Spring is just around the corner, and for homeowners, that means the annual task of spring cleaning. While there probably aren’t many people who look forward to spring cleaning their house, there are many benefits to ensuring you take the time to do it.

You may not realize it, but spring cleaning is actually GOOD for you. Spring cleaning can help you avoid allergy symptoms which tend to be at their worst in the spring, not to mention the emotional benefits.

Additionally, spring cleaning gives you a dedicated time each year to tackle certain things — like decluttering and large-scale cleaning projects — that you may be avoiding. By having a specific time of year where you put time aside to do these things, you’re more likely to get focused and actually finish the tasks to completion.

While you may already have your own system for spring cleaning, there may be better/faster/more effective ways of doing things. In this post, we’re going to share some of our favorite spring cleaning hacks to keep your home sparkling for years to come.

Spend Some Time Decluttering Before You Get Started

If there’s clutter in the space, it’s only going to slow you down when you’re ready to clean. If the room has lots of extra stuff in it, it’s pretty likely some of that clutter can probably be gotten rid of altogether. Dealing with that before you get started is going to allow you to concentrate on what actually needs to be cleaned instead of getting distracted. Mindlessly cleaning can end up being a big time waster, and you won’t end up finishing the job completely.

Break Your House into Zones

Zones can include bathrooms, kitchen, living spaces, bedrooms, garage, basement, and outdoor spaces. By approaching the areas that need cleaning in manageable chunks, you’re ensuring you don’t get overwhelmed and abandon your cleaning efforts.

Start by figuring out what needs to be done in each zone and how long you think it will take. Then, once you have a plan, you don’t necessarily have to take care of everything at once. Choose a couple zones to deal with over the course of two or three weekends, and you’re much more likely to actually complete what you start.

Time Yourself

The idea of setting a timer while you clean may seem a bit odd, but in doing so, you’re creating a situation where you can stay focused, and get your tasks done.

Using a timer helps because you can see how long things actually take — which means better planning for the future when you need to do it again. Maybe you’ll realize that the garage zone is way too big of a job for one person or takes so much time that it should be tackled over the course of a few days.

For smaller jobs, knowing that they only take 10 minutes means you’re more likely to do the tasks needed on a more regular basis.

Now that you know how to get organized and ready, let’s look at some great spring cleaning hacks for each room in your house.

Kitchen

• Clean with oil. While it may seem counterproductive to clean oil splattered surfaces with oil, it works! Put a few drops of vegetable oil on a paper towel, wipe the greasy surface and the oil splatters will vanish. After you’ve wiped down the surface with the oil, wipe it with a clean towel and your surface will be sparkling.
• To clean your dishwasher, place a cup of distilled white vinegar on the top rack and run it. Your dishwasher will be spic and span with no effort on your end.
• Clean your garbage disposal by dropping in a handful of crushed ice, half a lemon, and some salt. Turn the disposal on and let it run for a minute. The combination of the lemon and salt will neutralize any odors coming from the disposal.
• For a dirty microwave, put a cup of distilled white vinegar in it, and run it on high for one minute. When done, wipe out the microwave with a clean cloth or paper towels. The steam created by the vinegar makes it easy to wipe off any stubborn stains, and it helps get rid of any lingering odors.

Bathroom

• Shower heads can sometimes not work as efficiently as they should due to calcium build up. Remove the shower head, and soak it overnight in distilled white vinegar, and it will be good as new.
• Get rid of stubborn water stains on faucets or handles using half a lemon. Simply rub the area with the lemon and you’ll have shiny fixtures that smell lemony fresh.
• Glass shower doors are notorious for building up residue. Take a dryer sheet, sprinkle it with water and scrub down the door to make the glass sparkle.
• If your toilet has stains, denture cleaning tablets are your secret weapon. Put two tablets in the toilet and leave them for a few hours. After they’ve worked their magic simply give the toilet a quick scrub, and even hard water stains will disappear.

Living Room and Common Areas

• Got a water ring stain on a wood table? Blast the area with a hair dryer on high heat and then wipe it with a little olive oil to recondition the wood.
• Blinds always build up dust. Find yourself an old sock and mix up a solution of equal parts water and vinegar. Slip the sock on your hand, dip it in the cleaning solution and then run your hand over the dusty blinds. Rinse and repeat until the whole blind is clean.
• For the tracks on your windows and doors, use distilled white vinegar on a damp cloth to wipe away any build-up of dust and dirt.
• When cleaning windows, do it on a cloudy day. If you clean the windows when the sun is out, it can cause them to dry too quickly which leaves streaks.
• If you notice cobwebs or other dusty areas up high, drape a towel over your broom and wipe away the dust.
• For dusty air vents, take a butter knife and wrap a thin rag around it. Then slide the knife back and forth between the slats of the vents.
• Dryer sheets are an excellent tool for dusting. When used on baseboards, not only do they clean off the dust, but they also leave behind a slight residue that will repel dust and keep them from getting dirty as quickly again.
• If vacuuming doesn’t pick up all of the pet hair on your carpet, a window squeegee can do the trick. Run the squeegee over the carpet, and it will pull up excess hair.
• Stubborn carpet stains can be treated with shaving cream. Dab shaving cream on the affected area, let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe it away with a wet cloth.
• Use a lid from a condiment bottle, the kind with a pointy spout, as a DIY vacuum attachment. Slip it over the hose attachment of your vacuum, and use it to access small nooks and crannies that are otherwise hard to clean.
• And to keep everything organized when you’re done, use a tension rod inside your kitchen or bathroom cabinet to hang all of the bottles.

By employing some of these different hacks, you can ensure your beautiful home continues to look as good as new, day in and day out.