One-A-Day Challenge: Spring Cleaning
Ask me how I got my shower door so clean |
Just check off one item every day, and in three weeks you'll have thoroughly spring-cleaned your entire house--easy-peasy and I've included cheapskate tips where applicable! I recommend doing them in order; I've organized it as a top-to-bottom list so you won't end up dusting off your ceiling fan right after you vacuum. . .No, I haven't done that, why do you ask? Um, heh. . .
Spring Cleaning Challenge
- Dust light fixtures and ceiling fans-- Microfiber Cleaning Cloths dampened with vinegar work well.
- Sweep cobwebs in corners and along the ceiling.
- Dust all horizontal surfaces—tops of doors, picture frames, shelves, baseboards, counters...
- Magic Eraser or spot-clean the walls.
- Wipe down circulating fans, wall, and floor vents with a cloth dampened with vinegar.
- Get a new vacuum filter (seriously, when's the last time you did it?)
- Take everything off the bed and launder, including things you might wash less often like comforters or bedskirts.
- Sprinkle the mattress with Baking Soda and let sit for at least an hour, then vacuum it all up with the brush attachment. You can do this while your bedclothes are in the wash to save steps!
- Vacuum all upholstered furniture and vacuum or launder curtains.
- Take rugs and mats outside and beat with a broom handle.
- Vacuum the floor REALLY thoroughly before you put the rugs back down.
- Spot-clean the carpet.
- Give the kitchen a deep clean, especially the parts you usually skip (drip-pans, anyone?)
- Check expiration dates in your fridge, pantry, and medicine cabinet, and bring things to the front—or to the garbage!—accordingly.
- Give the bathroom(s) a deep clean, especially the parts you usually skip. Here's an easy, green method for the shower!
- Go through your make-up and throw out anything that smells funny or you never use.
- Wash windows inside and out. A mix of water and vinegar with a microfiber cloth work great!
- Scrub out all window tracks with soapy water and an old toothbrush.
- Go through your wardrobe and if there's things you never wear or have worn out either donate them or put them in a rag-bag (for craft projects!)
- Bring summer clothes to the front and hide winter clothes in the back.
- If you have a wool coat, bring it to the dry-cleaner's—I know, not cheap, but it's only once a year!
- Treat any dingy whites to a soak in vinegar or borax . Might be a good time to do the dishcloths, too!
- Polish and condition wood—anybody know a good green way to do this and nix the orange-glo?
There you have it, 23 steps to a majorly deep-cleaned house.
Shared at: Liz Marie: "Clean It!" Link Party
Shared at: Liz Marie: "Clean It!" Link Party
Tell me, is there anything I missed? What are your favorite spring cleaning rituals?
P.S. Affiliate links are embedded in this post. :) Feel free to support us while you stock up on home essentials!
P.S. Affiliate links are embedded in this post. :) Feel free to support us while you stock up on home essentials!
Comments
About the orange glo--I heard a long time ago that some kind of nut oil (it was either almond or walnut) makes a good wood polish. Something for you to investigate.
and it is lemon oil, or beeswax for wood
Confession: I have never vacuumed my refrigerator coils. . .
Thanks for reading!
I swear by Barkeeper's Friend.
It's great for stainless steel/ceramic anything. (We found it when we bought new stainless steel pots and pans. Used them once and even washed, they didn't look new anymore. BKF shined them right up. They looked like we'd just taken them out of the packaging.)
Ingredients
1 lemon
Olive oil
Water
Equipment
Small container with air-tight lid
Strainer
Microfiber cloth
Instructions
1. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into container. I recommend straining the pulp and seeds.
2. Add tablespoon of olive oil.
3. Add tablespoon of water.
4. Tighten lid and shake until emulsified.
5. Pour small amount of polish onto cloth and begin wiping-down your furniture.
I live in the country and am to the point that I want to remove my shower doors because they always look so bad and I haven't been able to find anything to remove the the hard water from them. I am going to try the cooking spray today... Do you have any other ideas?
This is a great blog! Keep up the good work, I know I will be a faithful follower from now on!!!!
You know, I've tried a couple different things--borax, dishsoap, vinegar, regular bathroom cleaners. . .And the thing that has worked the best and lasted the longest is far and away the cooking spray. :) I also want to experiment with magic erasers, though I'm afraid they might leave a film. Let me know how it goes for you!
(including ceiling fans) Deck Furniture & Grill.
Front Door area ( sweep dust wash the outside & clean porch light). Also a good time to papers and tax stuff...
I saw someone add in Dryer Maint.. Great idea.
Now that i have one: wash down the baby furniture.
Happy Cleaning Y'all
http://lifehacker.com/5828307/make-your-own-lemon-dusting-cloths
http://pinterest.com/pin/98305204336141024/
Use a fabric softener sheet. get it wet and rub anywhere there is stubborn soap scum!
