It’s time for spring cleaning. Discover our tips for spring cleaning room by room and download our spring cleaning check list to make sure you don’t forget anything! All that’s left to do is enjoy a clean and healthy home.
Spring cleaning
Download your spring cleaning check list
Before you start your spring cleaning
Where does the tradition of spring cleaning come from?
Spring is the season of renewal: it’s the time when nature is reborn. So it’s natural to want to do the same in your home. We want to get rid of what we don’t need and clean up our living space.
We can also assume that this spring cleaning is linked to the Jewish holiday of Pesach, when the whole house had to be thoroughly cleaned and all food residues had to be removed.
What materials should I have for my spring cleaning?
● Garbage bags for non-recyclable items
● Bags for recycling clothes
● Brushes, sponges, rags
● Protective gloves, old clothes to wear
● Basin and bucket
Must-have products for spring cleaning:
● White vinegar – descales and disinfects
● Olive oild liquide black soap and dish soap – degreases
● Bicarbonate of soda and a classic detergent – removes dirt
● Specific products for cleaning the oven and windows
Spring cleaning – how do I do it?
Spring cleaning, like any cleaning, must follow a certain logic.
Always clean from top to bottom
This is because dust and dirt are also subject to gravity.
You should also keep in mind the following logic:
- Sort
- Donate, recycle and finally throw away.
- Degrease, clean and finally disinfect
- Put back in place. At hand, what we use the most. Behind, what we use the least.
Finally, involve the whole family: The children will take care of their room and possibly a household task they can choose. If you are a couple, one can do the bathroom while the other takes care of the kitchen.
How long does a spring cleaning last?
Don’t feel you have to clean your entire home in one day. You can plan a whole weekend or two, or you can say that every night of the week you will spend one or two hours cleaning a room.
Spring cleaning can begin
Spring cleaning works in the same way as moving house. So start with the outside (balcony or terrace) and the cellar.
Start by sorting through and cleaning your cellar
Sort out and recycle the things you have accumulated over the years and no longer need. Remove cobwebs and reorganize your cellar if necessary with shelves. You can finally put your things back in place with some logic. For example, Christmas decorations don’t need to be at the entrance to the cellar. Are you about to go on holiday for the summer? Then leave your suitcases accessible, you will need them soon.
Clean your balcony and terrace
With the arrival of the warm weather, it’s nice to tidy up your terrace. This will involve removing all the dead leaves and cobwebs. Now you can clean the floor, your shutters and window frames. If you want all our tips and products to use for cleaning your terrace, find all the information in our article on cleaning the terrace after winter.
Once everything is clean, clean your table and chairs to enjoy the coming sunny days and put your flowers and plants back in place. It will soon be time to plan a gardening day.
Now take care of your living areas, room by room.
Cleaning the bedroom
Follow our rule and start by sorting through your winter clothes. Give away what’s still in good condition and throw away your socks with holes in them. Reorganise your wardrobe and leave your spring/summer clothes within reach and put your jumpers on a top shelf: they are always handy for the warm summer evenings but you won’t need them every day.
Secondly, take care of your bed. Change your sheets, vacuum your mattress and turn it over. Vacuum the slats if necessary.
Cleaning the bathroom
Don’t be frightened when you discover limescale build-up in your bathroom! Start by opening your cupboards. Like everyone else, you probably have expired medicines in your medicine cabinet or ones you won’t need in the future. You can take them to your nearest pharmacy.
Did you know? Your beauty products also have an expiry date. So don’t take the risk of developing allergies and throw away the beauty products you’ve forgotten in the cupboard.
Expiry date of your bathroom products:
● Mascara: 6 months
● Cream, skincare, make-up remover, foundation: 1 year
● Lipsticks, lip pencils: 1 year
● Nail polish: 2 years
● Powders: 3 years
Now that you’ve sorted out, start cleaning. Start by applying an anti-mould product to walls and ceilings if dampness has built up over the winter. Read an article on how to get rid of mould in your home, especially in your bathroom.
Clean your tiles with a standard bathroom cleaner and then run white vinegar to thoroughly descale.
💡 Tip for cleaning grout: With an old toothbrush and toothpaste, clean the grout in your bathroom tiles. It’s magical isn’t it?
Finally, clean your shower/bathtub, toilet and finish with the taps, insisting on using white vinegar on the places where the limescale has set in. You can soak a cloth with white vinegar and place it on the surface to be descaled for a few hours.
Take the opportunity to wash your shower curtain. Add some baking soda and white vinegar to your washing machine and the curtain should come out looking like new.
Cleaning the dining/living room
Now let’s move on to cleaning your dining/living room. If you have books and papers in this room, it’s time to sort through your documents.
While there are some very important documents that should be kept for life, there are some papers that should be thrown away. Most invoices should be kept for 5 years, and receipts and warranties can be disposed of once the warranty has expired (usually 2 years).
Your cute little furry plaids and cushions are a real dust mite nest and will need to be sanitized. Machine wash what you can, and for the rest, like your sofa, vacuum thoroughly and then spray with a disinfectant.
Finally, don’t forget to clean your dining room table and chairs. When you clean your table, you always clean the table, but have you looked at your table legs and chairs? Are there any leftover jams? A few marks? Let’s go and have a look in all corners with a sponge soaked in a few drops of washing-up liquid. Take care of your back, sit down or for the more athletic, it’s time to do some squats!
Cleaning the kitchen
The dreaded room! But where to start? Open all your cupboards and throw away anything that’s out of date. Be careful, we’re talking about the expiry date. If a product says “best before”, it is still consumable but if the date is earlier.
Then go to your refrigerator and repeat the operation. For your freezer, also throw out expired frozen foods and pay special attention to meats. It is dangerous to eat beef that has been frozen for more than a year and poultry or pork that has been frozen for more than 6 months.
Is this clearer? You can now clean and disinfect your fridge. Before your spring cleaning, it is advisable to empty your freezer gradually. This will allow you to defrost and clean it during the spring cleaning.
Degrease and clean the hood, oven, tiles and cupboards. Dishwashing liquid and soap may be sufficient. For the oven, it will often be necessary to use special products. Disinfect surfaces with white vinegar before putting everything back in your cupboards.
Spring cleaning – a thorough cleaning of the whole house
Finally, throughout the interior of your home, you will be doing a more thorough cleaning than you normally do. For example, disinfect your light switches and door handles. Clean your doors, complaints and electrical outlets. Clean your windows and window frames. Take advantage of this spring cleaning to wash your curtains. Dust, vacuum and wash your carpets.
Finally, vacuum your floors thoroughly and clean them with a suitable product.
Have you thought of everything for your spring cleaning?
Download your spring cleaning check list. Room by room, you just have to tick the boxes.
