A good old-fashioned spring cleaning does the home, and the homeowner, good.
Some spring cleaning tasks tackled “the old-fashioned way” bring tried and true results. While other chores have a modern day, high-tech upgrade that can make your life easier. Keep reading for more options to help you accomplish some of the most popular spring cleaning tasks.
Vacuuming and Cleaning
There’s no escaping the need for vacuuming and general cleaning year-round. But spring cleaning is the time to get to hard-to-reach places and give your floors a refreshing, deeper clean.
Old-Fashioned
The old-fashioned way to vacuum and clean the floors is, well, to just do it. It sounds simple enough, but it can take a lot of effort.
Get out your vacuum with all of its extensions along with your floor cleaner of choice, whether that’s a combination sweeper/duster, a mop, or a bucket and a rag, and roll up your sleeves. The trick is to get all the nooks and crannies that easily get overlooked during regular cleanings by removing obstacles in your path. Those areas behind the couch, in between counters, and under all the beds will benefit from an old-fashioned cleaning.
An old-fashioned cleaning agent to consider using is vinegar. This time-tested method may work just as well, and some even say better, than many modern day cleaning products. It can be used in many ways, including for:
- Deep carpet cleaning
- Window cleaning
- Stain removal
- Dish and glass cleaner
- Tarnish removal
- Grout/mildew cleaner
- Unclogging shower heads and drains
When your spring cleaning tasks call for shining up, clearing away stains, sanitizing, and removing odors you can also tap into cleaning with lemon to solve a wide variety of household chores you only tackle once or twice a year. Just be sure to do your homework first as there are some surfaces and materials that may be damaged by lemon juice.
High Tech
While an old-fashioned vacuum you’ve had on hand for years might be perfectly sufficient, our high tech age brings many cleaning appliance options to help make things easier. Taking advantage of vacuums and cleaners that make Judy Jetson’s set-up a reality can be a smart choice for busy people.
Consider vacuums that are easy to maneuver, have different floor settings, various add-ons and extensions for electric dusting, steaming, and cleaning, all while vacuuming up debris with a high-powered motor.
Some of the most high-tech vacuums emit a UV light that will kill bacteria and other germs on your floor. If that wasn’t high tech enough, there are also robotic vacuums and robotic mops that will vacuum and clean the floors for you. Homeowners can plan to put in less effort for routine cleaning as many of these robotic appliances can be set on a timer to go through your home and do the daily dirty work.
Since spring cleaning is the time to give your carpets a good, deep clean, renting, buying, or paying someone else to use a high-tech deep carpet cleaner on your hidden and high-traffic areas can get the job done thoroughly.
Outside
With all the cleaning and organizing happening inside year-round, many homeowners find the outside of their home deserves a lot of attention when it comes time for spring cleaning.
Old-Fashioned
Some outdoor tasks to do the old-fashioned way include: raking leaves, replacing your welcome mat, wiping down the garage door, and changing the outdoor light bulbs, just to name a few.
Vinegar and lemon can also come in handy for many outdoor cleaning tasks. You can use vinegar to kill weeds and unwanted plants in your yard. To gear up for your spring and summer BBQs, look to lemon to get your grill ready.
High Tech
Landscapers can make your yard and garden look ready for spring after a hard winter. Investing in professional services or in high-tech lawn tools and appliances may be worthwhile for those looking to make the whole process easier and quicker.
Power washers can help clean your porch or your deck to get rid of deep stains and crud that’s built up over the year. Window cleaning can be made easier with a high-tech window cleaning robots, similar to the vacuum robots we mentioned earlier.
Decluttering
Going through all of the stuff that you’ve accumulated each year can be a daunting task, especially if you like to hold on to things. But it’s well worth it to either throw away or donate things you don’t need or use; it will free up a lot of space and make your home feel less cramped.
Old-Fashioned
The old-fashioned route of decluttering, while time consuming, is a great way to go. Start by getting out three bins: one for giveaways, one for trash, and another for storage. Then, go through each room in your home and sort your belongings that you are getting rid of into these three bins.
Go through your bedrooms, closets, living areas, garage, bathroom, and kitchen to uncover many forgotten yet space-consuming items. Donate clothes you haven’t worn in the last year. Throw away expired or old products. Becoming very critical about what you keep and only storing what you really need and what your family actually uses will leave your home less cluttered and more functional.
High Tech
Don’t forget to take the time to clear out or clean up your tech gadgets as well! Nothing can really replace the human eye to carefully sort through your stuff, but decluttering your high-tech belongings is a modern addition to spring cleaning that many generations never had to worry about.
Those old DVDs and VHS tapes you have in the back of your closet? Your 5 year old iPhone? A thumbdrive from college? An ancient stack of floppy disks? It might be time to let go of those and free up some space on your desk and in your closets.
Consider donating your old electronics to charities once you’ve removed all of your personal information. As for those gadgets you intend to keep? Delete some of your old files or apps on your computer/smart phone to free up some memory space.
You can even clean your technology with a tech sanitizing machine that uses UV light to destroy germs and bacteria that have built up on the screen and keyboard. Always tech connected, that’s a cleaning task most of us can benefit from implementing all year long.
This post is intended for informational purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice. The point of view and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Realty Executives International.
This post was written for Realty Executives by Elliot Walsh. Elliot is a dual-degree graduate from the University of Rochester with a B.S in Cell Biology and a B.A in English Literature. He is a full-time freelance writer from Boston, specializing in veganism, humor, and health. His articles have appeared in The Rival Rochester and his work experience can be found here: www.linkedin.com/in/ewalsh17.
