(StatePoint) Time for your annual spring clean? Make sure you’re equipped with the right tools and strategies. Here are a few cleaning hacks to help ensure a smooth and easy process.
De-Clutter First
Reducing clutter in your home means fewer objects to launder, dust and wipe down, and should be the first step of your spring clean. Start with dressers and closets. As the seasons change, you’ll likely be reorganizing them anyway in order to stow winter items away while making spring and summer garments readily accessible.
As you do your seasonal swap, have bags and labels on-hand to sort items by what you are keeping, what you plan to donate, and what needs to be recycled or discarded. Use the same organizational method to pare down knickknacks, books and other odds and ends as you tackle pantries, shelving and more. Take this opportunity to wipe down shelving, particularly surface areas with food, dust and other residue build-up.
Streamline Your Clean
These days, disinfecting high-traffic areas of the home should be top of mind. However, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Streamline the task by selecting cleaning products that are safe for use on a wide variety of household surfaces, and can be used around kids and pets
Consider stocking your cleaning arsenal with an easy-to-use product such as ARM & HAMMER Essentials Disinfecting Wipes, which kills cold and flu viruses, along with MRSA, strep, staph, E. coli, salmonella and kleb. Available in Lemon Orchard and Renewing Rain scents, these wipes provide citrus-based disinfection that clean without harsh chemicals, and are safe for use on stainless steel, sealed granite, finished hardwood, tubs, shower walls, toilet exteriors and hard nonporous surfaces of car interiors. To learn more, visit armandhammercleans.com.
Use Household Items
A true deep clean is not just about what meets the eye, it’s also about what meets the nose. Unfortunately, certain nooks and crannies of the home have a sneaky habit of odor build-up. Squash problem areas with a versatile, essential item you probably already have on hand — baking soda. Place an opened box in your fridge to absorb unwanted odors, swapping it out every month or so. Do the same in pantries where food items like onions and garlic are stored in order to neutralize their strong smells. You might also try using ARM & HAMMER Garbage Disposal Cleaner, which are capsules containing baking soda. Leaving behind a citrus scent, they are a useful tool in combatting kitchen sink odors.
A few essentials and some smart cleaning strategies is all you need to give your home some TLC this spring.
*****