Tips & Tricks :: Spring Cleaning

From work, to friends, to your loved ones, a lot of us have been hearing and thinking about spring cleaning.  I know, I know, I said it! But, someone had to!

I love spring, y'all.  The birds are chirping, the air is crisp with blossoming trees and flowers, the days seem brighter, and just everything around seems to be giving a more positive vibe. 

Even though we should try to keep things tidy and neat throughout the year, we do associate spring time with the perfect time to clean!  Even though Mother Nature has been a little crazy these past couple of weeks, here in the Queen City, don't let the winter blues get you down.

To keep you from waiting any longer, let me five you a list of my tips and tricks to an easier spring cleaning to-do list.

We all seem to think that Spring Cleaning is a week long process, and we get tired everyday trying to do more than we can. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK Y'all!  You can do as much as you want for as short or as long as you want.

What is cleaning like to you? To me, I fell it to be meditative, I get into this zone, and move at a super-speed. Does this happen to you?

The best thing about this list is that you can start anywhere, whatever you believe needs to be taken care of first, you start with.  On a side note, I do recommend going from top to bottom so that whatever falls to the floor, won't have to be cleaned twice.

The Living Room ::

The reason for me choosing the living room first, is because this is where Adam and I spend most of our time, and this is what our guests immediately see when they come over.

1)  Start with your windows and walls, this in turn will make everything seem cleaner right from the get go.  

You may not think of it, but dust and stuff will accumulate on your walls.  If you have fur-babies like we do, then your windows, and glass doors, surely must have some of their lovely nose art.

TIP & TRICK :: Use Mr. Cleans magic eraser on your walls, and all those marks will disappear.  And when you are cleaning your windows, use newspaper to wipe them with your Windex.  It leaves no streaks.

2) Couches, unzip those smelly couch covers and throw them in the washer! (read the label first) While that is happening, move to your coffee and end tables, dust them, and wipe them down!  And the best part of spring cleaning, is that you can also take this time to polish them.

TIP & TRICK :: Take 1/2 cup white vinegar, and 1/2 cup of olive oil, mix, and take a kitchen rag and wipe down!  All those scratches, GONE!

3) Dust & Clean those T.V's.  Not just the T.V itself, but the mantel that it is probably sitting on, the cords that connect it to your VHS player, and/or DVD player. (Does anyone still have a VHS player? I know I still do, I LOVE my Disney movies, and Rocky movies!) 

4) Shelving - This may seem like a task, but that's the point!  When you go to your shelving, its lined with books, pictures, memories, photo albums, etc, and it has been that way for about a year now.  Are you bored with it?  Re organize it and you know, this is the time to change the mood of your living area! Start with that bookshelf, what do you want the room to say about you?  Do you still have that $30.00 shelf from WalMart? (I'm guilty)  So why not think about something new that you want to do as you take every item off and dust, and clean it?

What about something like this?

SIDE NOTE :: Whatever you decide to do, feng shui your whole living area, it doesn't have to be drastic, but when you choose one thing, then move to something else.  For example, move your couch to the other side of the room, or add on some cute throw pillows to add a different mood, as stated above!

I saw this cute thing on Pinterest, and I love it!

5) The Floors, those awesome floors -_- 

Vacuum them, vacuum your couch (without cushions) and then take a squeegee, yes, a squeegee and go across your whole carpet.  You will be surprised how much dog hair, husband/wife hair, or your hair that is deep in your carpets.

Crazy, right?!?!

Bedrooms ::

Y'all, lets tackle those closets (& drawers) together!  Start trickling in that spring clothing, take out your sandals, and your capri's and your flowy tank-tops. Wash that dirty laundry that has been piling up for a while, and take off those bed sheets, and put on new ones.

Also, when you are cleaning out your closet, be sure to have three different piles.

Pile One - The Keep Pile

Pile Two - The Pack-Away Pile (This is mainly for the winter clothes that you don't need anymore, like your winter coat, and snow boots.)

