Mini Series: Spring Cleaning Tips to Keep You Busy at Home

The flowers are blossoming, the birds are serenading, and our house still feels like it's stuck with winter blues. For those seeking a useful way to spend their time during social distancing, or anyone simply interested in forging a deeper connection with their homes - we have come up with a weekly mini-series of daily tips and ideas to make your stay at home more productive. 

Right now, we need to be extra vigilant when it comes to our cleaning methods and what better time to get stuck into a good Spring clean. It’s a tradition that allows us to freshen up our homes and get a head start on the hectic seasons of spring and summer. When the weather starts to warm up, it's a sign to bust open your windows - and, perhaps less exciting, the cleaning cabinet. Not sure how best to clean your home during a viral outbreak? Check out the list of our tips and advice below. 

Establish New Cleaning Habits

Image Credit (left to right) - Alexandra Ribar, Lonny

A good, thorough spring cleaning that includes the whole house is a great time to establish new on-going cleaning habits. Particularly in a time where we need to up the ante, and it can also make the next spring cleaning a good deal easier. Additionally, a simple 15-minute cleanup routine practised every day, can make it remarkably easy to keep your home clean and free from lurking bacteria. 

The first step to prevent the transfer of harmful germs is; when you get home, take off your shoes, hang up your coat and immediately wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water. And guess what? Your mobile phone harbours more bacteria than your toilet seat. That's why you should give it a once over with an alcohol wipe to zap germs, as well as other electronics, like your TV remote and computer mouse. Use cleaning products that promise to kill 99.9 percent of germs. Otherwise, soap and water should do the trick. Critical zones to clean are the high-touch areas - great advice to follow even without the coronavirus.

• Door knobs
• Light switches
• Refrigerator and microwave doors
• Drawer handles
• TV remote
• Counters and table tops where you cook and eat
• Toilet handles
• Telephone

If you want a deeper clean, then you can do the same on the inside and outside of your cupboards. Pull out all of your fridge's interior shelving; wash them with warm soapy water and then wipe down the surfaces that can't be removed on the inside with a sponge. We understand there is some panic when it comes to keeping your homes clean; however, try not to be neurotic about your cleaning. Just make sure to clean more regularly than you would usually. We recommended using gloves for home cleaning, but if that’s not practical, just be sure to wash your hands before and after.

Clean Room-By-Room

Image Credit (left to right) - Pinterest

Scope out your home: What areas need the most work? Cleaning your house from top to bottom can be overwhelming — not to mention, time-consuming. Take it room by room and use checklists as a springboard for deep-cleaning the areas of your home that need extra attention. Regardless of where you start, having a plan for when you’re tackling each room will keep you focused on the task at hand. Approaching your house room-by-room is the most effective way to deep-clean your home at any time of the year, but especially during this virus outbreak. Nothing feels quite as satisfying as coming home to a clean house. 

Organise and Clear the Clutter

Image Credit (left to right) - Country Living, Interior of Design

Spring cleaning also means getting rid of clutter that you don't need. Decluttering makes you more efficient and keeps you organised; so take advantage of the natural spring urge to get rid of items that are weighing you down, and begin fresh with a more streamlined lifestyle. Sorting your belongings into four categories - store, put-away, discard, or give-away - can be effective as you begin the spring-cleaning process. Over time, your drawers build-up a collection of odds and ends, set aside some time to:

• Organise your closets
• Dust and organise your office
• Look through that dreaded junk drawer

Clutter has psychological influences; studies have shown that a disorganised home adds to your stress level and it signals to your brain that work isn’t done. Now is a great time to donate items to good causes. Everything else goes back, but this time in an organised manner - you may be surprised how fresh you feel after you eliminate unnecessary clutter and stress from your life.

Tackle the Seasonal Chores

Image Credit (left to right) - Nicole Franzen, Pinterest

Some special chores need to be done seasonally; we ignore them for most of the autumn and winter months, but what better time to get stuck into them than now. Even though these chores only need to be done once or twice a year, they will help your home look better and run more smoothly. 

• Pull furniture away from walls and vacuum behind and underneath - switch the upholstery tool on your vacuum to go over both sides of cushions and underneath them. The crevice tool can help get rid of dirt along the trim and stitching.

• Maintenance is crucial to keeping a crisp paint job looking fresh. We suggest spot cleaning your walls with a cloth or sponge and water. Then finally touching up those places that are in a state of disrepair with a new lick of paint. 

• For any soft toys, check the care tag first and give them a quick once-over with a lint roller. Then gather in a mesh bag or pillowcase and throw in the washer on a gentle cycle. Same goes for other play toys, you’ll need to give them all a wipe down with an anti-bacterial wipe. 

The good news: Not all of these special chores need don't have to be done every single year. However, seeing as we have a lot of time on our hands at the moment, we can use this time productively. If you own a Persian or Oriental rug, we offer our rug cleaning services. You should clean your rugs every four or five years — or every ten years if a rug is not walked on much. Take a look below at our Persian & Oriental new rug arrivals:

You can check us out on Pinterest and Instagram to keep up to date with the latest trends and rug inspo.  Don’t forget you can visit our showroom, to view one of the largest collections of Persian Rugs in London. We also offer a ‘Try before you buy’ service.