Cleaning in general isn’t something a lot of us love to do, and spring cleaning is an even more daunting prospect since it’s like regular tidying on steroids. Luckily, the following tips can take the edge out of spring cleaning and get your house looking sparkling clean in a matter of no time!
Bring On The Lemons
Lemon is a surprisingly effective stain remover. Just don’t use it on any fabrics or surfaces that are easily damaged by acid, and test a small spot out first if you’re not sure.
Cut a lemon in half and use the exposed fruit side to scrub your stainless steel sink. The lemon will remove any stains in there and give your kitchen a nice citrus scent. Add a pinch of salt and use a lemon half on tough stains on brass, chrome and copper.
Lemon juice is also your friend! Use an old toothbrush and lemon juice to scrub gunk and stains off your grout.
Combine water and lemon juice in a half-and-half combination in a spray bottle and use the mixture to spray laminate counters. Be sure to wipe dry afterward.
Add a half of a cup of lemon juice to a gallon of hot water and pour down your garbage disposal for some natural sanitizing. You can also put three tablespoons of lemon juice in a spray bottle full of water for an effective glass cleaning spray.
Vanilla It Up
Part of spring cleaning is airing out your home by opening windows and making it smell wonderful. If you want to get to the scent part faster, you can bake a mug full of vanilla extract in your oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour to get natural air deodorizing. Since you don’t want to cook the vanilla but simmer it, decrease the temperature to 275 degrees if your oven runs a bit on the hot side.
Steam Your Microwave
Scrubbing the heck out of take-out gunk on the inside of your microwave can seem a little daunting, so you can cheat by steaming it instead! Combine two tablespoons of white vinegar and a dash of your preferred essential oil in a microwave-safe container. Place the container in the microwave and cook on high for about five minutes. Wipe off any residue on the inside afterward.
Try The Cola Toilet Clean
You can actually clean the inside of your toilet with some cola. Pour about a can’s worth into your toilet bowl and let stand for one hour. Scrub the area around lightly and flush for a sparkling clean toilet.
You don’t have to stick to cola. You can also clean your toilet bowl by dropping a denture-cleaning tablet in the water and letting it sit for 20 minutes, then flushing and rinsing.
Soak Your Showerhead
Your showerhead can get a little gross fast, and even if you don’t see anything on it, there can still be deposits in the water spray coming out of it if the head is dirty around the holes.
Take a plastic sandwich bag and fill it with an equal mix of white vinegar and baking soda. Put it around the showerhead, using a rubber band to keep the bag in place. Leave the bag on the showerhead overnight.
The next day, use an old toothbrush to remove any remaining debris from the overnight soak. Wipe the head clean with some water and you’re good to go.
One way to keep yourself on track with spring cleaning no matter how you feel about it is to make a checklist of what needs to be done. Check off each item as you complete it to give yourself a well-deserved feeling of accomplishment.
