Cleaning Before Spring Cleaning

There's a reason why so many people enjoy spring cleaning. Nothing is quite as satisfying as relaxing in a freshly deep-cleaned home. However, there's no reason why you have to wait for spring weather before giving your home a thorough cleaning. In fact, deep cleaning before and during harsh winter weather will let you enjoy the time you spend indoors leading up to spring.

The following tips will help you enjoy a spring-clean home all winter long.

1. Get Rid of the Clutter
   Decorating, baking, wrapping, and exchanging holiday gifts all create extra clutter. Once the holidays are over, do yourself a favor and purge as much as you can. Clutter causes unnecessary stress and makes it harder to keep things clean. Get rid of things you don't need so you can start the New Year out as calm and stress-free as possible. 

2. Degrease Your Oven
   If you did a lot of cooking this holiday season, your oven probably needs a thorough cleaning as well. It's easy to use the self-cleaning cycle on your oven; just make sure you stay home while it runs. The cycle uses high heat to burn off caked-on food. Sometimes this creates a lot of smoke and may cause your smoke alarm to go off. 

3. Clean the Ceiling Fans
   You would be surprised by how much dust collects on your ceiling fan blades. To clean them, use a stepladder and an old pillowcase. Gently cover the blade with the pillowcase, then pull it back slowly. All the dust bunnies will come off inside the pillowcase, instead of all over your house! 

4. Wash and Disinfect the Trash Cans
   One of the dirtiest things in our homes is also something we rarely think to clean. On a warmer day, bring your trash cans outside and spray them down with the hose. Then add some disinfectant. One part bleach mixed with six parts water is a good option.
   
   Let the cans sit with the solution for an hour, then dump it out, scrub them with a bristle brush, and rinse. Let them dry thoroughly before bringing them back in. If it's too cold to clean them outdoors, you can do the same thing in the bathtub. 

5. Vacuum the Underside of Furniture
   Another dirty part of our homes that we rarely think to clean is the underside of our furniture. Turn over your upholstered chairs and couches, then use the vacuum cleaner to remove all the dust bunnies and other dirt collected there. Pro hack: This chore is much easier with two people. 

6. Clean Up High and Down Low
   Now is also a good time to clean those hard-to-reach high places. This includes the top of the refrigerator, tops of your cabinets, entertainment center, and so on. Then, get down low — use a scrub brush and some soap and water to clean those floorboards. 

7. Clear Out the Dryer Vents
   If your dryer vents are full of lint, this can create a fire hazard, especially in the dry winter months. Pull the dryer away from the wall, disconnect the back pipe, and clean both the pipe and the outlet hole thoroughly. You can either do this using a vacuum or purchase a dryer snake. Once you've removed most of the lint and dust, run your dryer. This will flush out additional loose lint. 

8. Replace Your Air Filters
   All this cleaning is sure to kick up some dirt, which will likely get caught in your air filter. When you're done with your winter deep clean, replace the filter with a new one. This way, you'll enjoy clean, fresh-smelling air all winter long! 

Deep cleaning your home in the winter is a great idea! Start a few of these tasks today, and you'll have a little less to do this spring.

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