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Our good-enough guide to spring cleaning

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There’s a time and a place for a really deep, really thorough cleaning of your home—when your relatives from out of town are visiting for the weekend, when you’re hosting a holiday dinner, or when you’re listing your house for sale (just kidding). But, there are also plenty of times when a ‘good enough’ cleaning is, well, good enough. After all, don’t you have better things to do than spend your free time shampooing the carpet or scrubbing window screens? Of course you do!

For the couch potatoes and the outdoor enthusiasts who would rather be doing anything other than cleaning the house, we have great news for you! We have easy spring cleaning tips and tricks that will get the job done without taking up all of your free time. 

Spring cleaning for the lazy

Bedrooms

A change of seasons is the perfect time for a change-up in your bedroom. We like the idea of having one set of bedding for fall and winter and another for spring and summer. Even if you don’t have that luxury, you can still give your room a spring refresh by washing all of your outer bedding—comforter, shams, and bed skirt if you have one. For an extra dose of ‘spring is in the air’ cleaning, hang bedding outside to dry. The smell of air-dried laundry is pure heaven.

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Living room

Sure, there’s a time to wash windows, polish furniture, and take the curtains down for laundering, but you can make your living room look presentably clean by doing just two things:

  1. Put away the clutter
  2. Vacuum the rug

Set a timer, and give yourself 30 minutes. Pick up the things that don’t belong in the living room, and put them into a container—an empty laundry basket works great. Spend a few minutes putting those things back into the various rooms where they belong, and your living room is now clutter-free. Next, vacuum your carpet or area rug, use the floor setting for hardwood or tile floors. In just 30 minutes, you’ve given your living room a ‘good enough’ cleaning, so you can go out and enjoy your day!

Playroom

If your playroom looks more like a toy store explosion than a room, but you don’t want to spend hours getting it back into shape, we’ve got a quick and easy spring cleaning hack that is just good enough to get by. Invest in bins and designate each bin for different toy categories—blocks, books, dolls, cars, etc. You can even make a game of it with the kids and get them to pitch in, too. Once the toys are neatly organized, and the floor is once again a place to walk safely, your toy room will look wonderfully clean.

Outside essentials

When the weather warms up, you’ll be spending more time outside, and one of the often-overlooked spring cleaning must-dos is giving your garbage and recycling bins a good cleaning. If you don’t, the smell of spoiled garbage or warmed-up beer spills run the risk of ruining your backyard BBQ kickoff. 

Empty cans and spray them down with your garden hose. Fill the containers with water and add a cup of your favorite all-purpose liquid cleaner. Let the soapy water soak for a half-hour, and then scrub with a stiff-bristle brush. Rinse with the hose and flip them over to dry. 

Easy spring cleaning hacks you’re going to absolutely love

Kitchen cleaning tips

The microwave is a kitchen essential, able to melt butter, cook bacon, and heat leftovers in record time. It’s also one of the messiest and most overlooked appliances in your kitchen. We love this simple—and chemical-free—way to get your microwave sparkling clean without a single second of hard scrubbing. 

  • Fill a microwave-safe bowl with 2 cups of water. Cut a lemon in half, squeezing the juice inside the bowl before plopping both halves back into the water.
  • Turn the microwave on for 10 minutes (cue the lovely lemon scent wafting throughout your kitchen).
  • Allow the bowl to cool for a few minutes before removing it. Then, take a wet sponge and effortlessly wipe away layers of icky grease and food splatters from the sides, roof, and inside door of your microwave.

Hint: you can also put the revolving microwave dish into the dishwasher

Garbage disposal starting to stink? It could be due to stuck-on food particles. Add a few ice cubes to your disposal and turn it on; the ice chunks will actually loosen food and other debris off the blades. Now, make it smell citrusy fresh by adding cut-up oranges or lemons before running the disposal. 

Clean your dishwasher—yes, your dishwasher does need to be cleaned—by letting your dishwasher clean itself. Run a wash cycle without dishes, but add baking soda or white vinegar inside the machine. It will sanitize and remove odors while you’re off doing something fun!

Bathroom cleaning tips

Mineral buildup on your shower head is one of the toughest bathroom cleaning chores. But why spend time scrubbing and scrubbing when you can get better results without working up a sweat? Fill a plastic bag with white distilled vinegar (AKA nature’s miracle cleaner). Tie the bag tightly around the showerhead, ensuring the head is completely submerged in the vinegar. Let it soak for a day, and you’ll be amazed at how much build-up is gone—including inside all those little holes. 

Scrub your tub clean, without any actual scrubbing. 

  • Wet down your tub and sprinkle with a powder bleach cleaner—Comet is a classic choice. Allow it to sit overnight.
  • In the morning, turn on the shower to rinse the cleaner away, leaving nothing behind but a bright, clean tub!  

Giving your home a deep clean is something we all need to do, once or twice a year, but for all other times, our good-enough cleaning guide can get the job done without costing you your entire weekend. 

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