Ready, Steady, Spring Refresh - Get your Home Season-ational
SweepStars who, through SweepSouth, keep thousands of SA homes clean and organised each week, share tips for cleaning those areas that you’ve probably been overlooking for months.
08/09/2022
It’s so synonymous with the season
that we even call it “spring cleaning”. Longer,
brighter days and the smell of buds and blooms
is the ideal time to not just clean your home
but treat it (and by extension, yourself) to a
refresh.
And while we know to sweep and
dust and vacuum and wipe, there are also spaces
and things that get overlooked in the ordinary
course of cleaning. SweepStars who, through
SweepSouth, keep thousands of SA homes clean and
organised each week, share tips for cleaning
those areas that you’ve probably been
overlooking for months.
house and garden magazine
Bright lights
Things feeling a bit dim? It could be that the light bulbs are dusty! But seriously, a surprising amount of dust accumulates on bulbs, dimming their glow over time. Long-lasting LED bulbs may not be changed for years, which is a good thing for energy consumption, but not great for cleanliness. Simply switch the lights off and dust with a soft dry cloth and let there be light.
Curtain call
Curtains and
fabric blinds are silent dust gatherers, just
hanging there accumulating dirt! Breathing new
life into curtains is as simple as vacuuming
them or giving them a once-over with a steamer
if you have one. There is no better way to
spruce up curtains than to take them down to
remove the hooks and then pop them into the
tumble dryer with a towel lightly dampened with
fabric softener to remove dust and stale odours.
Curtains that are really dirty may
need to be dry cleaned but it’s good practice to
vacuum them regularly to reduce the need for dry
cleaning.
Shiny surfaces
Nothing
says “sparkling clean and fresh” quite like
literal shine! Any easy way to bring out the
shine on chrome surfaces and
appliances than by using a soft cloth to rub
over the surfaces with lemon juice. After
application, buff the surface into a gleaming
shine.
Di you know that it is easy to
clean stainless steel appliances to remove
fingerprints? Have a soft cloth on hand and add
a dab of baby oil or olive oil to gently rub
over the surface of stainless steel
appliances and items like fridges, dishwashers,
ovens and sinks. This will leave a gorgeous shine
and you can remove any excess with a
disposable paper towel.
For areas in your home that
don’t require heavy cleaning, a wonderful
natural cleaner that you can make yourself is to
mix half cup of vinegar, 2 cups of water and 30
drops of essential oil (combine 10 drops each of
eucalyptus, peppermint and orange, or 15 drops
each of lavender and lemon) in a spray bottle.
Shake to combine and spray on desired surfaces
and wipe clean.
Shelf life
Open shelves look great and remain trendy but
they tend to get dusty and overcrowded very
quickly, which then ruins the aesthetic.
Remedy this by taking everything off the
shelves and give them a good clean. As you’re
packing items back, think of the process as
decorating, rather than just packing every inch
of space full of things. Take a figurative
scalpel to the shelf, and ask yourself whether
you still believe the item to be useful or
beautiful as you’re packing it back. A
less-is-more approach to an open shelf also
means a surface that’s easier to keep clean.
Despite the cheerfulness of the term “spring
cleaning”, it remains a chore, which is why it
is useful to note that the benefits of cleaning
go beyond having an immaculate home. University
College London researchers found that active
cleaning can have a positive impact on your
mental health and reduce stress and anxiety by
up to 20%. And the best part? You need to do as
little as 20 minutes to enjoy the benefits.