Tips for Winter Cleaning
Do a Deep Clean of Your House
Many people will opt for deep cleaning during the spring months. While there is nothing wrong with this, it can be better to use the time during winter when you are already indoors to do some cleaning. Spending time doing a deep clean can help to make your time indoors more enjoyable, reduce seasonal allergies, and help you sleep better. It can also help you to avoid additional messes. Here are a few deep cleaning tips:
- Empty cabinets and drawers - When spending time cleaning it can help to remove everything from cabinets and drawers. Use a kid-safe all-purpose cleaner to wipe down the inside of cabinets and drawers before returning items to where they belong. This is also a fantastic time to declutter and get rid of items you won’t use.
- Remove items from counters/tables - Counters and tables are areas where items can be placed and spend months without being moved. Take the time to remove all small appliances, storage containers, and other items. Wipe down the counters and spend some extra time cleaning out small appliances before returning them to their place.
- Move furniture and get under and behind it - Furniture is rarely moved and can be a good hiding place for dust and mess. Take some time to move furniture to clean under and behind it. Use a microfiber cloth and a kid-safe all-purpose cleaner to dust under and behind furniture before returning to where it was.
- Give floors a facelift - Use a steam carpet cleaner to get deep into carpets and safely remove stuck-in messes. You can also use a stain remover to get rid of any stubborn stains from the past and freshen up carpets. Don’t have carpets? Use a hardwood floor cleaner to freshen up your floors.
- Don’t forget about your walls! - When deep cleaning the house it can be easy to focus on the areas that are most common. Many will skip the walls when cleaning but it’s an important part of any deep clean. Use the 5-minute clean walls bundle to quickly clean walls and freshen up the smell of your home at the same time!
- Spend some time on showers and tubs - Due to things like hard water and standing water, showers and tubs can quickly become problem areas. Use a hard water stain cleaner to make quick work of removing even the most stubborn bathroom messes. It can also help to take time to deep clean grout and wash all faucets and showerheads.
- Share the work - When planning a day of deep cleaning, don’t tackle it all on your own. The jobs can be completed a lot faster if everyone is working together. Delegate tasks based on the abilities of each person in the home in order to have a deep clean everyone can be proud of.
Don’t Forget About Mess Prevention!
Once you’ve taken the time to do a deep clean, it can be easy to notice every small mess that shows up afterward. Don’t let this stress you out though. With a bit of mess prevention, you can keep the house cleaner for longer. Even better, mess prevention doesn’t have to be time-consuming. Here are a few ways to keep messes from taking over this winter:
- Start with a plan for shoes! - Shoes are one of the biggest mess culprits that people ignore. Whether they are tracking in dirt and germs or just sitting there creating clutter, they can quickly become problematic and steal from the cleanliness of your home. Setting up a shoe bin or shelf near your door can help to avoid both of these issues. Keep a container of kid-safe all-purpose cleaner near your shoe station to remove germs and mess that might normally enter your home.
- Let’s tackle paper clutter! - Paper clutter is another big mess area in most homes. So often mail, magazines, school papers, and more are brought into the home and dumped in a variety of locations for future you to deal with. This can lead to messes rather quickly. Take some time to set up a place for mail that needs to be dealt with to go. Spending a few extra minutes now can save you from a great deal of paper clutter later.
- What about laundry? - Laundry can be one of the biggest mess creators in any house. It piles up quicker than planned and never seems to be completely done. The good news is, laundry doesn’t have to take over. Start by having a plan for laundry. This might mean making sure that one load a day gets rotated or having each person handle their own laundry. Setting up a plan for laundry can help to take some of the stress out of it.
- Add in a daily round-up - One way to help keep the house clean over time is to add in a daily round-up. This might mean making sure there are no dishes in the sink before heading to bed, doing a quick pickup of areas that are more likely to end up cluttered, or committing to sweeping/vacuuming each day. Pick the areas you know typically get messier and create a plan for each day to keep that area maintained.
- Declutter! - The biggest culprit of mess is everyday clutter. Having too much stuff without the proper places can work against your efforts to keep things clean. Take some time to declutter regularly to make room for the things you will use and cut down on unnecessary cleaning tasks. This is especially helpful with clothing, dishes, and toys. Removing excess items will help you to keep things cleaner longer.