We’re in spring cleaning mode here. After a dreary winter, feelings of everything falling apart, children with chicken pox, and some special guests arriving next month, we’re kicking things up into high speed and fixing up all those neglected tasks that need to be completed, and working on the spring cleaning as well on the days are dreary and not great for doing yard work.
After seeing a conversation amongst some of my Homeschool Review Crew friends about vacuuming the oven – yes, you’ve read that right – I thought maybe I’m not the only one who does things their own way. But while making my list of things that need to be cleaned, I thought perhaps I’d share this list with you so that we an work together to get our cleaning done, share what needs to be done, as also share any of our own peculiarities.
1. I’ll start off with the oven. To vacuum you oven, first use the self-cleaning mode, and then just vacuum up the ash left behind so that it doesn’t make a bigger mess. I haven’t tried this as unfortunately, my ovens aren’t self-cleaning….but they’re on the list for hubby to do 😉 My arms aren’t long enough to reach to the back and do a thorough job. That’s my story, and I’m sticking it!
2. We have just purchased a new vacuum after our other one finally gave up being at all useful and the months of overheating became too frustrating to deal with. Wow! What a difference a good vacuum makes! This time I researched them through Which? to ensure we’d get something decent instead of something that sounded good but sucked at sucking up. Now that I’ve used it in all the ‘usual’ places, I’ve looked up and I can see the dust on the ceilings; especially the ceilings that don’t have a smooth surface and can’t be easily cleaned with a sponge and a bucket of water. So I’m going to use the dusting attachment and vacuum the ceilings to rid them of dust and winter cobwebs that hang onto those little plaster grooves.
3. We have a ‘blanket‘ around our water heater to help contain the heat, but the winter dust likes to creep in under the doors and hide on, under, and behind this blanket. Since we also keep our towels in this closet, it’s not good to have a lot of dust floating about.
4. Have you ever cleaned your mailbox? We don’t have one that’s a separate box outdoors, but one that is a hole from the outside of the house through to the hallway. The wind blows, dust and dirt sneak in, and it’s not a great scene. So a quick vacuum of the brush that tries to keep the draft out, and a wipe of the flaps, both inside and out on both sides of them, will do the trick as best as we can.
5. Speaking of drafts and openings to the house, don’t forget to wipe clean all the sides of your window casings. We often clean the windows, but because they’re then closed, we don’t think to open them and clean around the windows. Those casings collect all sorts of nastiness over the winter; dirt and sometimes mould, and you don’t want all of that blowing into the house during the spring and summer when your windows are open.
6. It’s a good idea to pull out your fridge and freezer to clean under and behind them as well. Clean up all those spills that have crept in under the front; you don’t want that sticky mess to attract summer pests. Also don’t forget to vacuum around the motor and the fins at the back as they get awfully dusty and it won’t perform as well as it should if it has to work harder.
7. Next on my list are the ceiling lights and the lamps. The glass ones Phil can wipe clean as he replaces burnt out bulbs, and the softer shades I will vacuum to clean off the dust and let the light shine through.
8. Perhaps my most disliked spring task is cleaning those radiator fins between the two sides of a wall radiator. How dust finds these little grooves and fins so easily and then make it so hard to clean out, is beyond me. That’s one attachment that a vacuum cleaner should have – something to reach down into those areas.
9. Door handles and the areas around them really do need a good disinfecting. I try to do it monthly or after an illness has been through the hose, but it doesn’t always happen. Those surfaces really harbour some nasty germs. I can’t even bear to think about the cultures on public doors, but at least my own will be hygienic!
10. Light switches are another germ-infested area that is often neglected. They’re easy enough to clean, but tend to slip the mind during weekly or monthly tidy-ups. I try to do them when I dust my door frames and base boards; but it doesn’t always happen. Don’t be tempted to fall to the dark side and skip them this year…I’m going to leave you with this fun light plate cover that’s popular over here at the moment. Available at Amazon.co.uk and a similar one on Amazon.com.
