2019 Spring Cleaning Tips and Tricks

It’s that time of year again when we get to celebrate the new season by doing some serious spring cleaning. Although I love doing cleaning as often as possible and I even have daily checklists that I go through, this is the time of year when I do serious deep cleaning.

Even though I have a love-hate relationship with cleaning (I love having clean things but sometimes I hate the act of actually having to clean) it can be an incredibly daunting task to deep clean your entire house. That’s why, today, I wanted to bring you my favorite easy cleaning tips and tricks with you guys. This isn’t an extensive list, but it’s definitely an awesome, easy start!

Kitchen

• Use lemon halves to remove water stains on faucets.
• Heat 1/2 a cup of water with lemon juice in the microwave to make it easier to clean.
• Use a sprinkle of baking soda to clean stainless steel sinks.
• Organize your fridge. Have a shelf, drawer, or place for everything (vegetable drawer, leftovers shelf, etc.) Make sure to clean out all those old, no good foods.
• Start cleaning to the right of your stove. Work your way around the room in a circle so that you get everything and don’t have to worry about where you’ve cleaned and where you still have work to do.
• Use baking soda and vinegar as a quick, easy way to clean up your stinky drains.
• Rub a half peeled, white onion over hot grill grates to clean them. Plus, it adds a little extra flavor to your next meal.
• Use vegetable oil on grease spots. The oils interact and become easier to wipe away.
• Coffee grounds or baking soda to remove refrigerator odors.

Living Room

• Place a clean towel under furniture before moving it. That will keep your floors safe from scratches and scuffs and it’ll make things a little easier to slide.
• Hand sanitizer can be used to clean your remotes. Use a small amount on a q-tip to get in the tight spaces between the button.
• Heat from a blow dyer can be used to fade rings on wooden tables.
• Walnuts can be used to help cover nicks and scratches in wooden furniture.
• Sprinkle baking soda in your carpet, let it sit for an hour or two, then vacuum it up to help take care of any pet odors.
• Slide a clean pillow case over fan blades and pull it off as a way to pick up dust.
• Remember to clean those baseboards!

Bathroom

• White vinegar dissolves mineral deposits, so use it to clean your shower head. Fill a plastic bag with white vinegar and place it over the head with a rubber band to secure it. Leave over night and run the shower before you hop in so you don’t smell like vinegar.
• Use old toothbrushes to clean small cracks.
• Baking soda and bleach is a great grout cleaner.
• Polish chrome fixtures and make them shine with baby oil.
• Put your shower curtain liner in the washing machine! It’s a super quick, easy hack that so many people don’t know will save you so much time and money.
• Spray canned air in exhaust fans to remove dust!

Bedroom

• Wash your sheets, pillowcases, comforter, blankets, and mattress covers first thing. Start your washing first thing so it can be going while you’re doing the rest of your cleaning and they’ll be ready to go so you can make up your bed perfectly as the final touch.
• Wash your curtains too. If you have room, throw them in with your sheets, but it’ll probably take several loads to get it all done.
• Vacuum your vents to keep the air coming into your room clean and safe. This goes for every room of your house.
• If your overhead light fixtures have removable globes, make sure to take them off and wash them in the sink. Let them dry before replacing them. (I always forget to do this unless I have to replace bulbs and I’m always shocked at how much dust gets in those things).
• Again, don’t forget about those baseboards! (I have selective memory when it comes to those puppies, because sometimes I don’t like cleaning them, but I always love to have a completely clean room).

Closet

• Remove all your clothes from your closets, dressers, and drawers and make sure to vacuum and wipe them down to rid yourself of all that dust.
• One trick I love doing is taking out all the clothes from my closet and replacing them with the hanger backward. Once you wear a piece, replace it normally. Once spring cleaning comes back around next year, get rid of any piece still left in your closet that have the hanger backward. If you haven’t worn them in an entire year, you don’t need to hold on to them.
• Use storage containers as much as possible. Get kinds that are stackable to help save you space.
• Take advantage of shoe holders if you’re like me and you have too many pairs and not enough space. I keep a rack on the inside of my closet door and it is so helpful, because not only does it hold multiple pairs, but I don’t have to bend over to get any, which is a win-win.
• Rotate your clothes. It’s time to move those warmer weather pieces to the front for easier access.

Miscellaneous 

• Recycle old socks to use as dusting and wash rags.
• Wrap an old rag around the end of a broom handle and use it to clean hard to reach places like under the couches or beds and the corners at the ceiling.
• When you’re dusting, remember to start at the highest point and work your way down so you don’t have to reclean things. The last thing you want is to clean the bottom and then have to go back and clean it again when you knock all the dust down from higher up.
• Clean your windows by using newspapers and a mixture of white vinegar, water, and liquid soap.
• If you didn’t during daylight savings, remember to check the batteries in your fire alarm!
• Clean one room at a time. If you find something in the wrong room, go place it where it belongs then return to what you were working on.
• Take it one day at a time. Don’t stress yourself out by trying to do all your deep cleaning all at once. My favorite thing is to do it one room a day. That means I get it all done without all the stress and drama.
• Toss expired things. Now is the time of year to check the dates on food, cleaning products, beauty products, and anything else that might have an expiration date.

These are just some of my favorite cleaning hacks for this beautiful, wonderful time of year where cleaning and sanitizing is front and center. I love everything feeling sparkly and fresh. What are your favorite cleaning hacks? Let me know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow my blog for more spring inspired content.

Until our next adventure, stay curious.

–t