SPRING CLEANING

[Deleted User] · February 2014

does anyone do this? my home is in major need of some TLC. I've done some spring cleaning (aka deep cleaning) before, but I was wondering what tricks/tips/horror stories you all have to share!

labro · February 2014

@CocoBellaF What is spring? I'm pretty sure our climate has forgotten that spring exists and it will never ever be warm and sunny again.

JK...I don't know that I do spring cleaning. But spring is the time of year I tend to start going through all of our stuff to find things to donate or throw away. We also will probably do some pretty heavy duty work in the yard...if our lawn ever dries out enough. My best trick is to just go room by room. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with say scrubbing all the baseboards in the whole house...but if I can say...ok I am going to do x, y, and z in our master bedroom and then I get all that accomplished I feel really good and I can move on to the next room or major project.

[Deleted User] · February 2014

I need to deep clean my oven but have no idea how. it has a self-cleaning option, but I've heard that can really mess up your oven... like, if it's going to break it'll break after a self-clean. and I don't think I can scrub with chemicals. so, um, hello dirty oven! so embarrassing.

KeptInStitches · February 2014

It's not spring yet here, but I need to do spring cleaning this year, both at my place and BF's. One trick that's worked well for us is the keep / toss / donate piles. Another thing that works well for me is scheduling when I'm going to do things (tonight I'm going to clean out the left half of the bottom of the bedroom closet, tomorrow I'm going to clean out the right half of the bottom of the bedroom closet, etc.) and then keep to it. I love to-do lists, and being able to cross things off is immensely satisfying for me.

labro · February 2014

@CocoBellaF That's certainly true re: self-cleaning ovens. My parent's oven malfunctioned and caused a minor kitchen fire. It worked out though...because the oven had done it once before and they had had a company out to "fix" it...and the guy didn't actually fix the problem. So they basically got an entire kitchen remodel on the repair company's dime. Goodbye ugly wallpaper, hello new paint, refinished wood floors, and new double oven.

But my mom also says that with the new oven, the self-clean option is the best thing ever and she absolutely adores it. They haven't had a single problem. It may not be a bad idea just to google your model and see if people have had problems in the past or not...or maybe even consistent issues.

Blackbird230 · February 2014

I wish I could think about spring...more snow expected for Thursday. I need to do a whole once over my car and room though.

phira · February 2014

I normally do a super deep clean of the apartment before New Year's, but this year, I did an okay job cleaning for J's surprise party (2 weeks before New Year's) so I just had that be it. I'm regretting it now; I desperately want to do a deep clean. Like, washing walls and everything.

Peaseblossom55 · February 2014

We just moved into the home less than a year ago so there isn't too much that is really dirty or really cluttered yet. I'd like to clear out the garage more though and organize that better, that sounds like a perfect spring cleaning project for us. I hope by then the kitchen renovations are done. Sadly I think spring is still a far ways off.

tuarceatha · February 2014

I don't do a specific spring cleaning thing. I'm just happy to report that I am several months into my "Be a cleaner cleaner-uper" phase. *Pats self on back*

[Deleted User] · February 2014

@tuarcheatha - I was doing really well, but things got overwhelming and everything went crazy. I am happy to report that I did spend a couple hours catching up last night (I didn't have to cook, we had leftover stew, so that helped!)... and H decided to hang a mirror over the bed that has been sitting there for months, clean the toilets, and wash the dishes.

I even scrubbed my sink. there's nothing like a clean sink, right?

HIGH FIVE.

I am considering having someone come in to help me with deep cleaning next month, just to give me a kick start. I'm not so bad at maintaining (HA), but the idea of scrub-scrub-scubbing... I'm not so sure about that.

tuarceatha · February 2014

@CocoBellaF HIGH FIVE

Well you also have several "roommates" to clean up after. I dunno what the heck I'm gonna do when we decide to bring other living beings into our home.

Actually, H and I often talk about how hard it is going to be when we move into a larger home. Our friends have a 4-5 bedroom house and I cannot imagine dusting every room in that place. It seems sooo overwhelming.

[Deleted User] · February 2014

ugh. dusting. I have to do that this week (like, maybe tonight). it helps when I keep the air filters cleaned, but ugh...

Dignity100 · February 2014

This year with FI moving in my house - I really want to do a deep cleaning - like clear out a room clean it from floor to ceiling and then go through everything and only put back what is needed. I have an entertainment center in my bedroom; it needs to go so I can put a wardrobe in there.

