Spring has Sprung: Find the Spring in Your Step Spring Cleaning Hacks 2022
Looking for some quick and easy spring cleaning hacks? Check out our blog post for some great tips on how to get your home spick and span in no time!
“The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life” From Marie Kondo, the world-renowned cleaning consultant.
Keeping a clean and tidy home helps maintain sanity and can make you feel like you are “owning your life” too. There are few people that do not feel relief or calm living in an orderly environment, and there are those who feel even the littlest cleaning task is a massive ordeal.
A messy dirty space can be mentally draining. To help build up the enthusiasm for that long overdue massive spring clean, here are a few DIY spring cleaning hacks.
Old pots and pans
Are you one of those people who are resigned to the build-up of old oil in the crevasses of pots and pans? Do you find yourself declaring to your household, “Don’t worry, I’ll clean it next time.” Or, do you spend hours devoting elbow grease and many sponges trying to scrub your pots clean?
STOP. Clean pots are a possibility, and it doesn’t require any sweat. Simply fill your sink with piping hot water. Then add some clothes washing machine powder and a drop of bleach. Mix until the powder dissolves and let the pots and pans soak overnight. In the morning you will be surprised and the super clean pots and pans. Magic!
Floor space is prime real estate
Some people have a strong impulse to fill up any free space they have with endless stuff. When empty floor space is seen they have a strong desire to quickly use it up.
A useful tip is to not store anything that isn’t furniture on the ground. Priority should be given to keeping the floor clear!
The first thing you should do when organizing a place is to clean the floor. It makes the remainder of any project easy.
Consider any area in your house with a messy floor and clean surfaces. Now consider the identical space, but with the surfaces cluttered but the floor clean. Which space appears to be easiest to live in and clean?
If you can move around without stumbling, your house will be simpler to maintain and enjoy. If you must set anything down without putting it away, place it on a table or chair rather than the floor.
Your fridge, the forgotten place
There are so many little aspects to keep your household running smoothly that many of us forget about. Remember to clean the condenser coils at the back of your fridge. They are dust magnets, which impacts your fridge’s ability to stay cold, and puts so much strain on your fridge that it will eventually start breaking down.
Condenser coils can be found on the back of the refrigerator or across the bottom. The refrigerant is cooled by these coils. When the coils get blocked with dirt and dust, they lose their ability to properly emit heat. As a consequence, your compressor works harder and longer than it should, consuming more energy and reducing the life of your refrigerator.
Vacuum and clean the coils with a coil cleaning brush. A coil cleaning brush performs an amazing job and quickly pays for itself. The refrigerator coil brush may be bent to fit into small spaces. It is easily one of the best cleaning tools of 2022. They can also be used to clean the coils of your dehumidifier and air conditioner.
A good fridge is not cheap. Also, the nasty things that start to happen when your fridge is not cold enough aren’t great to come home to! Think curdled milk, lukewarm beers, and moldy vegetables.
The last touch
Do you spend hours cleaning your house, going through the corners, wiping everything down, and yet, at the end it still feels somewhat dirty? Is there still a lingering strange smell?
To preface our next recommendation, we are not hard chemical advocates by any measure. However, once a year after a long winter we think it’s ok.
So, listen carefully. When you are at the last stage of your cleaning journey, use a small drop of bleach in hot water (just a drop – you do not want it to smell like a hospital). Then, grab a new cloth. This step is vital. So many people make the mistake of using an already used cloth that ends up making everything smell slightly strange.
Wipe down all your surfaces and already cleaned areas with this hot water and bleach. It will make everything smell completely clean. It will catch any sneaky bacteria creating funky smells. Everything will gleam. It is the most satisfying thing to do after all of your cleaning!
Another little hack for a smelly home is adding an essential oil air diffuser. These neat devices work on their own providing comforting smells that not only refresh your home but also your mental state.
Does it spark joy?
When asking many people who are cleaning magicians what their leading principle is, it is often different versions of: “I throw lots of stuff away”. Throwing away or better yet donating your junk is a great thing you can do. Before throwing things away Marie Kondo likes to ask “Does it spark joy?” Or in other words, does this thing make me happy?
If they don’t, get rid of them immediately (of course we are not talking about things like your tax account). We only live once, if the item sits at the top of the cupboard or in a box it is simply not something that is making your life better. Even if it is something wonderful, if it is a box the only thing it is doing for you is creating an added headache.
Clean and Happy
Many people in life are looking for happiness and success. They spend exorbitant amounts of time and money pursuing these objectives. Research has shown that there is a strong correlation between people who maintain a clean and orderly living space to those who show high levels of well-being and success in the work they do.
House hygiene translates to mental hygiene. Make your home somewhere you want to be. Somewhere you want to create. Somewhere that sparks joy!
