and the glass is warm, the cleaning solution will dry too fast and create streaks.
• Sliding glass door tracks are difficult to clean at the best of times which is why we probably leave them for so long. Try using a brush with a small head, or a toothbrush to get into the tracks and loosen the dirt. Then use a vacuum cleaner to suck up the residue.
▪ Tackle light fixtures and ceiling fans before cleaning the rest of the room. That way, any debris or dust won’t fall on surfaces you’ve already done.
▪ Don’t forget those neglected skirting boards, and to wipe your picture frames, the window sills and door handles – it’s amazing how much grime gets on those.
▪ Take the opportunity to throw out all the outdated medicines in your medicine cabinets and bathroom including old cosmetics. That also goes for old food items in your pantry like spices, products that have lived in the fridge for too long, and cleaning products that are past their use-by date or just have a dribble left in the container.
▪ Don’t forget this is a great time to refresh your bedding – wash any quilts, pack away that heavy doona and bring out the summer one, and replace or wash pillows. Turn and rotate your mattress to complete the job.
▪ Use the spring cleaning to check all the batteries in items like smoke detectors and check out the dates on your fire extinguishers.
▪ Outside, give all the paths, driveways, hard garden borders, and other surfaces a good pressure clean to bring them back to life and rid yourself of the mould and mildew that builds up over time.
▪ Check your outdoor furniture – clean it, repair it and refresh it for those warm summer evenings coming up.
