Spring has officially arrived.
Flowers are blooming, grass is growing, birds are chirping……..and dust is settling. Spring is a time of year when people feel energized and accomplished. As we wake out of our winter slumber, we want to feel alive again, happy again and energetic. Now is the time to reorganize, reset, and bring sparkle and brightness into our homes.
I don’t know about everyone else, but this is the one time I actually have energy to do the small tasks that I think about during the winter months while curled up under a blanket. I always feel like April and May are ‘working’ months, so that I can sit back in June, July and August and enjoy summer. I have to keep telling myself that if I work hard in April and May, it will be worth it once summer arrives.
Since launching our own Airbnb and doing all the cleaning myself, I’ve learned a lot of cleaning tips and hacks from professionals. Here are a few professional cleaning tips I have found that can hopefully help make the process easier for you.
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- Wear a multi-pocket apron while cleaning. This may sound strange, but my husband brought me home a Server’s Apron from his restaurant and it is the best thing when cleaning or working out in the yard. It has multiple pockets to hold a dry rag or paper towel, a pocket to put small pieces of trash that may be on the floor, my phone for listening to a Podcast, etc.
- Listen to a Podcast or Music. I’m a big Podcast listener, so when I have a task to do around the house, whether cleaning or gardening, or when I’m cleaning our Airbnb, I play one of my true crime podcasts, and the next thing I know, I’ve cleaned everything by the time the podcast is over!
- Pick up! Before beginning to clean, you should pick up and put things away – in their dedicated spots.
- Work in sections/quadrants. I like to work in sections and get the area clean and shut the door! It makes the task of cleaning less overwhelming to me. It is also very satisfying to shut a door knowing behind it is all clean and fresh. This method may not work for you, but if you tend to procrastinate with Spring Cleaning, give it a try.
- Keep everything you need in a caddy. Depending on the size of your home, this may be a large rolling caddy or just a hand-held caddy with items you will need (wet rag, dry/polish rag, glass cleaner, furniture cleaner, etc.).
- Carry a toothbrush. It’s surprising how many times you need to get into crevices to clean. By keeping a toothbrush in your apron pocket, you will have it handy to get into those small spaces.
- Vacuum/Dust First – Mop last. Get all of your dusting and vacuuming done first since dust scatters, then you can do all the detail work. Mopping the floor should be last as that signals everything is done, the room is clean – and the door can be shut.
- Apply cleaning agents at the beginning. Since toilet bowl cleaners and sink gels need time to work, I normally apply all those first, so they have time to sit before cleaning. I clean the bathrooms last to give them time.
- Use Rubbing Alcohol for polishing. This is a great way to remove water film from faucets and glazed tiles. Keep a bottle in your caddy for a final polish of faucets after cleaning.
- Keep a spray bottle with lemon and rosemary water. If you spray your bed sheets with a mist of lemon/rosemary water when making the bed, it will release many of the wrinkles and provide a soft scent.
- Use Fabric Softener to Repel Dust. To help keep dust at bay, add a small amount (1:4) of liquid fabric softener to a bucket of warm water and wipe down kitchen cabinets and windowsills. The antistatic properties found in fabric softeners repel dust.
- Spray a Room Freshener. After I’ve cleaned a room, I like to mist a light clean linen room freshener to help provide a soft scent to the space. I also mist onto the sheets when making the bed.
Even though these are some good hacks for cleaning, the number one thing to lessen the cleaning time is to create “living spaces” for everything in your home – and make sure things get put back there. This is a great thing that professional organizers are able to do with client homes. Bringing in a professional organizer is an investment for your overall well-being and your patience.