Pile Three - The Donate/Garage Sale Pile

TIP & TRICK :: If you make your bed first, then your room looks cleaner, so start there! :)

Next, your fan.  That thing gets dusty so easily, so make sure you dust up there as well!

TIP & TRICK :: In order to prevent a bunch of dust from getting on your bed or in your face, take a spare or old pillow case and put it over each fan blade and wipe down on the inside.  Bam!  

Bathrooms ::

Clean the walls, and door (especially behind the toilet). Use the Mr. Clean Eraser.

Next, move onto the drawers, clean them all out, whatever you don't need, or whatever is expired, throw it away.  Organize everything in them.

Toilet - this is the scariest thing in the bathroom, right? AHHH!  But, we have to get over that.

Put in your toilet cleaner, and start scrubbing y'all. TAME THE TOILET!!!

Not just the inside, but the outside as well.  Get out your cleaning toothbrush, and scrub the hinges and grout!  

One thing, for us ladies out there, CLEAN YOUR MAKE-UP BRUSHES!  Something that I recently found out, is that your makeup brushes are one of the places where bacteria grows (at a rapid rate).

 TIP & TRICK :: Cleaning your makeup brushes is easier than you think.  

Take a small amount of your dawn soap, or baby shampoo, and mix it with warm water.  Submerge your brush into the water and swirl it around rubbing your fingers through the brussels.  But, be careful NOT to get the metal piece in the water, because it will loosen the glue that holds everything together!

Then rinse out your brushes with lukewarm water, and squeeze out excess water, then mend the brushes into their original form, and lay on towel to let dry.

Vacuum and Swiffer the carpeting in your bathroom, and the flooring.

Getting down in the Kitchen ::

The kitchen is probably one of the most difficult to clean because it's one of the spaces that have many different things.

TIPS & TRICKS :: 

• Clean your silverware with lemon juice...smells nice and makes it sparkle and shine.
• Hard water stains?  Cut a lemon in half and scrub it on the stains, viola its gone.
• Sponge Smelly? Rinse it, squeeze it out, and zap it in the microwave for one minute, and then it is as fresh as new!  BUT, if the sponge shreds then its time to toss it.
• Glassware cloudy? Take a cloth, put some vinegar on it, and rub down the glassware.  It should sparkle.
• Clean your disposal.  Take some vinegar, pour it down while it is turned on, and this will get rid of that smell, and then throw some ice cubes down there (still turned on) and this will sharpen the blades, then throw down some slices of lemon, and this will have a great scent coming from your now disinfected disposal!

Clean the oven, turn on the self cleaner, to burn off all of that yucky stuff, and once it is done and cooled off, then you may wipe down the inside with some Clorox wipes, and paper towels.

Take a close look at your cabinets, they are probably dirtier than you expected.  I found this awesome gunk cleaner from One Good Thing!

Good thing I found her! :)

• 1 Part Vegetable Oil
• 2 Parts Baking Soda

Mix together with a spoon, and start scrubbing guys!  Take the toothbrush and dig deep on the cabinet handles!

Clean your stove guys, take out the spirals, and clean everywhere!

Then, sanitize your sink, you need to do this, because lets be honest with each other here, its really gross, and full of bacteria.  Take either bleach, or white vinegar, or boiling water with soap, and scrub it down! (Not all three)

The refrigerator needs love too, even though we already love it lots, because it holds all of our yummy food.  Take everything out, off one shelf, and clean that shelf, then re-install, then continue to do the same for the rest of the fridge.  

Also, this gives you time to take out all the food that has either gone bad, or the tempting foods that you wish to throw out while you are on your way to a lifestyle change to a new and healthier you!  While you are taking out all these foods, feel free to replace them with yummy veggies, and fruits, like mango's, kale, carrots, apples, grapes, green peppers! :)

Alright guys, that's about all I have for you, with my tips and tricks!

Let me know if I forgot anything or you want to know anything else!

"You never know what you have, until you clean your house."