You may have been procrastinating under the covers all winter, but now that spring is on its way, it’s time to get cleaning! Spring cleaning is an important task for any homeowner as it refreshes your home after being closed off during the cold season. Fortunately, there are a few tips, tricks, and hacks that will make any cleaning task quick and easy. Here are our picks for the best spring cleaning hacks.
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” – William Morris
1. Making Your Stove Look Brand New
If simply thinking about all the scrubbing you would have to do to clean your stove and oven makes you tired, here are two easy ways to make the cleaning process go faster so you can get back to enjoying the warm weather.
Cleaning the Oven
To clean your oven, you’ll need:
- A pot of water
- A baking dish
- 1 cup of ammonia
First, preheat the oven to 150°F and bring the pot of water to a boil. Pour the ammonia into the baking dish. Once the water is boiling and the oven reaches the desired temperature, turn off the oven and the stove and put the baking dish of ammonia on the top rack and the pot of boiling water on the bottom rack. Leave the baking dish and pot in the oven overnight. Then, in the morning, all you have to do is effortlessly wipe the oven clean.
Cleaning the Stovetop
Did you know that you can use oil for cleaning your stovetop and hood? As odd as it may seem, rubbing the oil with a cloth is a lot easier than using cleaning chemicals. If you add a little bit of alcohol, your stove will look brand new without too much elbow grease. Take a look at this pictured step by step tutorial.
2. Cleaning the Microwave
Since we’ve already talked about cleaning the stove and oven, let’s move on to another important kitchen appliance - the microwave. You probably use your microwave frequently and it’s probably covered in food splatter. Cleaning your microwave is easier than you’d think! You’ll need:
- A microwave-safe bowl
- 2 cups of water
- 2 tablespoons of vinegar
- A few drops of essential oil (to mask the vinegar smell) or a few drops of lemon juice
Simply mix all the ingredients in the bowl and put it in the microwave for about five minutes. Then use a slightly damp rag to remove the food splatter.
Did you know that the average sponge is 200,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat? You can clean and sterilize your sponge by microwaving it! Place a completely wet sponge in the microwave for about five minutes to kill the bacteria.
Vinegar is one of the most useful natural cleaning products around. You can use it to clean pretty much any surface, but did you know you can also use it to clean your coffee maker? Add vinegar to your machine water and turn it on. It can clean any mineral buildup your machine may have. If you stop it halfway through the cycle and let it sit for an hour or so it will do wonders. Just don’t forget to run a few cycles with clean water before making coffee.
3. Using Vinegar to Clean the Bathroom
Cleaning the bathroom is usually the worst part of spring cleaning, unless you have some - or a lot of - vinegar at home. In this case, you’ll achieve a perfectly clean bathroom with the least amount of effort. There are three important parts to clean: the toilet, the shower/tub, and the faucets.
Cleaning the Toilet
Let’s start with the task most people dislike the most - cleaning the toilet. Vinegar, as we’ve mentioned before, is an incredibly useful cleaning product for many different surfaces, including the toilet. You can use vinegar to clean both the tank and the bowl.
Make sure you wear rubber gloves when cleaning the toilet!
To clean the tank, simply pour a lot of vinegar into the tank and let it sit while you clean the bowl. To clean the bowl, first use a plunger to remove as much water from the tank as possible. Then pour vinegar into the bowl and use a scrubber to start scrubbing. Once all the grime and buildup is removed, flush the toilet a few times to get rid of all of the vinegar in the bowl and the tank. Here’s a great video with step-by-step instructions in the description to help you get a perfectly clean toilet using only vinegar.
Cleaning the Shower and Tub
It may not seem important to clean your shower head, but a dirty shower head can affect your water flow and cleanliness of your water. To clean it, simply fill a Ziploc bag with vinegar and put it over your shower head, using rubber bands to secure it. Leave it overnight then wash it with hot water in the morning. If there’s any buildup left on the shower head, use a clean toothbrush soaked in vinegar to scrub it away.
