Spring Cleaning Fresh Ideas

Whether you live in the north or the south, spring cleaning is a common chore which many perform in order to rid the winter blues. Clearing your home of unwanted clutter, dust, and other material can create more space, a brighter living space, and a freshly cleansed home feeling.  Typically, most people will pack up their winter gear and store it during their spring cleaning, but forget about making a home feel like spring has finally arrived. Creating a home that not only feels fresh and smells fresh is a great way to alleviate the winter blues. Here are five spring friendly ideas that not only tidy up a space but help welcome in the new season!

Rugs

Over the winter month’s rugs can and will become dusty, grimy and just plain nasty feeling and looking. During your spring cleaning routine, it is important to shake out those rugs. Hanging rugs outside on a clothes line allows the fresh air to radiate throughout them, entering your home when you place the rugs back in their designated area. Hanging your rugs on your clothesline gives them a fresh scent, kills dust mites, and saves on your electricity bill if you happen to have an electric clothes dryer like me.

Potted Plants

Why not create a fresh, spring appearance in your home by incorporating potted plants? I am sure we have all heard the saying “April showers bring May flowers” right? Why not start inside your home when you decide it is time for a spring cleaning? I like to purchase gerbea daisies or pansies, bring them home, and repot them in a pot that is decorated. Terra cotta pots work may time of the year, but for me personally, I like pots that have color to them for spring. After a long and cold winter, I want to look at yellows, pinks, blues….anything of color besides the color of snow!

Clean the Fridge

Over time our fridges may look like we are trying to grow a science experiment! I know mine does in the winter, of course I am embarrassed to admit this, but it happens. The winter blues kick in, or I want to cook A LOT and there it sits, in my fridge. Create a fresh, new smell and appearance in your fridge and ready it for summer barbecues with a deep cleaning. Purge all leftover food, and remove all shelving. I wash my fridge with soapy water and a rag. I like to remove ALL the shelving and soak in hot water while I clean the remainder of the fridge.

Tables

During the winter months I like to decorate my tables, yes, even my kitchen table, heavily. I place a tablecloth on my tables, along with numerous decorations. When it comes time for spring cleaning, I remove those items from my table…by removing those items I have given my table a fresh, new appearance. Remove your tablecloth and store it for a later use. Replace the tablecloth with placemats. Add a bowl of fresh fruits or vegetables to the center of your table as a decoration. An added bonus of “spring cleaning” your table is it is less likely to be a place where people place mail, magazines, etc due to the fact you created a fresh appearance and set the table, especially if you get a good habit of cleaning the table off each night.

Sponges

If you are anything like me, you have sponges for certain tasks in your house. I have read all the articles that say not to use a sponge, I get it, but I simply cannot help myself. I know that I am not the only out there that still uses sponges for certain tasks. Spring cleaning is a perfect time to freshen your sponges if you do not want to replace them. Soak your sponges in ¾ cup bleach to 1 gallon of water for 5 minutes to remove 99 percent of the bacteria strains often found in sponges.

If you’re anything like me then you are over the winter months and ready to usher in the fresh new season! April is just around the corner so it’s time to shed those winter blues and start adding spring to your home! What are your routines for welcoming spring into your home?