The days are longer and a little warmer, yes that’s right it’s finally Spring again! However, that also means it’s time to de-clutter and give your house a good spring clean. Although the extra work can make it seem like a monstrous weekend-long chore, we’ve collected a few simple hacks that will see you finished with your spring cleaning in no time.
From organising your house to polishing glasses, the list of to-do’s can be endless but here are 10 of the best spring cleaning hacks:
Dusting the ceiling fan
Before you pick up the feather duster and make a mess all over the room as you try to clean the top of the ceiling fan, grab an old pillow case and put it over the fan arm to scrape the dust straight into the pillow case. This will save you from having the dust the room and vacuum afterwards.
Organise your wardrobe
Deciding what clothes to throw away is a tough choice and one we really don’t like to make. Why? Because we all have ‘that’ dress which brings back nostalgic memories of first dates, birthdays, or maybe you feel fab in it but it’s literally falling apart and time for it to go.
So to make it easier for see what you really do and don’t wear try hanging all of your coat hangers in the opposite direction to what you normally autonomously put the away. Then in a few weeks, you’ll be able to see which coat hangers are still in the original direction and think about donating those to charity.
Messy drawers no more
We’ve all been guilty of just shoving clean washing into a drawer without folding it, which means it’s impossible to find anything, you can’t get as much in and not to mention it will need some serious ironing to get the creases out.
An easy solution is to pack t-shirts vertical instead of horizontal. You’ll be able to fit more and also find your fave tees in a few seconds – without making a mess!
Clean your vases
Getting rid of the grime in vases can be not only difficult but also gross. To get around it, add a cup of uncooked rice, warm water and half a cup of window cleaner and mix it around.
Your vase will be sparkling clean and ready for fresh flowers in a jiffy.
Plantation shutter dusting
They sure do look pretty but plantation shutters are not the easiest blinds to clean. Lucky we’ve stumbled across a quick hack that we can use, all you need is a knife (not a sharp one) and a microfiber cloth to wrap around it. This you can go through each slat to pick up the dust easily.
Dusting lamp shades
Do you find that the dust just sticks to lamp shades and doesn’t want to budge? Well, we have the hack for you! Use a run-of-the-mill clothing lint roller to roll over the outside and inside of your lamp shades.
Shower curtain mould
To get rid of the mouldy build-up on your shower curtain you can simply throw it in the washing machine. Or if you don’t want to do that make a natural cleaning solution, which you could reuse every few weeks.
Make your own natural shower curtain cleaner by getting an empty spray bottle which you can fill with half vinegar and half water. Then stretch the curtain to it’s full width (so that you can get in the creases) and spray the vinegar solution. Leave for a couple of minutes and then wipe clean with a damp cloth.
Bathroom grout cleaning
Scrubbing grout is very labour intensive and all your efforts may not even remove the most stubborn mould. So to make it a bit easier on yourself, soak cotton wool in bleach and then place along the mouldy grout. This will get rid (or at least make it easier to scrub) of the mould and save you time and effort.
Clearing out the drain
Drains can become easily clogged up with bits of food getting stuck. You can buy drain cleaners, but for a chemical free alternative just use baking soda and vinegar. You will need to have 2 cups of baking soda, 4 cups of boiling water and 1 cup of vinegar at your disposal.
Follow these steps:
- Pour 1 cup of baking soda carefully down the drain and then 2 cups of the boiling water. Wait a few moments.
- Pour another cup of baking soda, then the cup of vinegar and immediately plug the drain as bubbles will rise.
- When the bubbles die down slightly, pour the remaining 2 cups of boiling water.
We love baking soda as an alternative natural cleaning solution, so we’ve also put together a guide on how to clean ovens with baking soda.
Dusting high ceilings
Get to those hard to reach places, like ceiling corners, by using a broom with a microfibre cloth at the end and you’ll be able to clear any dust or cobwebs.
If you’re having trouble with the cloth staying put, just use a big elastic band or some string to keep it in place.
Got any other hacks? Share with us in the comments below, we love hearing about new ways make cleaning easier.
