Spring Cleaning Tips | A Room-by-Room Guide

Spring is on the horizon!

If you're anything like us as soon as the first daffodil begins to bloom, you want to have a good clear out and deep clean! Spring is a time of renewal and a good spring clean can really change and refresh how you feel in the home.

So, we reached out to you on Instagram and our Facebook Interior Advice Forum and put our heads together at Rockett St George to come up with our Top Spring Cleaning Tips...

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1. Start With A Good Clear Out

This can often be quite a big job, but having a good clear out will transform your interiors.

A good old declutter will create space in the home and make room for beautiful things that you love. Check out our recent blog, Don't Move, Improve - A Guide To Improving The Home You Have, for decluttering and organisation tricks that will help you with this step.

2. Clean Your Kitchen

We use our kitchens every single day and so a good old scrub a few times a year can really help you keep on top of things during the week when you are busy with your career, kids, or just day-to-day life.

So here are our top spring cleaning ideas for your kitchen:

• On our Facebook Interior Advice Forum, Gail Coles recommended that for greasy extractor filters in your kitchen you should soak the extractor in a solution of warm soda crystals. They will be like new in minutes. Just don’t let the solution near any wooden worktops though!
• On Instagram, @ironbarbieandbabybear recommended using baby oil to shine steel sinks ... genius!
• Clean Your Fridge. When spring cleaning it's essential to not ignore the fridge as this is home to raw and cooked foods. As this is a space where you keep food, avoid using any harsh chemicals such as bleach as this could be ingested. Instead, opt for a natural product which is safe and really effective too! To clean, remove everything for the fridge and clean with warm water, washing up liquid and a microfibre cloth. For any tough stains, mix baking powder with water to create a paste. Layer on top of the stained area and leave for a few hours. Then simply wipe the paste away and voila... a clean fridge!
• Scrub your sink. Your kitchen sink should be sanitised regularly. To do so, simply use a little baking soda and scrub the sink down with a sponge to remove food and stains.
• Plugholes. Kitchen Sink Plugholes and Drains can, from time to time, give off a smell. So keep it smelling fresh by calling upon the big guns and buy Drain Unblocker.
• Remove streaks and hard water stains from your stainless steel taps using a soft microfibre cloth and glass cleaner.
• Descale your kettle with a white vinegar rinse. Easy to do, put one or two tablespoons in your kettle and add in water. Bring the kettle to boil and then empty the kettle out. Fill with water and boil one or two more times to get rid of any vinegar residue.... we can't imagine that a vinegar infused cuppa would taste good!
• Ovens. Most modern ovens have a self-cleaning function, but if yours doesn't then there is an easy way to give it a clean. Make a baking soda paste with a few tablespoons of water and coat the inside of your over (avoiding the fan and heating elements!). Leave overnight and then spray the inside of your over with a little vinegar and water. Using a damp cloth give it a thorough wipe down and ta daa ... a squeaky clean oven!

3. Clean Out Your Utility Rooms and Hallways

Utility rooms and hallways are busy and well-used parts of the home. So a good spring clean or clear out once or twice a year on top of regular cleans will keep things in tip-top shape!

Ideas for spring cleaning your hallways and utility rooms include...

• Clean out your washing machine. Most modern machines now have self-cleaning cycles, but if yours doesn't simply fill your machine with washing machine cleaner (available from most supermarkets) and run a hot cycle.
• For your dryer, be sure to empty and clean your filter regularly. A build up in your dryer filter or vent can be a potential fire hazard, so it's important to do this after each dry cycle.
• Refresh your doormats, rugs and runners. Give your rugs and doormats a good beating and hoover to get rid of any dirt and dust. If your rug and runner can be machine washed give it a quick whizz in the machine too. But, if your rugs, runners and doormats have been well and truly worn down then we recommend replacing them. We have a selection of rugs, runners and doormats at Rockett St George that would be the perfect replacement.
• Clean and polish door handles, cupboard knobs and light switches.
• Hoover and dust behind your washer and dryer to prevent unnecessary build up.

