This year has just been flying by, and it’s hard to believe it’s already spring time. You know what that means! It’s time to start thinking about spring cleaning.
There is nothing better than the feeling of walking into a freshly clean home after a long day. We have pulled together a list of our favorite tips to get you through the clean – and some new cleaning hacks we have been trying out ourselves.
Make a cleaning schedule and a checklist
The best first step to any plan, is to make the plan itself. Take a look around your home and find out the areas that need the most love. Think about what might be normally overlooked in your day-to-day routine.
Declutter before you begin cleaning
My favorite part about spring cleaning is decluttering. It seems that you never realize how much stuff you have, until you are able to sit down and go through it all. This is your Marie Kondo moment, find what items “spark joy” for you and keep them. If they don’t, you can donate or sell them.
Clean everything from top to bottom
When you begin cleaning, make sure that you always work from the ceilings down. Not only will this make it so that you don’t have to re-dust or re-clean as much, it is also great for minimizing cross contamination. You don’t want to bring germs from the floor up into areas that are cleaner. This can also be applied to cleaning specific appliances or items such as the toilet. You always should clean the outside and top portions of the toilet first, because they are the cleanest, then you work your way to the dirtiest.
Don’t forget the windows and the mirrors
It is easy to skip over these things. We don’t think that these items get too dirty but we have to remember that dust doesn’t only settle on flat surfaces. Not only will this help brighten up your home, it’s great for curb appeal.
Use lemons to clean your microwave
If you’ve ever lost a fight to the grime in your microwave, then this ones for you. This is seriously the easiest and most effective way that I have found to clean your microwave, and it’s natural and you may already have all the ingredients. 
For this you’ll need:
1 cup of water
1 full lemon (rinds and all)
Pour the water into a microwave safe bowl and squeeze the lemon juice into the same bowl. Give it a quick stir before placing the lemon rinds in the bowl as well. Place in the center of your tray and microwave on high for three minutes. Let it stand for five minutes, then simply wipe everything away with a damp towel.
Don’t forget to clean the shower head
Go ahead and go to your bathroom and take a close look at your shower head. If you notice some build up we have a hack to help you get rid of it.
For this you’ll need:
A plastic bag that will fit your shower-head
White vinegar
Fill a plastic bag with vinegar, secure it to the shower-head with a rubber band. If you prefer, you can also just remove your shower-head and place it face down in the bag. You want to make sure the entire face of the shower head is covered with vinegar. Let this sit for 15-30 minutes, then run your hottest water for a few moments to rinse it all out.
Don’t do this at the same time you are using bleach cleaner in your bathrooms, the fumes of the two together can damage your lungs.
Clean your garbage disposal with baking soda and vinegar
It’s no secret that over time your garbage disposal can get a bit of a stench. This is a sure fire way to get rid of that, and keep it smelling fresh and working its best.
For this you’ll need:
Ice cubes
½ cup baking soda
Dish soap
2 cups white vinegar
3 cups boiling water
Start by turning on a pot of a few cups of water to boil, or use an electric tea kettle if you have that. While waiting for that to boil, pack as many ice cubes into your garbage disposal as you can, then add a few drops of dish soap. Turn it on and let it crush everything up, this step will be loud, I never promised it would be quiet! Next you will want to pour in about ½ cup of baking soda, and follow that up with about 2 cups of white vinegar. The last step is to pour in your boiling water. No only will this get rid of any stench in your disposal, it will also help get rid of any buildup or drain clogs you may have.
Deep clean laminate floors
I have struggled for so long to find the best way to clean laminate floors. I feel like I have tried just about every mop on the market, and this is by far my favorite way to deep clean. This is a bit labor intensive, but I promise that it will be worth it.
For this you’ll need:
Warm-Hot water
A large bucket
A scrub brush
A few cleaning rags
Dish soap ( I find that the blue dawn dish soap works the best)
White vinegar
Baking soda
Knee pads
Start by picking up everything on your floor including rugs, shoes, and moving furniture if necessary. Sprinkle a thick layer of baking soda all over the area you will be cleaning. Next mix together your dish soap, water, and vinegar in your bucket. Get on your hands and knees (please wear knee pads!) and dip your brush in your solution and get started scrubbing. When you are done scrubbing a section you will need to wipe it away with a wet cleaning rag, and dry it with a dry cleaning rag. Repeat these steps in sections until you are complete! If you prefer you can also use this cleaning solution with a mop, I just find that for a deep clean it works better to use a scrub brush.
Now all that’s left for you to do is to get started on cleaning your space. Let us know if you used any of these hacks and how they worked out for you!