We can’t talk about shower heads without sharing a tip about cleaning the tub. This is one of the easiest because you'll simply mix essentials oils, liquid soap, and a little bit of baking soda to form a paste. Wash it with warm water after applying it to the stains.
Cleaning the Faucets
Lastly, and also the simplest: in order to have a stain-free faucet take a lemon, cut it in half and rub it on top of the stains. Although this part is optional, you can use a few pinches of salt before rubbing the lemon. It will clean right away plus it will give the room a nice citrus smell. This is a trick that can be used both in the bathroom and in the kitchen.
4. Cleaning Window Shades
You might have noticed so far that vinegar is a do-it-all when it comes to cleaning. Whether it's in the kitchen, in the bedroom, living room, or even the bathroom. There's always at least one option to use it around the house. At this moment, we're focusing not on the room, but on the object itself: the blinds. You don’t even need to take them down! You're simply going to mix equal parts of vinegar and water. And, with the help of an old sock, wipe the dust off the blinds. You can either use another sock to dry them or let them dry by themselves. Additionally, you can check this easy way to clean the window rack.
5. Removing Carpet Stains
It wouldn’t be a proper spring clean up if carpets weren’t on this list. Here’s how to clean those stubborn stains on your carpet. Mix two parts vinegar and two parts water in a spray bottle and spray it onto the stain. Cover it with a damp rag. Wait about half an hour then use a hot iron to iron the rag to remove the stain. The heat will remove any stains as well as odors.
6. Cleaning Chairs and Sofas
While vinegar is a do-it-all cleaner, alcohol is perfect for cleaning chairs and sofas. Simply sprinkle a few drops of alcohol on the desired area and use a white brush or sponge to get rid of the stain. It’s important to use a white brush or sponge so you don’t get any color stains on your furniture.
7. Get Rid of Those Water Rings
Maybe you have already thought about this, but never truly tried because it seems somewhat unusual. Nevertheless, it works and you can do it: a blow dryer will remove those water rings. Using wax to treat the wood and making it shine is favourable on the eye, but adding that part to the cleaning plan is up to your good will.
If by any chance your wood furniture has scratches, there’s a trick for those too: mix half a cup of vinegar with half a cup of olive oil and rub the mixture into the wood with a clean dry cloth. Your wood will look brand new!
8. Cleaning Cast Iron Utensils
If you have cast iron utensils in your kitchen, then there’s only one product you need to make all of them clean, and that is salt. Salt creates a chemical reaction when it comes in contact with cast iron that removes oil and food residues, possibly even rust. After using salt to clean them, wash them thoroughly and dry them completely.
The YouTube Channel Reactions has a great video on How To Care For Cast Iron, take a look to better understand the cleaning process.
9. Tips for Cleaning Clothing
We all know how to do laundry, but here’s a tip you may not have known - chalk can help absorb greasy stains on your clothing! We recommend using white chalk to prevent any color stains.
If you have pets at home, chances are your clothes are constantly covered in fur. To quickly and easily remove fur before throwing the clothes in the washer, simply don a rubber glove and rub your and over the clothing. The fur will stick to the rubber and you’ll be able to wash them without worry.
10. Organizing Your Closet
Spring is the perfect time to go through your closet and get rid of the clothes you don’t wear anymore. A popular trick is to take everything out of your closet and separate your clothes into three piles - keep, donate, and trash. Keep the clothes you wear, donate the clothes you don’t wear (but are still in good condition), and trash the clothes that are ripped, torn, or otherwise unwearable. Then, put the clothes you decided to keep back in the closet. Here’s the trick: when you hang up the clothes, make sure all of the hangers are facing the same way. When you wear an item, turn the hanger around. Next year when you go to do your spring cleaning, donate the clothes on the hangers that haven’t been turned around.
Furthermore, if you wish to organize your closet at a master’s level, everything you need can be found on this definitive guide. Since the spring cleaning is on the move, don’t miss the chance to make the best out of it.
Do you have any spring cleaning tips? Do you use any of the ones we mentioned? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow us on Facebook for more great tips!
