Wikipedia defines spring cleaning as the period in spring time set aside for cleaning a house, normally applied in climates with a cold winter. Spring is around the corner in South Africa. It’s been a long and cold winter and I’m sure that most South Africans are looking forward to some warmer weather. Even though most of us strive to keep a clean environment in our homes, we also tend to slack on cleaning duties during the winter months. Now that the winter is nearing its end some of us are forced to go into spring cleaning mode to clean up our environments a bit.
Here are 10 tips for Spring Cleaning that you might find useful:
- Work from the top down, inside to outside, to avoid getting what you just cleaned dirty again.
- Do one room, even one area of one room, at a time to avoid unfinished jobs. The satisfaction of seeing one room sparkle will make the hard work feel like it’s worth the effort.
- When tidying, reduce trips around the house by temporarily depositing items in one spot en route to but not at their final destination.
- Do two things at once. While laundry is going, scrub the shower stall.
- Make small repairs. If you’re not handy, hire someone.
- Invest in good rubber or vinyl gloves to protect your skin and nails.
- Dust before vacuuming or cleaning the floor. Try feather or lambswool dusters, especially extendable ones for reaching above window and door casings and into corners. Household rags are invaluable for jobs requiring a damp cloth – natural fibres work best.
- Buy mops with a squeeze mechanism (great for vinyl, linoleum or ceramic tile floors) and a decent-size heavy-duty pail – one with a measuring scale helps get soap-to-water ratios correct.
- Don’t stand your brooms on their bristles. It will destroy their shape and diminish their effectiveness. Instead, get a broom holder.
- Use your dust buster for light dusting or your favorite broom or vacuum attachment to clean hardwood floors. Then damp-mop with a mild cleaner.
The Junk Mail team hopes that you will find these tips useful in the upcoming Spring season. If you feel that you need to replace some of your items in the house, check out our Household section for replacement items for sale.
