It's spring and what does that mean besides
the start of the garden season? (Three cheers for spring flowers!) It's
time to start spring cleaning. You can actually turn down the heat, open
those doors and maybe even the windows if you are lucky and go to work!
Your spring cleaning may take you a couple minutes or longer depending
on how long it's been and how many kids or grandkids have been messing
up your house! Remember to involve the entire family, order in pizza for
supper and put on your most comfortable grubby work clothing! Where do
you start?
The Laundry Room: Wash the outside of the washer and dryer
until it sparkles. Vacuum out the back of the dryer, clean the lint trap
and the area in the back and around both appliances. Consider a fun
repainting of your laundry room. Do you have extra paint from other
projects? Leftover paint from kid's rooms is great for this. Practice
some new texture techniques you've been afraid to do elsewhere. Think
bright and cheery! It's the laundry room and a fun look can be a good
thing. I've set aside leftover green, yellow and light blue paint for my
basement laundry room. I'm having visions of grass, sky and sunshine...
Oh, and while in the laundry room don't forget to pack away the winter
clothing-making sure it's all washed and repaired, if need be, before
storing.
Appliances: Clean your humidifier before storing or turning
off for the season. Change the filters in the furnace and any cooling
systems. Clean the refrigerator and freezer-vacuum the coils and clean
behind and underneath! Wipe down the stove till it shines and clean the
oven as well. The appliance cleaning can be something you delegate to
each family member depending on their age. Start after breakfast and
make the goal for each person to be done by a morning break time that
you set. Reward everyone with a fun snack and drink!
Windows and Doors: How do they look from the outside? Is the
glass and screen in good shape? If not, decide what you can fix, what
needs to be replaced and make a budget with a time frame for doing this.
Example: We need a new back door, two screen doors and a replacement
storm window on the front window of the house. We're watching the sales
and replacing them one at a time. We decided to repair the storm window
with new glass, and new screen. This was cheaper than a new storm window
which would have had to be ordered. Check your locks and the door knobs
too, again fixing or replacing as needed. It's also a good time to
scrape and paint if they look rough. Doors can get beat up pretty
quickly if you have kids!
Now it's time to clean the windows! Wipe any dust or dirt (outside
especially) off with a rag or a clean broom, then wash. Try this
solution for the glass and use old socks for rags.
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon liquid dish soap
2 cups water
Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle. Use as you would
commercial window cleaner. If you grow your own herbs you can fill a jar
with lavender leaves and flowers almost to the top and pour the white
vinegar over it. Allow to sit for 4 weeks, then use in this recipe. The
smell is a lot nicer!
Spring cleaning is just as important outside
as it is inside, especially after a long cold winter such as we have in
the Midwest.
The first step is to assign your kids or grandkids jobs that match
their age group and provide fun snacks and drinks during breaks as a
reward. Remind them that we tackle one task at a time, and with everyone
pitching in it will be done in no time!
-Rain Gutters: Check all of your gutters and the downspouts
for debris. Wash them out with a hose-you can buy small power nozzles to
fit on the end of your hose. (more uses for this later!). Make repairs
if anything has come loose or add to your list of replacement projects
if need be.
-Porches: Sweep and clean off, then if you've been bothered by
stray cats or other animals, wash down the porch with white vinegar and
rinse with the hose. Determine again if you need to paint or repair. I
also like to find new things to add to my porch each year. I find
birdhouses and decorative feeders to hang and watch for wooden signs,
wicker decor and plaques at garage sales. It's fun to add new things
each year! I have a bench I'm going to paint this year.
-Window wells: All kinds of debris makes it's way into
basement widow wells. Clean them out completely and wash the basement
windows. (Great job for the kids!).
-Using your hose: My husband loves his hose, or actually, his
power nozzle. This is not an expensive power washer-it's a simple nozzle
we found at Home Depot last year-it's only about 2-3 inches long, but it
has VERY strong spray. It was less than $5.00! I'm sure you'll find
something similar yourself and you can use it for all of the following
this spring:
*Wash out all of your garbage/refuse containers, recycle bins, large
plastic pots and pails.
*Spray off the driveways, walkways, stone and brick walls or fences,
cement porches, patios and decks.
-House Checks: Look around every inch of your house (chimneys,
vents, foundations, etc) for any bird's nests or other debris that may
have stuck in small spaces. While doing this take note of cracks,
peeling paint or any other damage that happened over the winter. Add to
your replacement or repair list.
Tool Check: Put away any tools you used this winter like
shovels and snowblowers. Clean them and store them out of the way. Get
out all of your garden and yard tools, the lawn mower and any other
items you've had stored. Check them for condition, clean them and use
the time to make sure everything is within easy reach and organized.
Same goes for your pots and other gardening containers.
Grilling Time: It's time to fill the gas grill tanks, and
check the connections, replace the lava rocks and give the grill a good
cleaning. To check your tank connection to make sure it's not leaking
mix dish soap with water and brush or spray it on the connection. If any
bubbles form it's a sign of a leak. Use a good wire brush to clean the
grill. Heating the grill first makes this easier. If you have a chiminea
or other type of barbecue give that a good cleaning too. Don't forget
that wood ashes can be added to the compost pile or your soil!
Birdfeeders and Birdhouses: Clean them out! The birdhouses
should be emptied of any nesting materials from last year. The birds
will make new nests-the old material can harbor insects and fungus.
Clean them out and if you wish you can add cedar shavings- the kind used
for pet bedding-in a thin layer on the bottom. Feeders should be
emptied, and soaked in a solution of one cup bleach per gallon of water.
Use a bucket and soak the feeders. Use an old toothbrush to really get
in there and clean out the corners and bottoms of the feeders. Rinse and
allow to dry.
Outdoor Iron Furniture: Spray it down with that nifty power
nozzle and allow it to dry. If they are rusty, use a wire brush and some
course sand paper to get off the rust or old paint. Wash it down, and
allow to dry. Paint it with a metal primer and allow to dry completely,
then spray paint with a new color!
Fishing Equipment: It's time to get out the tackle boxes and
clean all that worm residue and other stuff that's in with the broken
hooks and loose splitshot. Work on a flat surface and take all the items
out-throw out the broken stuff-clean the inside and outside of the
tackle box. Oh,by the way, get rid of the old fishing guides from 1988
and 1990... then put it all back in, buy your new license, spool new
line and get ready to catch fish!
