It’s time to leave those winter blues behind and step into a fresh, new season. The annual tradition of spring-cleaning is an opportunity to address those surfaces you overlook daily, and your home will feel sparkly clean for warmer days ahead.
Clean room by room. Use room checklists as a springboard for deep cleaning the areas needing extra attention. Skip items that you’ve recently cleaned and focus on what’s been neglected all winter long.
Clean your windows on a cloudy day. If it’s too sunny, the cleaning solution will dry too fast and leave streaks.
Start at the top and work your way down. When dusting a room, start at the ceiling and go down from there so falling dust can be collected by your vacuum or dust mop.
Clean under furniture and appliances. Move your couch and chairs and roll up area rugs before vacuuming the floors. Move kitchen appliances away from the wall as much as you can so a vacuum hose will reach those areas.
Freshen up furniture. Restore smooth leather with an upholstery cleaner and conditioner. Use a suede brush to perk up nubuck leather. Make wood furniture gleam by using a cleaner and polishing with a microfiber cloth.
Refresh window treatments. Curtains aren’t typically dirty enough to wash, but you can go over them thoroughly with the upholstery attachment on your vacuum. For sheer curtains, put them in the dryer on low with a fabric-softener sheet.
Get organized. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by clutter you don’t need, organize your closets and drawers to get rid of the items weighing you down. Use a couple of boxes — one for items to donate and one for items to toss. Put away everything else you intend to keep.
Thoroughly clean bedrooms. In the bedrooms, rotate and flip mattresses. Wash blankets, comforters, mattress pads and bed skirts. Freshen pillows using the air (no heat) cycle of your dryer.
Armed with these tips, you’re all set to get started.
