It is customary in most countries, including Australia, to have a deep clean once a year to keep the home clean and tidy. Indeed, the spring months are the best for this, which is almost upon us down under, and with that in mind, here are a few helpful tips when spring cleaning your home.
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Choose a dry weekend – If you plan on doing the whole house in a single operation, you will need to remove small furniture items and ornaments; the driveway or the lawn is perfect and the more you can remove from the interior, the easier the clean will be. Furniture that can’t be moved should be covered by old sheets and all ornaments put away.
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Cleaning materials – You will need bowls, cloth, scourers for the kitchen and bathroom, cleaning solutions (window cleaner), old newspaper (it cleans glass great), black bin bags, brooms and a dustpan. A mop for hard floors and a few paintbrushes for fine dusting.
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Cleaning room by room – Start at the top of the house and work one room at a time; start by opening the windows and dusting the ceiling and walls; dust everywhere and leave the room for 10-15 minutes for the dust to settle. We recommend wearing a face mask while dusting for obvious reasons. You can use a vacuum cleaner to remove the dust, make sure to clean around light fittings on the ceilings and work down until everything has been wiped, Move heavy furniture to clean underneath.
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Curtains/blinds – These are dust collectors’ curtains should either be washed or dry cleaned, while blinds can be cleaned with a clean damp cloth. Failing that, remove curtains, take them outside and give them a really good shake!
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Family project – If you have a couple of teenage kids, you can delegate; if there is only you and your partner, work as a team and go room by room. Two full days should do it. Once the master bedroom is complete, you can fit those new flannelette sheets and fluff up the pillows and place a few soft toys.
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Hire a small skip – You are not going to spring clean a family home and end up with a small bag of waste! You’d be surprised at what you will find in that spare room, old devices, foam packaging and all those things you never use.
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Carpets – The best way is to call in a carpet cleaner when the job is finished and have him do the entire house, which will leave your interior smelling fresh. Solid floors can be waxed and polished.
If you live in a family-sized house, it might be better to wait for a long weekend and if you happen to finish in 2 days, you have a day to relax and admire your work! Deep cleaning every spring keeps the air free from harmful pathogens and your health is important.
