It’s that time of year again, so we have rounded up a checklist, room by room guide as well as tips and tricks on how to spring clean your home this year. With all of us spending so much time at home, it is so important to take pride in where you live and make it clean and enjoyable, especially because so many of us are still working from home at the minute.
There are so many cleaning products that all of us use that are not kind to the environment and so we have rounded up some ideas of how you can make your spring clean more environmentally friendly. Through one-use products, plastics, materials that aren’t recyclable and chemicals that are damaging to our ecosystem and wildlife, there is a lot we can all do to become more conscious individuals.
There are an array of environmentally-friendly products and brands out there on the market that you can embrace for your deep spring clean this year. Once you have done your research and decided on the eco-friendly products you are going to use, take a look at our room by room guide and cleaning tips and your house will be clean and tidy in no time at all.
Spring Cleaning Checklist
Before you start your spring cleaning, you will need to make sure you have the right products. You need different products for different jobs about the house, each of them having its own unique purpose. Before you embark on your deep spring clean, make sure you have the following to hand:
- cleaning cloths
- sponges
- all surface cleaner
- vacuum cleaner
- gloves
- toilet products
- oven cleaner
- dusting brush
- mop and bucket (if you have laminate flooring)
- antibacterial spray
How to Make Spring Cleaning More Eco-Friendly
Just like our clothes, food and cosmetics, the things we use to clean our house can also be detrimental to the environment. Buying an array of sustainable cleaning equipment is essential to do a thorough, deep clean of your home and many of the items you have to buy at regular supermarkets, don’t take the environment into consideration.
Most of the cleaning products you buy at supermarkets are not mindful of their packaging or of the sorts of chemicals they put into them. In fact, many companies use harsh chemicals so they can destroy and clean bacteria, often without thinking about the impact these chemicals could have on our health or the environment.
Here are a few things to look out for when buying environmentally friendly cleaning products:
Reusable Containers
All cleaning products come in bottles or spray bottles that are intended to be one-use plastic. Investing in reusable bottles, or finding somewhere you can refill and reuse your current products, will dramatically reduce the amount of plastic you are using and throwing away.
Cruelty-Free
Many products that we use have first been tested on animals and so investing in products that have a cruelty free stamp will mean you are not promoting this practice. By buying animal-friendly products, you are investing in these kinds of brands and as well as the ethos they promote, enabling cruelty-free brands and products to thrive.
Eco-Friendly
There are so many products that have complex amounts of harsh chemicals in them and eco-friendly cleaning products combat this need by using more natural ingredients. This means when these chemicals enter the environment, they are less detrimental to wildlife and the ecosystem.
Rinse and Repeat
Investing in cleaning cloths that can be washed and reused is a fantastic alternative to one-use products. While sometimes one-use items like kitchen roll can be unavoidable when cleaning, washing and reusing your dusting cloths and sponges, is a great way to avoid one-use products.
Room by Room Guide for Spring Cleaning
Here is a checklist of what you need to remember to clean, in order to do a thorough deep clean in each room of your home, along with a few extra actions you can take to have a fresh, welcoming home after you’ve finished.
