Spring cleaning is around the corner so we thought we'd get a head start on some tips and tricks to help kickstart your cleaning endeavors. Our homes, offices, and vehicles are the main areas we spend our time; which is why having them organized and clean is paramount to our happiness on an emotional level and for our physical health.
Get Some Air!
Open the windows in your home, car, and office (if you can). The Winter months are usually a time where most of us don't get a lot of fresh air in our enclosed spaces. There are arguments that we should be cracking windows especially during the cold months. Just look at the Norwegians age old argument for parking babies outside and always having cold/fresh air flowing through their homes. We aren't saying to go that far but we definitely recommend opening the windows regularly as you're cleaning to help air things out. One pro tip to consider, be sure you vacuum the window sills when you open the windows. A lot of debris gets stuck there and if the window blows into the home, as it will, you don't want that adding to your issues!
Declutter/Donate/Discard
This won't take too long, the title of this step is so self explanatory. Try to remove your emotions and be real with yourself. Does it bring you joy? Do you use it? Those two questions for everything in your home. Then donate it or discard it if you can't rehome it. Don't keep it just because you haven't found a new owner, if that becomes the scenario you should just toss it. From an environmental stand point please ensure you're aware of the recycling options for whatever it is you're tossing out. We miss a lot of opportunities to recycle things like batteries and small appliances. There are places to find recycling options in your area!
Start High & End Low
When cleaning you always want to start high and end low. It's an obvious rule to most but we've seen folks do the opposite thus making things harder in the end. As you're cleaning you're knocking things into the air and and down on the floor, so if you're cleaning you want to make sure you don't need to redo the areas you've already done. We suggest also going left to right in a cyclone method to make sure you don't get sidetracked or lose your place in the craziness.
Laundry Day!
We hope you're moderately caught up on the normal laundry, like your clothes and bedding, but there are things we all don't wash on a normal basis. Today's the day! Wash your curtains, your small rugs, throws, and blankets/duvets. The day before the big clean we suggest being 100% caught up on your clothing and bedding so on the cleaning day you can focus on the aforementoned items. When you're finished cleaning your home your items should be nice and clean, ready to go back to their homes thus becoming the icing on top of your clean home!
Vacuum EVERYTHING
If you're a client you know we LOVE to vacuum. It's important to have an awesome machine that truly encapsulates the dust/debris. When we clean we usually vacuum as we go and then vacuum at the end as well. Vacuuming the same area more than once is necessary and makes sense, you're creating air flow and stirring up dust so things will settle. We use Miele vacuums and love to use the hand tools to, as we call it, "vacuum dust" areas like baseboards and any horizontal areas that dust could fall on. If you dusted earlier you'll notice some of those areas still have dust on it, this is the perfect time to recapture it!