Spring is upon us and that means that you may want to do some cleaning. Doing so can feel refreshing and can help you prevent your living spaces from becoming too cluttered or dirty. Read on to learn about some spring cleaning tips for your home.
Know Upholstery Cleaning Requirements
Your furniture’s upholstery often has special cleaning requirements that you should be aware of before simply scrubbing at them. It’s important to be careful with your upholstery because it’s not usually machine washable like bedsheets or clothes. Take a look at the manufacturer’s care label on your furnishings to see what’s recommended. You’ll probably notice that there’s a code to indicate what you should do. Here are the common letters you may come across and what they mean:
- W: Apply water-based cleaning agents (distilled water, not tap water).
- S: Apply water-free cleaning agents.
- S/W: Apply water-based or water-free cleaning agents, but again, avoid tap water.
- X: Brush lightly or vacuum, but don’t apply any cleaning chemicals whatsoever.
Go Through Your Closet
Clothes can easily pile up in your closet space over time as you grow tired of old pieces. Therefore, it’s smart to go through your closet during spring and divide your clothes into items that you want to keep and those that you want to donate, give away, or throw out. Seriously ask yourself whether you’ll wear something again in the future and try to get rid of things that you know you won’t use. This will help you control clutter in your closet and make your remaining clothes easier to find. While you’re at it, you can also take a look at any other belongings that you store in your closet and give them the same treatment.
Don’t Overlook the Basement
Much like closets, the basement is a nice place to store your possessions because it sits mostly out of sight. However, the danger with this is that large messes can grow in your basement without you feeling the need to properly address them for a long time. That’s why a spring-cleaning tip for your home is to not overlook your basement. If you have one, head down and inspect the things that you keep there. You may be able to dispose of and give away some items, as well as notice damages that may have developed in some of them.
The basement is generally a wetter place than other parts of the home because of its location. So, a good basement storage rule to follow is to get containers to protect your possessions from water. This will also help keep them better organized as you clean your basement.