Spring Cleaning – Hard Work But Such a Payoff

How I Organize My Spring Cleaning To Fit My Life Style

When I was a young teenager, we did spring cleaning the first week of spring break.  This would include cleaning windows inside and out and cleaning the oven.  Both chores I still hate today.   No corner of our home was untouched, but these two chores help me realize there had to be a better way.

Instead of doing spring cleaning in a one-week period, I like to break my deep cleaning routine into  a more relaxed schedule.

This way, I can tackle one chore at a time top to bottom for each room, without stressing myself and my body. My cleaning schedule is flexible. Sometimes, it is less, and sometimes, it takes more days. This way, I can check off one room when complete.  I like to start the same time each day, about 10:A.M.-11A.M., until the room is complete.  I would like to share some of my own personal tips and a few that I have picked up along the way from others.

 Bathrooms
 Ceiling –For my ceiling, I like to use a Microfiber Duster to dust my ceiling.

Walls-Doors- I like to spot clean on a regular basis. This way, I don’t have a large buildup of grime on my walland doors. Armed with my all-purpose spray bottle cleaner, I like to clean my wall and doors. Sometimes, there is a need to do light touch up painting around door knobs and baseboards.

Clean The Grout- The tile in my bathroom walls and floors has certain areas that accumulate more dirt and stains. I prefer to clean these areas with an OxiClean paste. Using a small plastic cup, I like to make the following mixture: two tablespoons of OxiClean to about one tablespoon of water. If the paste is still thick, add more water until the consistency is like toothpaste.

I prefer using OxiClean, unlike chlorine bleach- there is not a strong smell and it seem to clean, sanitize, and remove the stains without harming my grout.  Before I add my paste, I like to vacuum the tile floors to remove loose dirt, debris, and dust.  Using an old toothbrush, soak the toothbrush thoroughly with the OxiClean paste and apply the paste to the grout that is dirty.

I usually allow the paste to sit on the grout for 15 to 20 minutes. After twenty minutes, I alternate between a small brush & the same toothbrush to scrub the dirty grout. Make sure to rinse out both brushes often to avoid reapplying the dirt to the grout. I use a basic 10-quart plastic cleaning bucket to rinse the grout, along with a terry cloth. I’m not a fan of microfiber cloth. This same method works well on both my shower and wall tile.

Make sure to wear rubber gloves.

Bathroom Rugs-While I’m waiting on the grout to clean, I like to wash my small rugs, clean my bathroom mirror, and clean the inside of the bathroom window.

Bedrooms

Ceiling and Walls –I use the same method I used in the bathroom.

Baseboards and Windowsill– To remove the dust from baseboards and windowsill, I use my handheld portable Black & Decker handheld portable vacuum.  After removing the dust, I like to complete the job with my all-purpose cleaner.

Ceiling fans– My husband’s old white cotton tee shirt is my favorite tool for removing dust from ceiling fans, and I finish the job with an all-purpose wood cleaner.

Fresh air– Each bedroom has one window. I like to air out my bedroom while I’m washing all my sheets, pillowcases, quilts, mattress pads. This take about 30-45 minutes, and it is really amazing how much better my bedroom smells. I should do this more often.

Mirrors and windows. – I like to use Windex with equal part water to clean my mirror and inside my windows.  While I’m cleaning my window, I like to toss any throw rugs into the washing machine.

Kitchen

Refrigerator and Freezer- Before cleaning my refrigerator, I like to have everything I need nearby.  Start with a bottle of all-purpose cleaner, terry cloths, 16Qt dual spout pail filled with warm water, and the garbage. First step is to take everything out of the fridge.  Grab your spray bottle and soak the shelves, bins, back walls, side walls, and door.

Remove the crispy drawers and spray inside and outside the drawers.  Be gentle when you are removing crispy drawers to make sure you don’t crack or break anything.  Allow the product to set in the fridge for five minutes. Next, soak one of your terry cloth in warm water and wring out excess water and wipe out top shelf and under the shelf, making sure you include crispy bin, doors.

You may have to repeat this step a few times using the same cloth. You want to make sure everything is dry by doing a repeat wipe with a dry terry cloth, because you don’t want any mildew to grow in your refrigerator.  Pop back in all the bins and shelves you taken out.  Sort through things that have expiration dates, things you have not eaten in a while, or you are not going to eat and things you want to put in the garbage.  Do the same for your veggie or fruit.

Usually, I like to take any vegetable or fruit that is starting to age and put it in the freezer for smoothies. Anything I can’t freeze, I make a stew or soup in the slower cooker for dinner. Sometimes, I have leftovers; I like to freeze them for another day.

Over time, the top of my fridge has grease build-up. I clean it with a solution of warm water and Palmolive dish liquid.  I add two cups of warm water and one teaspoon of Palmolive dish liquid inside a spray bottle. Spray solution on top of fridge and let set a few minutes then rinse with a wet terry cloth and wipe off with a dry one.

Cabinets-My kitchen cabinets touch the ceiling, so I don’t have to worry about grease build-up on the top of my cabinets.   For my cabinet doors, I like to use a mild dish detergent in warm water to clean my doors.  I have a liner for most of my drawers, so they are  easy to clean.

Laminate Floors– The best way I found to clean my floors is to sweep and vacuum daily if possible. To deep clean my floors, I use a damp mop. I like to make a mixture of warm water and a few drops of dish soap.

Living Room, Family Room and Dining Room

Ceiling, Walls, windows and rugs- I use the same process for cleaning that I used in the bedroom.

I‘m learning cleaning is much more enjoyable when you learn to customize your cleaning schedule to fit your needs and a time schedule that works for you.