Easy Spring Cleaning Shortcuts

Does spring cleaning still have a place in the time-crunched, two-career household of today? Absolutely!

No matter how busy you are - or perhaps because your home seems to have a revolving door - the annual purging of year's worth of mildew, grime, dust, and dirt still needs to be done so you can get by with simple surface cleanings the rest of the year.

A thorough cleaning begets a sparkling-clean house and can help your appliances last longer.

But you don't have to spend your entire weekend with broom and sponge in hand to get your home perked up with springtime cheer or primed for holiday entertaining. These easy spring cleaning shortcuts will help you complete it in less time.

Easy Spring Cleaning Shortcuts - Spring Into Cleaning Action 

The key to spring cleaning in less time is to break the chores down into manageable loads and tackle them over several weeks or even months—unless you like to schedule a weekend sequestered indoors with mops and brooms. 

This less-traditional bit-by-bit approach will reward you with the same old-fashioned feeling that keeps the spring ritual alive: pride in your clean, well-maintained home.

Start by focusing your efforts on the big pieces and on the places that matter most to you: furnishings, appliances, and carpeting. Then, take stock of which cleaning tasks you can forgo.

These easy spring cleaning shortcuts will have your home spring fresh and clean in no time:

Make Doormats Welcoming

Shake them, wash them, swat them with a broom. Give them the most robust deep cleaning routine they can handle. They're your front line against tracked-in dirt, so keep them clean enough to function at peak efficiency.

Spring Cleaning Shortcuts For Carpets And Upholstery

Fabrics that have absorbed a winter's worth of dirt, body oil, and germs will need a deep cleaning to prepare for another year of wear and for your relaxing guests' close inspection.

upholstery-cleaning-19

When shampooing carpets or cleaning upholstery with a rented carpet cleaner, practice first in an inconspicuous area to ensure that you know the machine and that the treatment won't discolor fabrics or cause dyes to run.

Cleaning tips to save time: Move furniture just slightly - not out of the room or against the wall as the old rules dictated - and place the legs of each piece back on top of small waxed paper squares after shampooing.

The waxed paper protects your carpet and keeps the furniture legs from getting wet as the carpet dries. Open the windows to speed up the drying process, which can take a day or more.

If you're not the furniture-shifting and machine-renting type, make it easy on yourself by calling in a professional carpet and upholstery cleaner to do the deep cleaning work and taking the morning off.

Easy Spring Cleaning Shortcuts For Floors

To protect the floors in your kitchen from another year of wear and tear, wax or apply a sealer following label directions.

The simplest method: Use a combination wash-and-wax floor cleaner. Don't feel guilty about saving time!

Easy spring cleaning shortcuts for floors: No-wax floors don't need a polishing treatment, but an occasional makeover will keep them looking fresher - and add a protective buffer that could help them last longer.

You can use a floor cleaner that cleans, shines, or both. It's best to follow label directions for proper use of each product.

If you have wood floors, move furniture and rugs aside, then apply a wood cleaner and either liquid or paste polish to clean and add a new wax coating.

Wash Walls, Cabinets, Baseboards, and Woodwork

The walls may not look like they need a bath - after all, dust and soot fall to the floor, right? Most of it does, but just enough clings to vertical surfaces to warrant a seasonal or pre-holiday bath. 

wall-cleaning-child

Use a sponge and hand dishwashing detergent, washing the surface in sections. A sponge mop makes it easier to reach higher spots. Use two buckets: one for the dishwashing detergent solution and another for wringing out your sponge. Dry the walls and woodwork with a clean cloth.

Vacuum With Intelligence

The old rules mandated that you drag every piece of furniture off the carpet laboriously so the vacuum cleaner could cover every nook and cranny.

The new rules will save you time, and you'll still get the corner-to-corner cleaning done: move oversized items a little to the left or the right. Vacuum the area previously occupied by the furniture and then move it back into place.

Clean Ceiling Fixtures and Lights

light-cleaning-tinyp

Dust and dirt can be removed from ceiling fans and air conditioner vents with a wet cloth and a vacuum with a soft nozzle attachment. A few minutes with a stepladder, an all-purpose cleaner, a sponge, and a polishing cloth will bring new light to your life.

If your home has skylights or tall ceilings, consider investing in a step ladder and extended reach dust and dirt removal tools

Clean Refrigerator Coils

You should clean the refrigerator's condenser coils, usually found behind the toe grille, with a long-handled brush and a vacuum cleaner with an attachment hose to remove dust and lint. Built-up dust can cause the unit to shut down by overheating.

To remove dust from coils attached to the hard-to-reach back side of the fridge, carefully pull the refrigerator out several feet and vacuum thoroughly; finish by sweeping or vacuuming the floor area you've revealed.

Once you've covered these major hot spots in your home, you'll have cleaning all wrapped up for another year!







You Might Like These:

  • A yearly house cleaning timetable  of chores to tackle daily, weekly, monthly, and annually - and when to do them.

    A Yearly House Cleaning Timetable

    A yearly house cleaning timetable of chores to tackle daily, weekly, monthly, and annually - and when to do them.

  • Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Chances are you've got some sparkly jewelry in your future. This guide to cleaning jewelry will keep your precious pieces sparkling.

    Guide To Cleaning Jewelry

    Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Chances are you've got some sparkly jewelry in your future. This guide to cleaning jewelry will keep your precious pieces sparkling.

  • Summer house cleaning hacks. So, you didn't quite get around to that spring cleaning, did you? Relax. Summer is a season for second changes, and these house cleaning hacks can help.

    Summer House Cleaning Hacks

    Summer house cleaning hacks. So, you didn't quite get around to that spring cleaning, did you? Relax. Summer is a season for second changes, and these house cleaning hacks can help.

  • These stone floor cleaning tips can help remove the dirt and stains of daily family life.

    Stone Floor Cleaning Tips

    These stone floor cleaning tips can help remove the dirt and stains of daily family life.

  • Do you need separate cleaning products for the kitchen and bath? This guide will explain the best household cleaners for use all around your home.

    Cleaning Products Defined

    Do you need separate cleaning products for the kitchen and bath? This guide will explain the best household cleaners for use all around your home.

  • How to clean crystal glasses and everyday stemware to keep them looking their best - party after party.

    How to Clean Crystal Glassware

    How to clean crystal glasses and everyday stemware to keep them looking their best - party after party.

  • Cleaning an appliance designed for cleaning might seem counterintuitive. But it is necessary. These washing machine cleaning tips can help.

    Washing Machine Cleaning Tips

    Cleaning an appliance designed for cleaning might seem counterintuitive. But it is necessary. These washing machine cleaning tips can help.

  • Tips for choosing a vacuum. How times change. These tips can help you make a smart choice for your home's flooring.

    Tips For Choosing a Vacuum

    Tips for choosing a vacuum. How times change. These tips can help you make a smart choice for your home's flooring.



Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.