By Rachelle McCray
Spring is rapidly approaching and that means it’s time to take our mess from drab to fab, with quick and easy spring cleaning tips. We’ve rounded up our top 3 favorite ways to bring life into your space and actually enjoy a little spring cleaning this year.
1. De- Clutter
They say that out of clutter, you find simplicity. And although “they” is really a quote from Albert Einstein, we couldn’t agree more. This spring tackle a fresh home by decluttering your space. It seems like an overwhelming task at first, but we have a few practical ways to make the process easy, and fun!
- Give yourself a time limit per day. Whether you spend 5 minutes or 30 minutes per day, setting a time in advance will help break up the monotony and take away any feelings of being overwhelmed.
- Focus on one room/thing at a time. This way you don’t spend your allotted time jaunting from room to room, or project to project.
- Use baskets, bins, or trays to help tidy up odds and ends that may not have the perfect ‘home’ in your home. This will keep things from piling up on counters, in corners, or on your desk.
- Give away an item a day- or fill a trash bag and take it to a thrift shop. This way you can feel great about repurposing your items, and others have ‘new’ stuff they really enjoy.
2. Deep Clean
Although this may be the least fun, we think it’s necessary to give a more finished look to your spring cleaning plan. Here are a few key places that won’t take too much time and will leave the space feeling so fresh and so clean.
- Baseboards. Take a damp cloth or damp sponge and a bucket or warm soapy water, and run it along the baseboards, both sides and top of the ledge. This will grab and capture built up dust, and grime, leaving the boards brighter. For tougher stains, try warm water and a touch of cleaning vinegar in a bucket. Keep in mind when cleaning not to leave the baseboards too damp.
- Kitchen Cabinets tend to build a lot of dust as well, so grab a clean damp cloth or sponge and repeat the same technique as the baseboards. You will be surprised about how new and updated your kitchen will look when you are finished.
- Ceiling Fans and Dusting seems to be something we put off. Dance around the house with a duster to your favorite music and watch your home decor come to life!
- Bathrooms are something we tend to keep up in terms of maintenance, but it’s important to really focus on them when adding that extra bit of clean to your home. Focus on corners, floors, soap scum build up, and underneath the cabinets. And, since you’ve already decluttered the house, this space will feel extra functional and relaxing when it’s deep cleaned.
3. Brighten Your Space
This last step is possibly the most fun, and probably the easiest of the three. Why not save it for last? Add the final touches of your spring cleaning routine by brightening up your space! Here are a few simple ways to do so, without breaking the piggy bank:
- Add a few new throw pillows to the main place where people gather in your home. Whether you move around what you already have, or snag some new ones, it’s a perfect way to change the look, feel and design of a room.
- Decorating with bright curtains is also a great way to improve on making a space feel larger and more alive. If you are not a fan of color try a nice bright white or cream to add as a secondary curtain, or a primary look. You can also clean the bottoms of your current curtains if you don’t want to purchase new ones.
- Faux or real plants and flowers are the perfect staple to any room and add a sense of design and the needed amount of color to make your space really “pop”. From DIY arrangements, to flower market buys or faux displays from your favorite home decor store, this is the final touch for your home to really accent all of your spring cleaning.
And just like that, a new home makeover and spring cleaning made fun and easy, no matter your style, your budget.
For more tips and tricks on how to live your best life now, join us on Arizona Living: Your Life, Your Style and follow Rachelle on Facebook and Instagram. Check local listings for air times. See you there!
Check out the latest episode of Arizona Living: Your Life, Your Style:
