by Amy McNeal
Spring has sprung. As the birds return to the trees, and the days get longer, it becomes time to think about sprucing up your home. After a long winter of hibernation, your place can probably use a little freshening. You can get your place spring fresh and ready for action in just a few easy steps.
Start with a trip to the store for supplies. The home care aisle at the grocery store is a wilderness of specialty cleaning products. It seems like you need a hundred different bottles of goop to clean all the surfaces in your home. Often, these cleaning wonders are filled with harsh chemicals that can damage both your home and your family's health. You shouldn't have to rinse the floor before you or the cat can walk on it. Why waste money on so many potentially harmful things, when there are many safe, green products that can be used to clean almost everything in your house? Don't clutter up your cabinets with overpriced, chemical cleaning products. Don't waste time reading all those bottles to find out what you can clean with a product. A pail of water, a few lemons, dish soap, baking soda and vinegar are all you need to make your house beautiful, efficiently and safely.
Good old soap and water is just as effective for cleaning everything in your home, from your favorite vase to the kitchen floor, as any commercial cleaning product. Any dish soap of your choice will work. It's kinder to your finishes too. Perfectly safe for washing your walls, painted furniture and tchotchkes. Miss the smell of your old products? Scent your cleaning water by adding a few drops of your favorite essential oil. The scent lasts for days, just like a commercial cleaner. After all, what do you think they're using for that "fresh lavender" scent?
For germ prone areas or especially scummy projects, add some white vinegar to the pail. A soap, water and vinegar mixture can be used to mop, wipe, or wash most anything ? even sponge clean your upholstery. Leave out the soap, and make a spray bottle of vinegar and water to clean your glass and crystal. This cheap, easy and green combo is safe to use on your aquarium as well. Add a splash of olive oil to your vinegar, soap and water bucket to clean your wood furniture and floors. Vinegar is great for cleaning the microwave. Just fill up a glass bowl halfway with white vinegar, and boil it on high for 5 minutes. Immediately wipe the inside of your microwave and all that nasty splatter will come right off.
Lemons can do more than just make lemonade, they can make stains disappear. For stains on the counter, apply some lemon juice and allow it to soak. Follow up with a baking soda paste for stubborn stains. Drop lemon or orange rinds into the garbage disposal and grind to take care of stinky smells. If you dislike the smell of vinegar as a cleaner, add a few drops of lemon juice to neutralize the odor. Use a lemon half dipped in salt to clean and shine your copper or aluminum pans and fixtures. Squeeze a few drops into your vacuum cleaner canister to freshen the air while you vacuum.
That box of baking soda is good for more than just freshening your fridge. Use baking soda for regular drain maintenance in every sink, without harming your pipes Pour some baking soda down the drain, followed with a stream of white vinegar to clean the gunk out and keep the drains smelling fresh and running smoothly. Get rust stains off of tile and concrete with a paste of baking soda and water. Add some baking soda to your litter box to keep it smelling fresh. It will even help with your laundry. Use a paste of baking soda and water to get out tough grease stains. Sprinkle some on the carpets and allow it to sit for 15 minutes before vacuuming to freshen a room.
Gather up all of your old newspapers, magazines and other junk paper that's taking up space. Do you really need a dozen Chinese menus, when you always order from that one place? Into the recycling bin they go. Be ruthless with your discards. Done with a bunch of your books? Arrange to swap with some friends, trade them in at the used book store, or send them to charity. Make room in your closets for new spring clothes. Grab a trash bag. If you haven't worn it in more than a year, toss it in the bag. Do the same with your accessories, shoes, bags and linens. Call your favorite charity for pick up, or drop your old stuff off at a shelter. Remember to consider your local animal shelter when you're getting rid of towels and blankets, they often need them.
You're almost ready for spring now! Last stop, the farmer's market. Nothing says spring like beautiful blooming flowers. Pick up some plants for your porch, a bouquet for your table, and some fresh veggies for dinner. Now you get to head home, and enjoy a warm spring night in your wonderful, refreshed space. Maybe you should call a few friends to come and join you. It's a great time to entertain. After all, your place is clean!
Text by Amy McNeal; photo by Richard Risemberg
