Spring into action and clean your apartment home
A clean apartment home is a breath of fresh air, yet we tend to avoid spring cleaning. By devising a plan, you can make this chore less of a bore.
Decide whether it’s better for you to power through in one day or break up the process over a few days. After deciding which room or rooms you’re focusing on first, start cleaning each space from ceiling to floor.
First, change out air filters, smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries and replace light bulbs and fan blades.
Next, you can tackle two tasks at once. Remove washable covers and window treatments and place them in the laundry. While they go through the cycle, clean the rest of the room.
Again, focusing from ceiling to floor, dust from top to bottom. Because you started up high, as the dust falls, you will continue to clean without needing to backtrack to re-clean. Make sure to get furniture, wall fixtures, computers and decorative objects as you work downward.
Once dusting is complete, wash the inside of your windows. The exterior of your windows is typically cleaned by your apartment’s maintenance crew. However, speak your leasing office to confirm.
Flip couch cushions and your mattress and replace your heavier winter bedding with light sheets. Then, work your way to the closets. Declutter and organize while also scanning your clothes for some to donate.
Taking care of a task while you’re in the area will stop you from pushing it off. For example, while in the kitchen, organize your fridge and pantry. Check expiration dates and throw away spoiled foods, including that jar of gravy you never used at Thanksgiving.
Finally, vacuum and shampoo your carpets or sweep and wax hardwood floors. This is done last to clean all the dust and dirt you’ve just pushed off other surfaces as well as what was there before. As each section dries, and if you’re feeling ambitious, tackle your paperwork, medicine cabinet and junk drawer. Check expiration dates on medication as you go.
Limit clutter by paying bills as soon as they arrive and going paperless as much as possible. Keep a filing system for yourself, whether organized alphabetically, by date or by importance.
It is just as important to disinfect as it is to clean and organize.
A study published in Scientific Reports found that kitchen sponges have more germs and bacteria than what is usually found in your toilet. Good Housekeeping suggests soaking your sponge in water and then heating it in your microwave for one minute to sanitize it. It also suggests cleaning wooden chopping blocks with a bleach solution to avoid cross contamination. Also, wipe down countertops, door handles, toilets, sinks, showers and more with disinfectant wipes.
Finally, kick back, relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Your freshly cleaned apartment home will be sure to put a spring in your step this season.