Spring Cleaning Tips, Tricks and Hacks

Trees are blooming! The days are getting longer! You’ve even started opening your windows to let in the fresh air and cool breeze!  I don’t know about your house but it looks like dust and pollen are coming in with my fresh breeze.  …and these new annoyances are piled right on top of my old winter annoyances.  I’m still looking at dirty spots on the carpet from my epic snow shoveling (when I came back in the house every ten minutes because I was cold and overwhelmed).  My vents are looking a little vintage and could use an industrial cleaning.  And it occurred to me recently that I really liked the light dimmer in my living room.  Then I remembered, I don’t have a light dimmer in the living room, my chandelier shades must be dusty.

Can you guess where I’m going with this?  It’s time for me to do my annual spring cleaning.  And as much as I like a clean house, I don’t like being the one to clean.  But I do like Pinterest (who doesn't) and found some awesome spring cleaning hacks that look like my cleaning odyssey may be painless, quick, and affordable.  I’ve listed some of those cleaning hacks below.  I hope they prove to be useful for you, as well!

MICROWAVE

Over time your microwave can become a splattered mess…especially if you have kids who use it regularly!  The simplest way to clean the microwave is with vinegar and lemon.  Fill a large microwaveable bowl with 1-2 cups of water, add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar and all the juice from one lemon.  Microwave the liquid for about 5 minutes on HIGH, then carefully take the HOT bowl out of the microwave and wipe clean.  If your microwave is really messy, you might want to let the bowl sit in there for a few minutes with the steam before wiping clean.

CEILING FAN

Keep a few older pillow cases in your cleaning cabinet just for fans.   When the fan blades need to be cleaned, put the pillow case over each blade and wipe clean.  All the dust stays trapped so it saves the room from a mess of dust all over the floor when you’re done!  Once all the blades are clean take the dusty pillowcase outside and shake it out, then wash it inside out.

BASEBOARDS

Baseboards can get really dirty over time and you will eventually need to give them a good cleaning.  All you have to do is take a new or used fabric sheet and wipe each baseboard.  That’s it!  The sheet cleans up all the dust and dirt but also coats the baseboards with its anti-static residue.  The best part…the dryer sheets can have already been used in the laundry, so you’re reusing something you would have thrown away!

SHOWER HEAD

The shower head itself is something that is not only difficult to clean, but is often times forgotten about when cleaning the shower. To clean your shower head with ease take a baggie with vinegar in it and rubber band it around the shower head. Let it sit for a few hours and then remove the baggie. The vinegar should take off or at least loosen the dirt and grime, making it easy to clean. Be sure to run the shower for a minute or two so that anything stuck inside that came loose goes down the drain before using the shower.

SHOWER DOOR

Clean your shower door as usual then use Rain-X to repel water, water spots, and soap scum. Enjoy several weeks (maybe even months) of soap scum free glass shower doors!

GROUT

Sprinkle baking soda on the grout.  Use your finger to make sure it covers all the grout, also wiping away excess powder.  Use a spray bottle filled with vinegar to apply it over the baking soda.  Let it sit and bubble and scrub itself for a few minutes.  But not too long, or the dirt settles back into the grout.

Using a grout brush, give it a little scrub to get the dirty solution off the grout.  Prepare for it to be muddy!  Keep some water close to quickly rinse the brush but don’t add too much water to the floor– the grittier the solution, the less elbow grease you’ll have to put into it.  Wipe up the muddy solution with rags or paper towels and clean the area as usual.

DE-GUNK KITCHEN CABINETS

Clean away the grease and grime!!  Add 2 cups warm water, 2 tablespoons dish soap and 1 cup white vinegar to a bowl/bucket and mix together.  Scrub the cabinet with a clean cloth, following the grain of the wood. Rinse the area clean with a sponge, and dry it with a clean towel.

AIR VENTS

To give the air vents a good cleaning and sanitizing, rinse them off and put them in the dishwasher.  The hot water and suds will give those air vents a VIP cleaning.  …and before you replace those vents, put a dryer sheet over the vent slats (or use a few drops of scented oil on a cotton ball).  Voila!  …clean vents in a house that smells great without the expense of candles or wax warmers!

BEST STAIN REMOVER…EVER

Mix these ingredients (1 tbsp Dawn Dishwashing liquid, 1 tbsp white vinegar and 2 cups hot water) into a spray bottle and generously spray on car seats, carpets, sofa, chairs, etc. Scrub with a scrub brush and then rub with a clean towel or rag! Simple, easy, and cheap!!

OVEN

Add the following ingredients into a spray bottle: 2 oz. Dawn Dishwashing liquid, 4 oz. lemon juice, 8 oz. white vinegar, and 10 oz. water.   The secret is to spray this solution on the surface you want to clean and let it sit overnight (or longer).  Then, just wipe the oven clean with wet cloths.  It is important that you DO NOT use heat…just spray and wipe!

You can find these and other Spring Cleaning Hacks on our Life Hacks board on Pinterest.

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~pmjp