Many of us start feeling that urge to deep clean our homes once spring rolls around. In fact, the “Spring Cleaning” ritual is practically hard-wired into most homeowners’ minds. But think about this…why spend so much time cleaning right when the weather turns nice? Why not do it now, when we’re stuck indoors anyway?
Snow and rock salt is tracked inside every day from your kids and family, the fireplace is circulating ashes, the heat’s running constantly, and with no open windows, all that dust is just hovering around. Having a deeply cleaned home is great for your abode and your psyche, and doing your cleaning in the winter is a great change of pace for most people – especially if you follow some sort of weekly house cleaning schedule. There are plenty of ways to cheaply clean your home, so here are some ideas to help get you started.
1. Clean Your Fireplace
Remove large debris from the fireplace. Put all debris that will not fit in a vacuum cleaner in a trash can. Vacuum soot and ashes out of the fireplace. Use a shop vacuum for the best results. A home vacuum will work, but this is tough work and will clog filters.
2. Deep Clean Your Carpet and Floors
Floors seem to get trashed in the winter. Salt collects in between every carpet fibre, and the hardwood floors take on an unpleasant whitish sheen from melting salt water. To combat this, take the time to steam clean your carpet and scrub the floors. If you don’t have a place for snowy boots and shoes, put out a couple of cookie sheets (the kind with the raised edge) for them to drain by the door. This will help keep that mess off the floors.
3. Dust
Homes get very dusty in the winter because the air is so warm and dry. Dust your home’s surfaces from top to bottom to help keep the dust to a manageable level. Don’t forget ceiling fan blades, the tops of window mouldings, and the tops of books – all of which are often overlooked and can collect dust easily. Also, give your lighting fixtures a good dusting. Dust easily collects on them during the winter too, and can make your indoor light look dingy. This will make a big difference in brightening things up. Many people also opt to get their home’s air ducts professionally cleaned. This will not only drastically reduce the amount of dust, germs and allergens floating around, but it can also help your furnace run more efficiently.
4. Clean the Windows
If you have a fireplace or burn candles, your windows likely sport a thin film of soot on the inside, which can block precious sun. Give all your windows a good wipe down. Using vinegar mixed with water seems to work very well.
5. Clean the Kitchen Ceiling
Your kitchen ceiling probably has a film of funk on it without you realizing it, mainly from all the moisture, fumes and smoke resulting from cooking. The same goes for the walls, especially those around the stove. Mix a small amount of mild dish soap in a bucket of warm water and gently scrub with a sponge, using only a minimum amount of water.
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