Spring Cleaning Hacks Redux

spring cleaning tips

Wow, has it really already been a year since my last post on spring cleaning tips?

That was my second blog ever here, and I feel like we’ve all grown so much together in that time.

Now I’m back to bring even more spring cleaning hacks to help you get your whole house squeaky clean. Easy peasy, 1,2,3.

Rock Out with Your Mop Out

spring cleaning life hacks

Spring cleaning can be a real dull, monotonous pain in the butt that feels like it is taking forever. Like with most things, rocking out to some sweet sweet music can take the sting out of doing any undesirable task.

Before you start your spring cleaning, put together a playlist on any of the many music services out there. Try to find around 50 up-beat songs that you know you love and can jam to while you’re cleaning. Or you can find a premade playlist that will get you in the mood.

Whether you’re into rock, pop, hop-hip, classical, or whatever adult contemporary is — having some background music will make the cleaning a little more fun. And make the time pass a lot faster.

“Because Your Task, Your Task is on My List”

Who doesn’t love a good list?

Nothing gives me a more rewarding, joyous feeling than checking a task off a list. And knowing I just conquered one more challenge in my way.

To make your spring cleaning a little more organized, try making an interactive list. You can put in order the things you want to tackle first. Then take off each task as you complete them to give you that warm, fuzzy feeling of a job well done.

You can do something as simple as a vertical list and cross out each task as you finish it — or if you’re feeling real fancy — write each task on a notecard or something like that and place them on a white board under a column called “incomplete.” As you progress through your list, move each completed task into a “complete” column. You can get a real nice visual of the amazing work you’re doing.

What’s That Smell?

It’s natural to become accustomed to any smells from your pets or kids or cooking that may accumulate in your home. Your houseguests sure can smell every dirty thing that’s happened in your house.

A neglected part of spring cleaning is freshening up the actual smell of your home. If you aren’t down with using aerosol sprays or ineffective candles in your house, there are a couple natural things you can try to really give your house a fresh, new scent.

  • For a nice citrus aroma — simmer orange rinds or lemon slices and rosemary in a pot of water.
  • If you have a sweet tooth — pour two caps full of vanilla extract in an oven-safe dish and place it in the oven at 300 degrees for one hour. You can also use this process for other essential oils like lemon or lavender.

Olive the Oil

Olive oil - spring cleaning hacks

Nowadays, most kitchens are filled with stainless steel surfaces that expose every smudge and fingerprint that it comes in contact with. A clean stainless steel surface is a beautiful sight to behold. Store-bought cleaners are toxic and unfit to be used in a household.

An organic way to clean your stainless steel surfaces is with olive oil.

That’s right olive oil.

You may be hesitant at first because it seems like olive oil would leave your surfaces extremely greasy and gross, but it really does work!

The first thing you’re going to want to do is clean the surface with a mix of baking soda and water or vinegar. Once the surface is dry, pour a very small amount of olive oil on a rag. Rub down the surface as much as you can. Make sure you go with the grain on the surface. After you have thoroughly worked the oil onto the surface, wipe it down with a clean, dry cloth or paper towel to remove excess oil.

If you are a little hesitant to use this method at first, try it on a small area of the stainless steel surface. You can test it before you tackle the whole front of the fridge or dishwasher to see if you like the results.

Treat Yo’self  

What better way to motivate yourself to do a task than a reward at the end?

Maybe you can have a piece of candy (within moderation). Or. maybe its whatever little thing you enjoy after each task you complete. And then give yourself a bigger reward once you finish the whole list. The final prize can be anything from a new pair of shoes, or shirt, or guilty pleasure meal — anything you want that will make you feel good for working your tail off cleaning the house.

Giving yourself something to look forward to at the end can really give you the extra push to do a good job. And get it all done in one go.

If I knew there was a pizza waiting for me after tackling a long list of chores — you better believe I’m getting it done!

What’s your favorite cleaning hack?

Leave us a comment below with your favorite cleaning tip for spring.

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