There are two types of people in the world. There are those for whom spring means outings with friends and days spent in the park. There are also those who…
How To Get Your Spring Cleaning Done While It’s Still Spring
Did you know that when you feel the urge to spring clean your home you are upholding an ancient tradition practised around the world?
The origins of spring cleaning can be traced back to age-old Chinese celebrations of the Lunar New Year, the Jewish Passover and the Iranian holiday Nowruz, which falls on the first day of spring.
All of these traditions involve a thoroughly cleaning your home around the end of Winter.
And although human beings don’t hibernate, we’re all familiar with feeling sluggish and apathetic in winter, but more energised when the first rays of spring sunshine come peeping through our (possibly grimy) windows.
So it’s not just you. You don’t have OCD.
Your yearning for a clean, tidy and organised home is a natural and traditional reaction to the increased hours of sunlight and warmer temperatures that arrive with September and the time for spring cleaning in the Southern Hemisphere.
Why spring cleaning is still important
Although we no longer have the excuse of getting rid of winter soot and grease from homes heated by open fires and lit by candles, our homes still tend to be closed up against the relative cold of the Winter months. All that dust and dirt can accumulate in airless rooms.
Dust and allergens can make life difficult for asthmatics or those with allergies.
Everyone can benefit from deep carpet cleaning, getting rid of dead skin cells from mattresses, and the removal of any other pollutants from the house. This will greatly improve indoor air quality.
It’s important to do a thorough spring cleaning of your home. Or if you live in Perth and don’t want to do it yourself, we’d love to help. Just give us a call on 0420270260 or request a quotation. We operate across the Perth metro area, including Joondalup, Midland, Fremantle, Mandurah and Rockingham.
Because, let’s face it, if you do it properly, spring cleaning takes a lot of time and energy. Let’s take a quick look at what’s involved.
Step One: Channel your inner Marie Kondo
While some of the Japanese decluttering guru’s methods may be a little over the top for everyday use, there’s no doubt that the central ideas in her system are perfectly sound.
To paraphrase her philosophy:
- A cluttered home is difficult to clean
- A little minimalism can save a lot of time
- More objects lying about are more things to gather dust
- A tidy environment is a big motivation to keep going with spring cleaning
So before you even think of picking up a duster or vacuum cleaner, go around your home and put things away.
You can also take this opportunity to throw out old magazines, the jumble of shoes near the back door, the pile of unopened mail on the kitchen table and the worn out clothes lying around your bedroom.
Now your home looks better and you won’t waste time cleaning around things.
Step Two: Start at the top
If you clean dirt from the high areas in your home, you know that some of it is going to land on your furniture and floors.
Don’t start by cleaning your floors. Leave that til last.
Start at the top, clearing cobwebs from the ceiling and light fittings.
If you have a living area with a vaulted ceiling, or live in an older home with high ceilings throughout, you’re probably going to need a very long cobweb brush, maybe even a telescopic one.
It’s also a good idea to open up your light fittings to clean out any insects or mozzies that have died in there. Just make sure the lights are off, so you don’t risk being electrocuted.
Step Three: Wash window frames, doors and skirtings
Even if you regularly dust your home, it’s easy to overlook window frames & sills, doors & door frames, plantation shutters, skirting boards and stair rails.
Because they’re vertical surfaces, rather than horizontal, the dust may be less obvious. It’s definitely still there, and spring cleaning is the time to tackle it.
Step Four: Clean furniture, ornaments, pictures & books
Now is the time to dust tables and chairs, beds and bookcases, TVs, computers, desks and cupboards.
Wipe leather couches with a damp cloth, or run the upholstery attachment on your vacuum cleaner over fabric-covered couches.
Give us a call if you really want your furniture clean.
Step Five: Vacuum the floors
A common mistake people make is vacuuming with a full cleaner bag (or dust canister if you have a bagless model).
If the dust collection part of the vacuum is full, you are just spreading dirt.
Since you’ll be doing a lot of vacuuming over the next few days, now is a good time to change the bag or empty out the dust canister.
Vacuum every corner of the house. This is Spring Cleaning time, not time to just make it look presentable to guests.
Pull out things stored under beds and move as much of the big furniture as you can to really get things clean.
Take rugs outside and give them a good shake. You’ll probably need some help with this one. If you’ve got a sturdy hills hoist out the back, throw the rug over a couple of the rows of the line and beat the rug with a stick or your hands.
Make sure you vacuum under where the rug was, before you put it back.
If you don’t have a heavy duty vacuum capable of tackling both hardwood and carpet, or if you want your carpets washed, might we suggest calling Perth Home Cleaners.
Step Six: Clean the wet areas
The kitchen, laundry and bathrooms should be next on your list.
You’ll need lots of hot water, disinfectant and either a spray surface cleaner or bicarbonate of soda to tackle these areas.
Benchtops, cupboards and sinks in the kitchen and laundry, and baths, washbasins and toilet bowls in the bathrooms all need a thorough scrubbing.
You’ll also need to wash the floors in these rooms.
And then there’s the Big Three:
- the stove,
- the oven and
- the shower.
Baked-on food spills may have attached themselves to your cooking surfaces, while soap scum and mould have possibly created new life forms on the tiles, grout and screens of your shower recess.
It’s going to take a whole lot of determination and some serious elbow grease to dislodge them.
Just remember, it will all be worth it when you see the gleaming and hygienic surfaces.
You could of course just give us a bell. We actually enjoy cleaning. Yeah, we know, we’re a bit weird like that.
Step Seven: Clean the windows
In the rare moments you get to sit and watch the world go by, don’t you just hate seeing those finger marks and dirt on the window, ruining your view?
Don’t let grimy windows block out the spring sunshine.
Clean all your windows, inside and outside, and let the sunshine in.
Saying it here, it doesn’t sound so bad, but this is probably going to be your longest and dirtiest job.
It will be especially tricky if you live in a two-storey house. You’ll need a ladder to reach the upstairs windows.
If you have curtains, now is the time to wash them or have them dry-cleaned. We’re always surprised at just how un-noticeably filthy curtains can get.
If you have blinds, clean them first, then move them out of the way while you clean the windows.
If you have big windows, you’ll need to work quickly, to make sure the cleaning solution doesn’t dry before you’ve had time to wipe it off.
Put towels down on the window ledge before you start to collect any water that runs off.
If you have the option, it’s best to clean your windows in the morning, before the Freo Doctor kicks in.
Step Eight: The finishing touches
Almost there. Now you get to experience real spring freshness.
Throw your windows wide open to let the spring air in.
Strip your beds and turn the mattresses – flip them over, then turn them top-to-toe for good measure. Leave them to air all day before putting on clean sheets.
Wash your blankets or send them away to be cleaned. Now is a good time to change them over with another set.
Air doonas on the washing line in the fresh air. You’re probably still going to need them, because September and October nights can still be quite nippy.
Now take a deep breath, feel the warm spring sunshine on your face and enjoy the beautiful, clean environment you have created.
But hang on a minute, where have the warmth and sunshine gone? Sadly, while you’ve been working, winter has come round again, and you missed out on actually enjoying spring and summer.
You’d have been better to leave it to the experts. Call Perth Home Cleaners today on 0420270260 to make an appointment for a quote on spring cleaning your home.
They have years of experience, all the right equipment and a long list of satisfied customers.
With Perth Home Cleaners you can have your spring cleaning done while it’s still spring, and get your life back.
