Tidy ideas for spring cleaning
No-one likes the idea of cleaning but Kylie Klein-nixon has a few tricks up her sleeve to make life easier. And they don’t cost a bomb, either.
One of my first jobs was as a cleaner. I’ve cleaned motels, car dealerships, commercial kitchens and private homes – one time I cleaned a pub toilet, which is exactly as revolting as you’re imagining.
You’d think this would make me some kind of cleaning expert and my home a temple of cleanliness. You would be wrong. Even though I’ve embraced the healing power of a clean and tidy home, embracing cleaning as a perpetual way of life is a work in progress.
But this week spring is in the air and it’s got me thinking about the c-word. Because September 1 isn’t just the first day of spring, of apple blossoms, daffodils, lambs and ducklings. It’s the first day of facing up to the giant daddy long-legs cobweb that’s been looming over the bathtub since April; it’s the first day of spring cleaning season.
‘‘There is something very comforting about the big clean,’’ says my friend Meg Hartigan, the only one of my mates to respond to a call out for advice from habitual spring cleaners.
Originally from Texas, Hartigan ‘‘grew up with the habit’’ of spring cleaning.
‘‘You’ve spent the whole winter with the windows shut, you’ve tried to plug every draught and I just feel like the air in the house needs to be replaced.
‘‘I think part of the reason I look forward to it every year is that everything is sunnier and nicer afterward. I associate the cleaning with sunshine and gardening and playing outside. I seriously look forward to spring cleaning every year.’’ Hartigan’s cleaning bible is Salt, Lemons,
Vinegar, and Baking Soda by Shea Zukowski, which is packed with recipes and tips for using those basic ingredients to clean practically anything, and she says her copy is well loved, dog-eared, stained and watermarked from use.
‘‘With a toddler in the house, it’s all got to be OK to be licked and put in her mouth – because kids are nasty. The only cleaner I use that isn’t homemade is Dettol surface cleaner, the stuff you can spray and don’t have to wipe off.
‘‘And I only use that for things like her stuffed animals and our mattress, things that can’t be thrown in the washer. It’s not expensive and a bottle will last me a while.’’
Doing the big clean with a kid in tow takes planning. Harriet is 21⁄2 and loves to help mum and dad, Ryan, keep house.
‘‘She loves to help with the vacuum, so I will save that for her. But mopping or cleaning under/ behind furniture or climbing on a ladder to dust up
high, that all has to happen before she’s home.’’
By the time she’s done, she usually has a few boxes of stuff to donate, too. ‘‘So that always feels nice.’’ After talking to Hartigan, I feel inspired. Here’s my plan:
Take stock
Does anything need mending or replacing? How many blankets will you take to the laundry? Do you have a good bucket? Do you need to make or buy cleaning items? Do you have enough cloths? Often hardware stores and supermarkets have special deals on packs of up to 20 microfibre cloths for as little as $12, so keep an eye out for specials.
Consider going natural: I spent about $17 on enough vinegar, lemons and baking soda to clean my whole home five times over, as well as clean my upholstery, take stains out of my clothes and unblock the drains.
You would need four or five different commercial products to do those jobs, at about $4-$9 a pop, depending on the brand, so it’s cheaper and less toxic to make your own.
‘‘If you soak lemon peel in a vinegar and water solution for a few days, it really cuts down on the vinegar smell,’’ says Hartigan.
The basics
One of the things I learned from being a cleaner is start at the top and work my way down, so you’re
not pushing dust onto anything you’ve already cleaned. That means cobwebs and corners first, followed by window sills.
‘‘I do the kitchen [first] because everything is downhill from there. [I clean] things that we touch every day but don’t really think about needing to clean. Like, I usually wipe all the walls,’’ says Hartigan.
Here’s my plan for each room: Open all the windows and leave them open while you work. Declutter – get rid of all the junk. Dust everything and de-cobweb the ceiling. Clean the windows and wash the nets and curtains.
Pull furniture away from the walls and take down all the pictures and art. Vacuum the walls, wipe them down with a bucket of warm water, a little washing up soap and a soft cloth.
Use the same to wash the skirting boards, doors, door knobs, light switches, outlets, door jambs, window sills and tops of all picture frames. Put the pictures back up once everything is dry.
After the room-specific tasks are done, either sweep or vacuum, or mop if it’s appropriate. You might get carpets cleaned at this stage, too. Once the floor is dry, put the furniture back in place.
Windows
My tip for avoiding glass streaks: a solution of vinegar and water in a spray bottle, newspaper and elbow grease. Also, go easy, you don’t need nearly as much spray as you think. Dust and vacuum blinds, or wash curtains if you have them.
Kitchen
Detox your cutting board with half a lemon and a saucer of soda or salt. Dip the cut side in the salt or soak and scrub the wood. You can use the same method to clean mystery goop in the fridge, too.
Clean out the dishwasher by running it with a half glass of vinegar in the top shelf. Clean the microwave by chopping up the lemon you used for the chopping board, covering it with water in a microwave-proof bowl and nuking it for three minutes.
Wipe the microwave down afterwards – the lemony steam will melt any grease and grime and neutralise any smells.
Lounge
Clean all the dust off the cables behind the TV. I know you don’t want to – I don’t want to either – but do it. It’s a nightmare back there. Change batteries in your remote control. Use a gentle vinegar cleaner – 1 cup white vinegar, 2 cups water, 2 tablespoons dish soap – to give your couches and sofas a freshen up, but be sure to check it’s safe for the material in an inconspicuous place first. You can use the same cleaner on carpet stains, but again, be careful and test it first.
Bathroom
The same method for cleaning the chopping board will work on soap and water scum, the nasty ring around the bath and almost anything on the counters.
The toilet can be disinfected with a cup of vinegar, and a spritz of vinegar on the mirrors, rubbed down with a microfibre cloth, will get them gleaming.
Bedrooms
Take all your winter quilts and blankets to the laundry and clean them for storage over summer. Now is a good time to swap your wardrobe from winter to spring/summer clothes.
Flip or rotate your mattress – give it a bit of an airing. Hot tip: Get a valance – they keep dust and dirt out from under your bed.
And you’re done – congratulations! Pat yourself on the back and have a wee lie down, you’re a legend.