FI and I need to combine homes. After our wedding, we won't have the $$ to purchase a new home right away and we are taking the 1 major life event at a time approach - so first the wedding, then figure out where we want to live and work on getting the house. FI will probably be living out of 2 homes for awhile because all his stuff won't fit in my house

(this is going to be a big huge mess).

Not sure when we'll start, right now it's too cold (and we're too lazy)!

tuarceatha · February 2014

I dunno what exactly we hope to move into next, I just think that a family of 4 would get crowded in our space now. I mean the other two additions would be small people for a good while, but yea.

You know what I find the hardest cleaning task? Bathrooms. Our bathrooms require like 8 cleaning products. Is that normal?

[Deleted User] · February 2014

hopefully we don't outgrow our home for a good while. I guess we'll see!

@tuarcheatha - my H cleans the toilets. I use scrubbing bubbles or Comet on the counters/shower/tub, and Windex on the mirrors and shower glass doors. what products do you use?

tuarceatha · February 2014

@CocoBellaF said:

hopefully we don't outgrow our home for a good while. I guess we'll see!

@tuarcheatha - my H cleans the toilets. I use scrubbing bubbles or Comet on the counters/shower/tub, and Windex on the mirrors and shower glass doors. what products do you use?

SoftScrub for the shower/tub. Kaboom for faucets. Homemade cleaner for the granite counter top Windex for the mirrors. Some toilet bowl scrubber brush thing for the toilet bowls. Clorox wipes. I think that is it.

[Deleted User] · February 2014

oh, I'll use Clorox wipes in there, too. can't forget those!

phira · February 2014

My problem is ... what method do you folks use to clean the shower/tub? We've got a run of the mill tub and subway tile all around (no shower door, just a curtain). I feel like I have no idea how to clean the damn thing.

I also wish that dusting were fun because holy shit it's time consuming and unless you have as much dust as J did at his old apartment (like a solid measurable millimeter), it's unbelievably unsatisfying.

[Deleted User] · February 2014

@phira - I use a sponge to get in the cracks where there's build-up. I spray scrubbing bubbles on the tub/shower and wait a couple minutes, then wipe/scrub. this is how my mom did it, so that's how I do it. we have a sliding door, so I use windex on that. I've heard you can use the Comet sink cleaning stuff too, but I've never done it.

ETA: I can't handle straight bleach, so my H bleaches the floor of the shower.

tuarceatha · February 2014

@TwoDimes. I. Am. So. Trying. This.

Does everyone have shower hoses they can detach? We don't. I used to throw water from a bowl at the shower walls to rinse them, then I got a spray bottle that is a joke. Anyway, how do you rinse/spray the shower walls?

[Deleted User] · February 2014

we use a big cup, so ghetto, haha!

tuarceatha · February 2014

haha I feel better. I felt like I was mentally challenged when I threw water from a bowl at the wall and SURPRISE! it splashed right back at me. I swear. Pouring seems to happen more than I realized. No wonder we can burn so many calories from cleaning, it takes a lot to get the job done.

phira · February 2014

I am speechless. That technique sounds awesome.

We don't have any bleach, though. All I've got is Comet.

By the way, people who are like wtf is that even for, I use it to clean the toilet bowl, and my mom uses it to clean her shower and tub. When I'm elbow-greasin' up the bathroom, I do use it in the tub. Because it's granular, it works pretty well to get rid of grime and soapscum. It's easy to use in the toilet; sprinkle some in, go to town with the toilet brush, and flush.

Now, if only I felt motivated to clean ...

tuarceatha · February 2014

I used a lot of Comet to clean our suite bathroom in my college dorm, way back when. My suitemates thought I was weird, but that shtuff makes the loveliest of cleaning pastes. Didn't Bart Simpson have a song about Comet? I could've sworn....

tuarceatha · February 2014

@TwoDimes That's it!

Pepper6 · February 2014

We seemed to have skipped spring and went straight into early summer...it's going to be almost 90 by Friday. My major cleaning has been going on for the last few months and that's going through our two spare bedrooms and getting rid of all the random, useless crap we've accumulated. Of course, now our front living room is just piled with bags & boxes of crap that are awaiting the next neighborhood donation pickup.

SPRING CLEANING

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