A clean sweep into the new year – top tips to rejuvenate your home

AS the new year approaches, many people often focus on how they can lose weight, save money or spend more time with family and friends, but how about setting some goals for your home?

Trying to maintain a balanced lifestyle while managing a busy career, raising children, or both, we often forget to give our homes some much-needed attention. 

Also read: Do people really stick to their New Year’s resolutions?

Here are some tips that will help rejuvenate your home: 

 – Organise the fridge

Large refrigerators are great for big families, but they can get cluttered fast. To keep your fridge organised, remove the packaging from multipacks of drinks and single-serve yoghurts, use roll-out refrigerator bins to keep small items together and, to help reduce food waste, rotate older food items to the front before adding new groceries.

 – Scrub down kitchen cabinets

Unsightly kitchen grime is a mix of dust and grease that builds up over time. Run the exhaust hood over your range every time you cook to keep grease from settling. To de-gunk, use a cabinet cleaner to cut through dirt and leave the wood moisturised. Do an extra pass around any places where grease collects, like door and drawer pulls.

  – Vacuum soft furniture

Pull furniture away from walls and vacuum behind and under it. Do the woodwork and air vents while you’re back there. Then switch to the upholstery tool on your machine to go over both sides of cushions and underneath them. The crevice tool is a great way to remove any gunk along the trim and stitching.

 – Dust those ceiling fixtures

Spring cleaning is all about tackling the areas you forget about during the rest of the year. Grab an extendable duster and attack ceiling fans, hanging and recessed lights, mouldings and more. Make sure to start your cleaning here, from top to bottom, so you don’t have to vacuum your floors twice.

 – Wash bulky bedding

It’s time to tackle bulky items such as comforters and even pillows. You need to clean these items only two or three times a year, so they should be at the top of your list during spring cleaning season. But make sure you check the manufacturer’s label before tossing them into the washing machine.

 – Kill dust mites in your mattress

It’s the ideal time to pay attention to what’s under the sheets. To deep-clean your mattress, first use a top-performing clothing steamer to kill dust mites near the surface. Vacuum the mattress afterwards, making sure to press firmly with your vacuum’s upholstery and crevice tools to clean the top and sides. After vacuuming, sanitise the mattress with a disinfecting spray.

 – Machine wash your shower curtain

Put your plastic or vinyl shower curtain in the washing machine on the gentle cycle with your favourite laundry detergent and a couple of old towels for scrubbing power. Let the curtain hang dry before showering. To keep white and clear shower liners cleaner longer, spritz them a few times each month with a bleach-containing all-purpose cleaner. Then simply let the shower rinse it off, before you hop in, of course.

 – Brighten up grout

White grout picks up, well, everything. To clean tile grout and help restore its sparkle, spray it with a top-tested grout cleaner. Let it sit for several minutes, then scrub with a stiff brush and rinse.

 – Keep drains smelling fresh

To freshen drains (not unclog them) and help keep them free-flowing, mix a half cup of baking soda with one-fourth of a cup of table salt. Pour the mixture down the drain, followed by one cup of heated white vinegar. It will foam and bubble. Let it stand for 15 minutes, tops. Follow up by running hot tap water for at least 15 to 30 seconds. This is especially helpful for seldom-used drains, like those in guest bathrooms. 

 – Keep storage spaces organised

If you use your garage or an outdoor shed as a storage space for things that don’t fit inside the house, consider adding this step-by-step strategy to your spring cleaning checklist. Start by organising all your items into three piles – keep, donate and toss. After you have removed the donate and toss items, vacuum and clean the floor thoroughly. Then begin sorting the things you’ll be keeping. Organise smaller items by product type in labelled bins and store them on shelves along the walls to maximise floor space.

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