Whether it’s indoors or outdoors, cleaning needs to be done. So why make it hard on yourself?

Ceiling comes first

Always work from top to bottom: first clean the ceiling and walls, then move on to flat surfaces like tables, cupboards and the counter. After this, you start vacuuming with a good vacuum cleaner. What is a good vacuum cleaner? For me the Dyson DC25 All Floors has become a personal favorite because it has excellent performance, good filtering and is lightweight. But above all, it is my first bagless. Yes, bag-less! What a relief after all those years of changing vacuum cleaner bags.

High ceilings

You want to remove cobwebs from hard to reach high ceilings? Put an old sock on top of a ceiling mop and moisten the mop with a spray bottle. Gently sweep the mop along walls and ceiling with a rolling motion. The cobwebs will stick to the old sock and your walls and ceilings enjoy some newfound breathing space.

Curtains

Window curtains don’t need to be washed that often. It suffices to thoroughly free them from dust at least once a year. You can do this by putting them in a tumble dryer on a cold program. Optionally, you can add a bag of lavender to freshen them up even more. One extra piece of advice I can give you is to leave the hooks on the curtain. Just put the curtain end with the hooks in a washcloth and close it with a rubber band.

Windows

For window cleaning, it is best to use soft water, preferably rainwater. Prepare two buckets: one with soapy water and another with rinse water. Add some drops of ammonia or vinegar to the rinse water for that extra shine. Rinse your dirty sponge every time before you put it in the soapy water bucket. For the soapy water choose a non-colored, ecological all-purpose cleaner, as colored cleaning agents generally leave streaks more easily. To dry the window, use a squeegee and don’t overlook the edges. The finishing touch is achieved by wiping the edges with a microfiber cloth and polishing the window for extra shine with crumpled newspaper.

Leather couches

You have some beautiful leather couches in your living room? First wipe them with a wet shammy that  you use for the couches exclusively. To thoroughly clean and protect them, treat your leather couches with a quality leather cleaner and conditioner. This will ensure that your couches continue to look good for years to come. In addition to this, it is important to vacuum between the seams as that is exactly the place where dirt will accumulate and destroy your leather.

Silver

There is nothing difficult about cleaning silver. Place a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom of a vessel and add some baking soda and very hot water. Leave your silver pieces in this solution for around fifteen minutes or until the tarnish comes off the silver and collects on the tin foil. Dry with a cloth and enjoy your shiny silver.

Drinking glasses

Spring cleaning is the ideal occasion to rinse all drinking glasses that have been resting in your kitchen cabinets all year. First rinse them with water and a bit of vinegar, then put them in the dishwasher. If you have hard water, make sure to use a performance booster to avoid cloudy drinking glasses. It breaks down the minerals and optimizes your detergent performance.

Microwave

The easiest way to clean your microwave is to place a bowl filled with water, some vinegar and a bit of lemon inside. Put your microwave on maximum for about three minutes and wipe away the dirt afterwards. Enjoy the fresh citrus smell.

Candle wax

Ouch, candle wax stains on your favorite carpet. No problem there! Try to remove as much of the wax as possible with a little knife. Then put some paper towels on top and underneath the candle wax stain. Now take an iron and iron the sheets of paper towel so that the wax will become liquid and gets absorbed by the paper towels. Replace the paper towels until all stains are gone. If there is still some wax residue left, you can apply some rubbing alcohol.

Carpets

To freshen up my carpets, I prefer two of the most underestimated cleaning agents: baking soda and vinegar. A vinegar and water solution is great to revive carpet color, while baking soda is the tool of the trade for removing bad odors. Scatter some baking soda on your pet’s favorite sleeping place and vacuum in the morning. Gone is the bad smell!

I hope you enjoy little cleaning tips like these as much as I do. It would be great if you could share your favorite cleaning secrets with us in the comment section below. Happy cleaning!

Denise