Spring Cleaning Made Easy
T
here are two types of people
out there: those who love spring
cleaning and those who don’t. If
you have never done spring cleaning
before or you find it daunting, here are
some helpful cleaning tips and hacks
that will have your home sparkling in
no time.
The Cleaning Game Plan
Having a strategy is the key to a
successful spring cleaning. Look around
your home and identify the areas that
need the most work. What places do
you tend to skip during your normal
cleaning routine? What areas have you
scarcely looked at in who-knows-how
long? Those places make a great
starting point.
Knowing how you work best is
another key to success. Some people
prefer to get all of their cleaning done
in one weekend, while others prefer
to pace themselves and work in small
increments throughout their house. If
you like to compartmentalize, working
room by room is a good cleaning
method, or if you prefer to dabble in
every room, the thirty-day cleaning
challenge might work better. It really
doesn’t matter if your spring cleaning is
a race or a marathon. What counts
is that it gets done.
De-Clutter First
It helps to clear everything out of the
space you’ll be cleaning before you start.
That way you know what actually needs
dusting, sweeping, or washing, and what
you can just throw out. Set aside bins or
boxes labeled “Keep,” “Store,” “Donate,”
and “Trash,” and go through each room
sorting what stays and what goes.
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Written By Crystal Han
Ceiling Fan Trick-or-Treat
Make a Cleaning Kit
Have your cleaning arsenal assembled
before you start your battle with the dirt
and dust. You will need an all-purpose
cleaner, disinfecting wipes, rubber
gloves, glass cleaner, a sponge and
scrubber, a small duster, and several
cleaning rags. Keep all of your supplies
in a basket or one of those kiddy rolling
carts so that you can take them from
room to room with you without any
hassle. You’ll also need a heavy duty
vacuum cleaner and a mop.
Grout Hack
Instead of spending hours scrubbing
grout with a toothbrush, find a cleaning
solution that does most of the work for
you. Oxygen bleach, such as OxiClean
or Clorox OxiMagic, lifts the dirt from
your grout without stripping the color
the way normal bleach does. Just mix a
gallon of hot water with a quarter cup
of powdered oxygen bleach. Working
in small sections, pour the solution in
an “S” formation on the floor, then take
a scrub brush and spread the solution
in a thin layer across each section. You
don’t need a lot of elbow grease for
this. A simple one-two-three motion
will do. Let the solution sit for thirty to
sixty minutes and then wipe your floors
with a damp rag or mop. The grout will
brighten as it dries.
The Vacuum is Your Friend
Why stop with just the carpets? Make
use of your vacuum’s attachments and
use them to clean window sills and wall
corners. The soft brush attachments can
be used to dust books, bookshelves,
lampshades, pillows, mattresses, and
upholstered furniture.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
april/may 2019
Have you ever seen what’s lurking on
top of your ceiling fan? It’s truly the
stuff of nightmares. Rather than risk
scattering all of that dust over every-
thing below, try using an old pillowcase.
Spray the inside of the pillowcase with
Pledge or Endust, and then carefully
slide the pillowcase over the ceiling fan
blade. Holding the opening of the case
firmly over the top and bottom of the
blade, slide the pillowcase back along
the blade. The trick is that the pillow-
case will catch all of that dust and the
treat is that you won’t have to worry
about your furniture and floors
getting dirty.
Lemon Power
Turns out lemons can do a lot more than
make lemonade. Rubbing half a lemon
on faucets will break down hard water
stains and make your fixtures shine. To
loosen grime inside your microwave,
mix the juice of a lemon and the rinds
with a half cup of water. Microwave the
mixture for three minutes, and then
let it stand for five minutes without
opening the microwave door. The lemon
steam will break down the grime and
make it easy to wipe away. Running
lemon rinds, a handful of crushed ice,
and a little salt through your garbage
disposal will neutralize odors.
gmhtoday.com
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