[xyz-ihs snippet=”spring-cleaning”]
With spring in the air, it’s time to spruce up your home and do a little spring cleaning!
San Diego Moms Blog contributor Kandace Caulfied-Chesscher and I both admit we don’t enjoy cleaning but have some tips and tricks to make it not only more enjoyable but also more efficient.
My number one tip is to hire professional help.
I realize it can be expensive, but whether you can do it once a month or once every few months, it’s worth it! Once your house is deep cleaned it’s much easier to maintain with spot cleaning. I recommend Clean Bee of SD. They use eco-friendly products, carefully select their staff, they audit 80% of the cleanings to make sure it’s up to standards and it’s run by a husband and wife who have four kids themselves so they understand the needs of families.
Kandace’s top tip is the miracle of baking soda and peroxide when it comes to taking out stains.
“I drink a lot of coffee and if it spills on me, I use baking soda and water to lift out the stain before putting it in the washing machine.” Kandace also says you can use peroxide for wine stains. Keeping both in your house also comes in handy as a simple teeth whitener. “Simply mix baking soda and peroxide, brush onto your teeth and then rinse,” advises Kandace.
Our third tip is to make your house smell amazing while you clean.
I create my own all natural multi-purpose cleaner by mixing about an ounce of Dr. Bronner’s Organic Pure-Castile Soap with water in a spray bottle. After staying at a few Sheraton hotels, I became obsessed with how good their lobby smells. I googled what that scent is and recreated it in my spray bottle. It’s a combination of the following essential oils: Bergamot, Fig, Freesia, and Jasmine. I bought the Freesia and Jasmine for this kit on Amazon the other two I purchased separately. Just add about three drops each to the bottle and it’s now a cleaner and an air freshener.
Other items we recommend are Magic Erasers to get rid of all kinds of scuff marks and grime. You can even wipe away sharpie marks! Dryer sheets can do double duty to clean the dust off of blinds and try using a lint roller for getting the dust off of lampshades.
Keep a squeegee in your shower and use it on the glass doors after every shower to keep water spots away. It takes 30 seconds and makes such a difference. I learned this tip from my Mother-in-law. Oxo has the best one in my opinion.
Finally, get a Roomba!
Especially if you have pets. You can set it to go off every other day on a timer or as often as you’d like.
And if you happen to like vacuuming, which both Kandace and I agree is our favorite chore, invest in a good vacuum. I have the Riccar, which I love, but I really want a Dyson. Vacuuming is the perfect chore to do with a baby at home, I simply put her in the baby carrier and it puts her right to sleep!
What are your go-to tips and tricks for Spring Cleaning? Share them in the comments section. I read you can use Kool-Aid to clean a toilet. I haven’t tried that one yet, but might have to see if it really works!
