I know the arrival of warmer weather can bring out the spring cleaners in a lot of us, so we have Eva Stephen with us today talking about just that! Yay!
Spring Clean Your
Way to Organized Perfection
Spring cleaning is looming ever
closer, and for most of us there is the need to strengthen our stamina and gird
our loins for the challenge ahead; even those of us who enjoy the satisfaction
of a good scrub and clean-out. But spring cleaning is an excellent time to
become the organized domestic goddess that you have always longed to be. To
this end use spring cleaning to get the whole household completely organized
and decluttered. It is also an excellent time to finally do all those small
jobs that have accumulated throughout the year, the ones that are small and
fiddly and tend to be put on the back burner. Keep an on-going list to remind
you of these items, and at spring cleaning time, when you are turning out
drawers and shifting all the furniture to clean underneath, take the time to do
those tasks as you work through each room.
Plan, plot, list and organise
Do not simply begin one day when you
can no longer put it off, rather plan ahead, setting aside at least a week to
get everything done. The planning can be done beforehand, at the weekend or
during an evening, but do make sure to put aside enough time to go through the
entire house, noting down anything out of the ordinary that will need specialized
tools or cleaning products, the services of a tradesman or extra time.
Encourage children and partners to declutter their own personal belongings as
much as possible, and ask them to bag up old clothes, unwanted toys and any
other items that may simply be taking up valuable space.
Once you have noted everything that
needs doing you can begin to sketch out a plan of action and arrange for
handymen where necessary. Rough out a schedule, leaving rooms to be worked in
by outside workmen to last – there is nothing worse than muddy footprints,
drips, smears and little heaps of dust and sawdust left in a freshly cleaned or
painted room! Make sure everyone in the family knows when their personal space
will be invaded by the unstoppable behemoth of spring cleaning, and make sure
they will all be available to help out – everyone lives in the family home and
everyone has a responsibility to help look after it!
Replace the old, repair the broken and add signature pieces
Try to effect any repairs that need
to be done before the major cleaning work begins, this gives you the chance to
see if broken furniture can be repaired, or if it is better to get new and
interesting pieces of furniture from online furniture retailer shop4furniture.net.
This also is where organization
systems can be implemented, giving you the opportunity to change the entire
layout of rooms to make systems more organized, streamlined and intuitive for
those using it.
Scrub, clean, wipe, sweep, mop and hoover!
Begin on one side of the house, and
on the top floor, moving methodically right to left, or vice versa, ensuring
that no cupboards or nooks and crannies are overlooked. Be sure to look up as
you work, spider webs creep insidiously across ceilings and often escape notice
until they are immense! Check out some tips to clean spider webs.
Door frames, the tops of window sills and skirting boards all trap a surprising
amount of dirt, but are easily sorted with a feather duster or soft cloth. Do
not neglect your windows either, hire a window cleaner or do it yourself, but
make sure your windows sparkle cleanly in the spring sunshine – it will make
the whole room brighter and more welcoming. If the children are helping out,
make sure you check on them periodically as it can be tempting for a child to
skimp on a job, leaving a nasty surprise for you the next time you are giving
the room what should be a quick once over!
Final touches, attractive features and refreshed
ornamentation
Purchase or pick bunches of fresh
flowers, treat the living room to brand new colourful cushion covers and
arrange ornaments and photos in pleasing and eye catching arrangements. These
touches help to enhance the ambiance of the room, as well as drawing the eye to
the freshly cleaned and organized drawers and storage units.
