Here's What You Forgot This Spring Cleaning Season
Springtime means warmer and longer days and also spring cleaning. Whether you get joy out of a tidy house or dread cleaning altogether, springtime is the perfect opportunity to declutter your space and make way for new beginnings.
Compiling a list of all your chores is a helpful way to ensure you stay on task. However, no matter how big or small your home is, some chores always seem to fall through the cracks. (Or maybe you don't even realize it!) This spring cleaning season, we've compiled the ultimate simple spring cleaning tips that may have slipped your mind.
- Wash Your Coffee Maker
It's probably one of your favorite kitchen appliances, but it often gets ignored the most when it comes to cleaning. Coffee makers can quickly accumulate mineral buildup that negatively impacts the taste of your coffee. Wait even longer, and those minerals can slow down the performance of your machine. This study notes that coffee makers are the 5th germiest item in your home.
To get your coffee maker in tip-top shape again, you will need a simple vinegar and warm water mixture to fill the reservoir with. Start with a half cup of vinegar and a half cup of water and adjust vinegar measurements depending on how grimy your machine is. Brew your mixture and then flush out your system with water to get rid of that vinegar smell. This easy home cleaning solution will also remove hard water spots on your coffee pot and dishes for a fresh new look!
Pro tip: Make coffee without the mess with a self-cleaning 500 Series Brio Cooler!
- Scrub Your Cutting Board
Oftentimes we find ourselves quickly washing our cutting board with warm soapy water after dinner so we can move along to other chores or get to bed. Over time, pesky food pieces and liquids seep into the marks on our cutting boards. You may think your trusty board is clean after a good cycle in the dishwasher, but it's important to give your cutting board a deep clean every once in a while to increase its lifespan.
Start by cutting a lemon in half and gently rubbing your damp cutting board with it. Lemons are very acidic, which makes them a fantastic natural cleaning product. Not to mention your household items will smell amazing too! For an extra good scrub, add some baking soda to your cutting board while rubbing and watch your cutting board become as good as new again.
- Easily Clean Your Microwave
Don't worry, we're almost finished cleaning in the kitchen! If you dread reaching into your microwave and cleaning up spills from all sorts of past meals, we have an easier solution. In fact, your microwave will help you by cleaning itself!
Heat a cup of water, several tablespoons of vinegar, and a chopped-up lemon on high until the microwave's window is steamy. Remove the cleaning solution bowl when finished. Any tough stains and sticky grime will easily wipe right off with a damp paper towel or cloth! Your microwave will be squeaky clean, and you will save half the amount of time (and arm soreness) from this neat hack.
- Remove Mildew in the Shower
Whether you missed this important cleaning task or you "forgot" to do it, cleaning your bathroom can be a huge chore. One of the trickiest items to clean in the bathroom is the shower. If we aren't careful, mildew, dust, and even mold can make a home inside our shower; so pull back the shower curtain and let's get to work!
For this shower cleaning hack, fill a spray bottle with half vodka and half water. That's right, your fave alcohol to make cocktails with just became your fave household cleaner as well. The high alcohol content of vodka makes it a natural disinfectant with no overwhelming bleach smell. You can also add a few drops of lemon juice for a sweet, clean scent. Spray your vodka solution into tough-to-reach corners of your shower or tile squares to bring up sticky grime. Let the solution sit for about 15 to 20 minutes, then wipe down with a damp cloth to reveal a spotless surface!
- Wipe Down Mirrors
We can look in our mirrors every day and still not notice if they are dirty. Water spots and dust can be hard to spot if you're quickly rushing to do your hair in the morning or busy cleaning other areas of your home. No worries though, cleaning your mirror is a simple task that can take as little as 5 minutes!
For a chemical-free household cleaning product, mix white vinegar and distilled water in a spray bottle. Spray your mirror evenly and then wipe down with a cloth t-shirt. The material from a t-shirt is much softer than a paper towel or old clean cloth, so make sure you wash all your mirrors before doing laundry so you can toss your makeshift t-shirt towel right in the wash with your other clothes. Boom! Two chores in one, done!
Obvious dirt, debris, and dust mites may be hard to ignore and encourage you to get the broom to exterminate those dust bunnies, but there are several household chores we can miss in the blink of an eye. The big thorough cleaning we give our homes during springtime can turn into a huge responsibility, and oftentimes little steps get missed that contribute to more frequent messes in the future!
Not only is cleaning your home tedious, but name-brand chemical cleaners are expensive and have an overwhelming smell. These few small cleaning tasks and natural home cleaning supplies will make a huge difference and keep your home free of harsh chemicals. Your spring cleaning checklist just became a whole lot easier and environmentally friendly.