4. Scrub Your Bathroom

Scrub-a-dub-dub, let's clean your tub! It goes without saying that your bathroom requires regular cleaning, but every month or two a good deep clean will really help you keep on top of the task. So here are our top bathroom cleaning tips:

• Wash Your Shower Curtain. If you have a vinyl or plastic shower curtain take it off its hooks and chuck it in the washing machine for an instant refresh. Then throughout the month, keep it clean with a little All-Purpose Spray and water. However, if the situation is really dire then only a new shower curtain will do. We have some lovely shower curtains that you can shop at Rockett St George.
• Grout & Sealant. Bathrooms are wet rooms and so build up on your grout and sealant is one of those inevitable things that can easily be controlled with regular cleaning. To clean, use fungicidal bathroom spray or bleach spray to keep it sparkling! For smaller areas use a toothbrush with bleach to scrub away any nasty markings.
• Remove watermarks with descaler or use glass cleaner and a microfibre cloth to remove any hard water stains.
• Freshen up your drains. Pour 1/2 of baking soda, 1/4 cup table salt and a cup of warm vinegar down your drains for 15 minutes. It will bubble and foam as its working during this time. Then after 15 minutes run the taps for a minute to wash the solution away.
• If your drains need more than a freshening then you'll need to unblock them with a proper drain unblocker. Afterall, sometimes only the strong stuff will do!

 

5. Get To Work In Your Living Areas

The social hub of your home, give your living rooms and sitting rooms a spring refresh.

• Move Your Furniture! On a normal day, you may not move your sofa or units when vacuuming, but a spring clean is a great opportunity to get into the nooks and hidden spaces. It makes a huge difference to the overall feeling of space and gives you that extra piece of mind that everything is clean.
• Clean your carpets and rugs. Some rugs can be machine washed, so check the label. But if not a simple carpet cleaner on both your rugs and carpets will work wonders in your living room.
• If you've got curtains given them a wash. Check the label, but a lot of curtains can be machine washed, so give them a quick wash and dry and hand them straight away to prevent creases and wrinkles in the fabric.
• Clear out your bookshelves and cabinets. Remove everything off your shelving units, cabinets and display surfaces and give it good old dust. It's also a great opportunity to sort through old books and display pieces and give away or donate anything that you don't want to keep. For organisation hacks to sort and clean out your bookshelves, check out our blog - How To Get Things Organised - for inspiration and tips.

6. Don't Forget Your Bedrooms

Your bedroom is where you sleep, so it's got to be lovely and clean to help you relax at night!

• Flip Ya Mattress Baby! Get flipping and turn your mattress every six months to keep things fresh and to ensure the longevity of your mattress.
• Take your duvet and pillows to the dry cleaners for a professional clean once or twice a year. If you're pillows and duvet have seen better days, then consider replacing them. New pillows can be life changing!
• New bedding can transform your world, so if you've had the same bedding for a long time, consider recycling the material and investing in new bedding. We have some lovely ben linen at Rockett St George if you are searching for new bedding.
• Dust EVERYWHERE. Get a microfibre cloth and polish and wipe down bedside tables, ceiling lights, table lights, chest of drawers and skirting. Bedrooms are notorious for gathering dust, so this should be something that you incorporate into your cleaning routine regularly.
• In kids bedrooms or playrooms disinfect their toys and wash any cuddly toys that you can.
• Go through your wardrobes and dressing rooms. As Spring marks the start of a new season, this is a great opportunity to sort all of your clothes out and get any clothes out from storage for the warmer weather. In the Netflix show, Tidying Up With Maire Kondo, she recommends getting all of your clothes out and putting it on your bed. Be disciplined and only put the clothes back in the wardrobe that you wear or love. Everything else can be put into storage or better yet, donated or recycled.

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So, there we have it! All of our top spring cleaning tips to give your home a good clean out!

Other posts you may like to read include...

DON'T MOVE - IMPROVE. A GUIDE TO IMPROVING THE HOME YOU HAVE | TOP 5 ESSENTIAL TIPS TO ADD SPACE TO YOUR HOME |

HOW TO GET YOUR HOME ORGANISED ONCE THE KIDS ARE BACK TO SCHOOL

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