Kitchen
- take everything out of cupboards, wipe and dust surfaces
- hoover then mop the floor with a floor cleaning product
- dust corners of the room
- wipe out the microwave, take out dish
- decrumb toaster, use antibacterial on kitchen appliances
- move items off the kitchen counter, reach corners
- empty fridge, clean with soapy water, defrost freezer
- sanitise sink, fill with stronger cleaner if necessary to remove stains
Bedroom
- dust corners of the bedroom
- wash bed sheets and blankets
- turn the mattress over
- dust bed frame, windowsill, ornaments
- use window cleaner on the mirror in the bedroom
Hallway
- dust the corners and walls up high
- clean skirting boards
- air any rugs and mats outside if you have any
- hoover floor and carpets, use carpet cleaner for a deeper clean if needed
Study
- use antibacterial on your keyboard and mouse
- dust your bookcase, remove books and ornaments
- dust your monitor and clean computer screen
- wipe the dust off blinds or put curtains in the wash for a deeper clean
Dining room
- move all of the furniture and clean carpets
- wipe down or use wood treatment on furniture if needed
- use window cleaner on mirrors and glass in the room
Utility Room
- bring out appliances, such as washing machine, to clean and scrub behind it
- scrub and remove dirt from the lint traps in your washing machine and drier
- mop floors
- remove any marks from the walls
- scrub around window frames
Playroom
- remove cobwebs from the edges of the room
- use antibacterial on toys
- put any material toys and blankets in the washing machine
- hoover floor, use a carpet cleaner to remove stains
- disinfect door handles, light switches
Bathroom
- replace the shower curtain
- removed bottles from the bath or shower, clean the tub and surfaces
- Use the anti-bacterial cleaner on the walls
- wipe down bathroom bin
- clean toilet
- dust and wash bathroom sink
- take out plugs and remove any dirt
- leave in some sink unblocker for a deeper clean
Living room
- remove any marks from the wall with a cloth
- dust furniture, moving ornaments and dusting them too
- wash cushion covers, blankets and throws in the washing machine
- hoover rugs, underneath the sofa and carpet
- use carpet cleaner on any problematic spots
- dust the television screen, sanitise remotes
- remove dust and dirt from the skirting boards
- take down your curtains and wash them, or dust blinds
- Last but not least clean mirrors and windows
Garage
- have a good clear out and get rid of anything you don’t need. Repurpose, upcycle or sell preloved items on our app to give them to a good home
- dust down shelving units, air out any rugs
- wipe dirt off of any
- think about cleaning the car, bikes and equipment if needed
Useful Spring Cleaning Tips and Tricks
If you want to do a fantastic job of your spring cleaning this year, then keep in mind these easy tips and tricks. They are quick ways to make this important yearly occasion much easier and can make each room and task that much more efficient.
Start High Up
When cleaning any room in the house, it is important to start high up and work your way down. This means starting in the top corners, dusting away to cobwebs up there, then doing the floor last of all.
By doing this, you will ensure that you clean up all the first and dust in the room in the right order. If you start by cleaning the floor, all of the dirt from counters will end up getting on your clean carpet. So to avoid this, start at the top and work your way down.
Leave Oven Cleaner to Soak
Oven cleaner is one product that works best when it is left for a while. Many people make the mistake of starting to scrub and clean the oven too soon, which doesn’t give the oven product enough time to work its magic.
Make sure you read the directions for your specific product and leave it on for a good period of time. By doing this, it will start to remove the tough stains and will require a lot less elbow grease when you come to clean the hob and oven.
Do the Worst Bits First
It can be hard to motivate yourself to do your annual spring clean and when you come round to doing it, it can seem like a very big job. With so many rooms in the house to clean and what feels like so little time, it can feel a bit daunting sometimes.
Starting with the room that needs cleaning the most first and doing the hardest cleaning job first, is often the best way forward. This way, you won’t be dreading this task throughout your day and it will only get better after you’ve tackled the most difficult task first.
Get Stuck In
When you have decided to deep spring clean and make your house sparkling clean, it often seems like a daunting task. Instead of thinking about what would be best to do first or starting to procrastinate, the best thing to do is just get stuck in.
When confronted with a large task like spring cleaning, any place is a great place to start. More often than not, you will find that once you start the task will seem much easier and you’re home will look wonderful in no time.
Enlist Help
If you live with others, enlist their help to make spring cleaning a quicker and easier task. Whether you live with your partner, housemates or family, getting everyone involved will mean your deep clean will be finished in no time.
Doing these choirs and working with others will ensure you all do a great job and you can enjoy and relax in your spotless home in no time. If you have a larger house, this is also a very practical way to get things done too.
If you want vegan, environmentally-friendly and cruelty-free products for your spring cleaning, you can find a range of products by downloading the GoEthical App for IOS or Google Play, now.
To learn more about having an eco-friendly lifestyle and more ideas on how to spring clean your home, take a look at our GoEthical blog for inspiration. If you enjoyed this, sign up for our regular newsletter to hear all about similar topics each month.