By its very nature, spring cleaning takes time and lots of elbow grease. But if you’re someone who struggles to find the time to vacuum once a week, you’re going to struggle with such a major task.
Rather than simply doing nothing, however, you can follow a few tips to make spring cleaning faster — perfect if you’re always in a hurry.
1. Be smart about vacuuming
Don’t waste time clearing out a room in its entirety. Instead, move each piece of furniture to one side as you clean under and around it. Also, make full use of the attachments that came with your vacuum cleaner, as they’re designed to make the process quicker and easier. For example, use a long brush attachment for skirting and a crevice tool for underneath tables and cabinets.
2. Make light work of the bathroom
You can use a shower spray to clean tiles and grouting with the minimum of effort. Throw shower curtains and mats into the washing machine, and dry with dryer towels. Use a combination of antibacterial wipes, microfibre cloths and a dedicated toilet cream to clean the toilet.
3. Clean light fittings and wall hangings with ease
Cleaning light fittings and wall hangings doesn’t have to involve removing them from their usual position or grappling with step ladders. Use a handheld vacuum cleaner and all of the necessary attachments to reach dust on these awkward items. The same also goes for the tops of curtains and anything above shoulder height.
4. Flick ceilings and walls
Don’t waste your time up a ladder trying to remove dirt and dust from ceilings, walls and coving. Instead, use a microfibre duster (not feather) on a pole. Alternatively, you can attach a microfibre cloth to a broom in order to reach these tricky areas.
5. Take it from the top
Don’t give yourself more work than is necessary — which is exactly what you’ll do if you start cleaning from the bottom instead of the top. Dust and dirt travel downwards when they’re disturbed, so always work from top to bottom… and back to front.
6. Use multifunctional cleaning products
The fewer cleaning supplies you rely on for spring cleaning, the easier and faster it’s going to be. While you might not get perfect results, you’ll at least get the basics done. Use a vacuum cleaner with several attachments and the ability to be broken down into a handheld unit. Use a steam cleaner with all of the accessories, as this both cleans and sanitises a wide range of surfaces. Use a multipurpose cleaner, and always have a large stash of microfibre cloths at your disposal.
7. Steam clean hard flooring
Steam cleaners and mops are great for cleaning almost all types of hard flooring, including laminate, tile, stone, vinyl, lino and concrete. The most efficient steam mops can also clean real wood floors safely, as they don’t flood the area with water. Just a few passes with a good mop could be enough to give your hard floors a deep clean.
8. Zoom around kitchen appliances
To speed up kitchen-based spring cleaning, you should make a few preparations in advance. For instance, fit a dedicated liner to your oven to catch food and grease. Then when it’s time to clean, just a little baking soda and white vinegar should do the trick. In fact, vinegar and baking soda can clean just about any kitchen appliance when they’re combined to make a paste. Once again, keep a microfibre cloth or two by your side, and use steam power wherever appropriate.
9. Give everything contact time
The more contact time your cleaning agents have with surfaces, the less time you’ll need to spend scrubbing and polishing. For example, if you’re cleaning your oven, cover it in your chosen agents, and perform another cleaning task while things steep. If you’re removing a carpet stain, cover it in your stain removal agent then go do something else while the fibres percolate.
10. Keep disposable cleaning wipes in every room
If you have disposable cleaning wipes in all the rooms of your home, you can save yourself a huge amount of time and effort. Almost all surfaces can be wiped clean in a second with these little beauties, so make them an inventory priority.
If you’re determined and organised, you should be able to half the time you spend spring cleaning — and that’s time you can spend doing the more enjoyable things in life!
