It’s spring time in Austin, the cedar pollen is in the air, and it’s time to rehabilitate your home. All of our secret spring cleaning tips can be done more often, but we recommend you do them at least every spring. Oh, but first establish your cleaning routine.
Cleaning inside the fridge
Even refrigerators in homes with a single occupant get dirty. If you have a family, it only takes a few weeks to cause disaster. Take some baking soda and a bucket of half white wine vinegar, half water, and scrub through your refrigerator. Start at the top and clean your way down, don’t go back and forth.
Oven
Sprinkle baking soda across the oven, then mist it with the vinegar solution. Let this sit overnight and wipe away in the morning. For tougher grime, you can use a specialized oven cleaner. Just be advised: those harsh chemicals can damage other services. Keep away from your granite countertops.
Cabinets
This is something most people hardly ever do, but it is the perfect spring cleaning task. Wipe the inside of all your cabinets and drawers down. Don’t be lazy, it’ll only take longer if you are. Just completely remove everything from a cabinet before you wipe it down. It will end up being more efficient.
No food outside kitchen and dining room
If you normally allow food all around the house, this one is gonna bum you out. Spring time means all those flying and crawling critters are awakening from their winter slumber. If you want to minimize risk of roach/ant/insect infestation, you should keep the food in the kitchen. An ant problem in you kitchen will be easy to manage. If food crumbs are all over your home, you’ll attract insects everywhere. Keep it confined to the kitchen. This is a new habit you’ll adopt this spring.
Windows
Windows are a pain in the butt. They are simple to clean, they just require a lot of manpower and determination. Use a window-cleaner like Windex, and wipe in circles. Finish drying with a microfiber cloth to avoid streaks.
Vacuuming under furniture
Get a friend to help you with this one, and remember to feel the lift in your legs, not your back. That said, this does need to get done once a year. Otherwise, pollen and other allergens will built up under your furniture, and irritate you when they’re blown loose throughout the year.
Dusting higher surfaces and ledges
Now’s the time to break out the step ladder and get those hard to reach surfaces. Trust us, you don’t want to let multiple years of dust pile up near the ceiling. The dust will eventually come down, one way or another.
Changing air filter
(Talked about in our feature on Redfin.com) You should change your air filter once a month, but most people only change it when something goes wrong. Don’t be one of those people. By maintaining a clean air filter, most of the dust will be pulled from the air anyway. You’re saving yourself time here, in the long run.
Organizing closet
Throw out anything you don’t need. It’s amazing how much junk you can hang onto if you don’t think about it. Doing this once a year will help you keep track of everything you own, and force you to let go of space-wasting rubbish.
Professional carpet cleaning
To go the extra mile, hire a professional carpet cleaning company each year. It will keep the mold out, and keep your carpet looking fresh! Or, alternatively…
Hire a maid service
We’re always here if you need us. Make a booking online at this link, or just see our schedule and pricing.
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