Shed some spring light onto your home's messes. It's time to freshen up!
We all can can benefit from a little spring cleaning. Maybe it's our wardrobe after not leaving the house for so long. Or maybe it's our workspace after going blind to the clutter.
We've been spending so much time indoors—full family—that it becomes difficult to keep up with the everyday messes, let alone the deep cleaning chores. Here is your reminder to take a couple of hours to freshen up your home and pay attention to the areas of your house that you may have neglected over the winter months.
Sometimes funky smells can seep up from your disposal and permeate throughout your kitchen. That's your disposal's way of asking for a little TLC. Lemon, limes, and orange peels can help freshen up the smell and eliminate odors. Besides citrus, ice also helps clean the grime out of the blades. Try freezing the peels in ice cube trays and storing them in your freezer. That way, you can have a cheap, easy, and ready-to-go way to clean your disposal.
While you use your dishwasher to clean your dishes, have you ever taken the time to clean the appliance itself? Welcome to the party, vinegar and baking soda. Fill a coffee mug of each and place them right-side-up by themselves on the top rack while running a normal cycle. The vinegar and baking soda will help clean your dishwasher and leave the appliance ready to get back to its usual spotless work.
The cold, wet winter months may have allowed mold to grow in the cracks of your bathroom tile, kitchen grout, or window casings. Not okay! Instead of breaking out the bleach and staining your clothes and singing nostrils, pour one teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide into a cup of water. Wipe down the moldy surface and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then you can scrub it down, removing any type of mold or stain.
Mildewy-smelling sponge? Fill it with water and throw it into the microwave for two minutes. You can clean the bacteria and eliminate odors without having to throw it away. Keep in mind, you probably should toss your sponge after a couple of weeks, but you can give it a quick clean if it has not been very long and it needs a bath.
Carpets and rugs absorb household smells. Kids, pets, cooks, and snackers all spill. But baking soda is stronger. Pour a little baking soda over your carpet and let it sit for a couple of hours. Yes, it will look messier at first, but then you can vacuum your rugs and carpets, pulling up all of the baking soda and smells for a clean carpet and neutral scent.
You may have packed away your spring clothes over the winter months and find they smell a little musty, Similar to the above tip, small spaces in your home can turn funky. Place a dryer sheet inside your closet, shoes, dresser drawers, etc. Open your sock drawer to a clean, folded-laundry smell. No more must or funk.