Spring has sprung and you know what that means? It’s time for your once a year hold-no-prisoners kind of thorough house clean. Yes, we’re talking spring cleaning!
Ok so maybe once a year is stretching the truth a little – after all, there’s always that Christmas cleaning frenzy to factor in.
Nevertheless, if you plan to welcome the spring season with all things clean and fresh, you should read these spring cleaning tips first.
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1. Clean the toilet with Coke
Yep. Give the toilet a quick scrub, then crack open a can of Coke and pour it straight on in, all around the inside of the bowl. Let it sit for at least an hour (preferably overnight), followed by another scrub and a flush. Presto, clean loo!
2. Steam-clean the microwave
To remove old food splatters and stains from the inside of the microwave, steam them before you scrub. Fill a microwave-safe jug with two cups of water, a few tablespoons of bicarb soda and a few drops of your favourite essential oil. Zap the mixture for three minutes and don’t open the door! Leave for five minutes for the steam to do its stuff and then wipe out.
3. Use the dishwasher for more than dishes
Save on elbow grease by using the dishwasher where you can. Oven racks, kids plastic toys, bath toys, Lego – it can all go in the dishwasher for a refresher clean. TOO EASY. Spring Cleaning Tip: put small toys in laundry bra bags to keep them from slipping out of the racks.
4. Makeover the cleaning cupboard
Let’s be honest, for many of us, the cupboard under the kitchen sink is an absolute sh*t show of cleaning sprays. Here’s a genius tip – fit the cupboard out with a curtain rod or piece of dowel, cut to fit the width of the cupboard and HANG your spray bottles. Game changer.
5. Use a window squeegee for pet-hair-free carpets
If you have pets, you KNOW the pet hair struggle is real. If the vacuum doesn’t seem to be sucking up a single fibre of hair, set to carpet and rugs with a window squeegee. You’ll be AMAZED (and equally horrified) by how much hair you can collect.
6. Window and sliding door tracks
Take the oomph out of opening doors and windows with this neat hack. Vacuum and wipe over window and door tracks with a white vinegar soaked cloth – no more dirty, hard to slide windows and doors!
7. Maximise wardrobe and drawer space
Two words: Marie Kondo. First, cull (I mean hug, thank and bid farewell) and then fold, fold, fold, hang, hang, hang….
8. Vacuum seal everything and anything
You can buy HUGE vacuum seal space saver bags at Kmart for as little as $4 and they’re brilliant for storing bulky items. Pack away snow gear, kids parkas, blankets, clothes, you name it and save on storage space. PLUS they keep annoying moths and other bugs out.
9. Use lemon to clean stainless steel taps and spouts
A cut lemon and bicarb soda will soon remove hard water stains and rust from any stainless steel in the bathroom or kitchen. Kitchen sinks and taps will positively sparkle! Plus, you’re left with a lush lemon scent instead of strong cleaning liquid fumes. #lemonsforthewin
10. Defrost the freezer QUICK
If your freezer requires a spring clean defrosting, here’s an excellent way to speed up the process. Turn the freezer off, place a towel on the bottom and put a pot of just boiled water on top. Shut the door, letting the steam help melt away the ice and the towel mop up the water.
11. Show the fridge some love
Take EVERYTHING out, ruthlessly check use by dates and throw anything out which is past its prime. Using hot water and detergent, wipe out the interior and wash all the plastic shelves. Pop a bowl of bicarb-soda in the back of the fridge to keep odours at bay. Caution: It’ll take a little longer to know if you have a manky orange in the crisper since you won’t smell it straight away. #ewww
12. You’ve dusted, polished and WTF are these scratches?
Have kids they said. It’ll be fun they said. And it is until you discover shoe buckle marks and scratches on your wooden floors, dining room chairs and pencil marks on your table top. Mix some coffee and water to make a strong liquid, dip a cleaning cloth in and wipe it over the scratches. It won’t fix them, but it will help hide them!
13. Tongs moonlight as blind cleaners
Tie cleaning cloths around both ends of a pair of tongs for the ultimate blind cleaning tool. I know right, genius.
14. Clean the dishwasher!
Dishwashers can get mighty grotty. The absolute workhorse of the family kitchen (next to yourself, obvs), it deserves a little love, care and a mighty good spring time clean. To rid it of odours and bring back its sparkle, place a cup of white vinegar in a dishwasher-safe container on the top rack of the machine. Run the dishwasher through a hot-water cycle. Top it off with a baking soda rinse: Sprinkle one cup of baking soda across the bottom of the dishwasher and put it through the rinse cycle. No more smelly dishwasher!
15. Two ingredient carpet and rug deodoriser
Refresh carpets and rugs with this simple cleaning hack – DIY carpet deodoriser! Find a jar and using a nail and hammer, pierce ‘sprinkle’ holes in the lid. Place a cup of bicarb soda in a bowl and add a few drops of your favourite essential oil and whisk together before packing it into the jar. Sprinkle your carpets and wait half an hour before vacuuming. Instant refresh!
16. DIY window cleaner
Window cleaner sprays, while handy, are an absolute farce. Clean windows and mirrors on the cheap with a bucket of warm water, half a cup of white vinegar and a tiny squirt of dish-washing liquid. Sponge on, scrub and squeegee off.
17. Rid your home of pet odours
Pet odours can be a real pain. Wash your floor with hot water and a dash of BioZet washing liquid to help lift odours (spot test first). Bonus, your mop head will be clean as a whistle and smelling fresh AF.
Other useful spring cleaning tips:
- CLEAN your vacuum filter the week before you plan to spring clean and drop a couple drops of essential oil on the filter. Sweet smelling carpet, yessss mate!
- Save a bomb on cleaning products by using what you’ve got in your pantry and bathroom. Bicarb soda, vinegar, lemons – even denture cleaning tablets – they all work brilliantly for shifting stubborn dirt.
- Enlist help. Husbands, wives and kids – TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK.
- Make spring cleaning FUN! Crank up the music, set a timer to keep you motivated and have your reward glass of
winejuice in the fridge on ice so you can sit back and be smug AF with your spring cleaning efforts when you’re done!