They also work great for cleaning super dirty pots and pans.. I leave mine in the pot with some super hot water and the grime just melts off.
Another thing for shower doors -- car wax.
For wood, I use coconut oil or olive oil. I have used them both straight and skip the lemon.
Don't use fabric softener on your cleaning rags, especially micro-fiber cloths!
I am 3 windows away and one bedroom away from being finished with my spring cleaning.
I also hear coconut oil is amazing. I plan on trying it in the near future.
I have some questions that hopefully someone here will have some tips to address:
1) I have light colored grout in several areas of my home and have a really hard time getting it clean. Any suggestions?
2) Any suggestions on how to take your rugs out and beat them? I don't really have a good place to hang mine outdoors (or indoors for that matter). I suppose I could enlist the help of friends but then they might really hate me.
Would love to see you do an article of top items to keep in a household cleanup / fixup kit; things like the borax and bartenders friend and maybe even razor blades. The sort of things someone just setting up house could learn what they should have on hand from the experience of you and your readers.
By the way red wine stains on carpet can be removed by immediately dousing with white wine. Crazy I know but something about it neutralizes the red wine and takes the color out. Won't help long term but if you catch it quickly it will help. Just thought of that because you mentioned your messy carpets.
I would recommend adding two things to your list of things to do ...
1) Changing your air filters on your HV/AC unit and cleaning the outside unit. Not only does this keep you from breathing in unpleasant things, it improves your energy costs.
2) Keeping a running list of things in the house you find that are in disrepair so that you can make arrangements to call in workmen/women to repair items beyond your scope.
As for the rugs, hmm. . .Mine are small enough that I can just hold them up and give them a few good shakes. Do you have any old chairs you could haul out and drape them over?
As for chairs, not big enough for my rugs. I might try propping them against my porch supports but still don't think that will do it. My rugs are about 5x 8 or the next size up and they are heavy shag ones... they may need to just be replaced because of all the dog stuff. (Recently went through potty training a puppy.)
When doing #16, which i do every 6 months, don't forget to WASH your make-up brushes. Your skin is the largest organ on your body & brushes become contaminated with prolonged use. That goes for hair brushes as well.
I go thru my closet every 3 months at the MOST & if I haven't worn it in 3-6 months it comes out & goes into either the "donate", "rag" or "throw away" pile. Plus I have a hard & fast rule, I do NOT add hangers to the closet… I keep extras on the rods for a few new purchases but generally if I buy something new, something old has to go. This way it stays "purged" automatically & it never gets cluttered.
Grout in the bathroom? I let the hot water run until the bathroom is steamy and clean with a microfiber cloth. Everything gets cleaned!
Olive oil and white vinegar looks the easiest to me. :)
Mix 1/2 cup dishsoap and 1 cup water in a large bowl. Mix with a hand mixer (or an egg beater, I suppose would work) till it foams up into a lather. Take a rag, dollop this foam onto stains, and scrub it up really well. Then use something like a rubber spatula or firm, straight-edged object to scrape out the excess soap and moisture. Take another damp rag and blot.
The chairs look miraculously almost good as new. This method worked well because using the foam instead of a straight cleaning solution made the chairs a lot less wet. I still set them in front of a fan to speed drying, but they were dry in a few hours.
Also if you have curtains that you are afraid to wash you can put them in a dryer on low for a bit. It takes the dust out of them. Kinda like the pillow theory.
- Spray Bottle
- 1/4 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1/2 tsp Olive Oil
- 1/4 tsp Vinegar
1. Combine equal parts of lemon juice and olive oil into your spray bottle
2. Make sure you shake before each use, to blend the two ingredients together.
3. Spray onto furniture and wipe down with a rag
This stops dust sticking for even longer!
Zoe
www.mystudentfood.blogspot.com
http://www.lemishine.com/
It cleans the mineral deposits out of dishwashers, washing machines and you could also dissolve it and use it on your shower doors.
Joesbunny - for your tiles - put on a pair of rubber gloves to protect your hands and mix some Lysol toilet bowl cleaner with water - maybe 2 parts water and 1 part cleaner. Wipe your tiles down with a sponge soaked with this mixture. You will be amazed at how fast it cuts through scum. However, do not leave on stainless steel as it will darken it.
Thanks!
@DitziMamaShawna
This is just a hunch, since I don't have hard water problems, but do you think vinegar would dissolve it? Might be worth a try!
I have a quick question about your blog, do you think you could e-mail me?
Brian
I have a quick question about your blog, do you think you could e-mail me?
Brian
Thanks for the great list!
Want more info send me your name and phone# and best time to call you @ homewithbayla@yahoo.com
Its the best thing I've ever done!
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