Allow me to take a moment, to be honest with you. I may be good at cleaning and even, dare I say, enjoy it at times, but even I have places in my home that just aren’t getting enough attention. So, I’ve compiled a list of six places in our homes that could really use more care and attention. May it give us both enough inspiration and motivation (or in my case, shame) to just get right in there and start cleaning!
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Curtains and Couch Cushions - I’m going to be honest, I don’t remember the last time I washed my curtains. It’s an easy thing to neglect unlike, say, your bedsheets or couch throws, curtains just kinda blend into your windows. (Okay, maybe I’m making excuses.) I mean, do they really get that bad, though? Yes. Yes, they do. Wash your curtains. Not only do they get the residue of whatever is drifting in through your windows, but they are also masters at trapping dust and hair. If you have them in your kitchen, you can add oil and teeny tiny food splatters to that list as well. Luckily, washing them is just as easy as doing a load of laundry. (Unless you realllyyy hate doing laundry, then it sucks. Sorry.) Fabric that is exposed to the sun does become more delicate over time, so take care to wash with a gentle detergent and only on delicate mode, with cool/warm water. (If you are particularly concerned about delicate fabric, you can also hand wash them by allowing them a nice soak in a tub.) Couch cushions should be getting the same treatment, if not more often. (Next time your friends are over, watch where those cushions get placed. You're going to want to clean them). Quite a few cushions are designed to have their covers zipped off, and some of the ones that don’t can be thrown in whole. Just be sure to read the care instructions on your pillows, and when in doubt air on the side of caution. (Again, no drier, unless you want strange misshapen pillows!). If you have plastic strip curtains, as I do in my kitchen, well...there’s no way around it. Take those bad boys down one by one and give them a scrub with soap and water. It may be tedious, but you’ll have nice, sparkling curtains that will be easier to maintain and as a result won’t get so bad again!
Vents - Often tucked out of the way in corners of rooms, up high in inconspicuous spots on walls, are the oft neglected vents. What do they do? Who knows, plenty of things I can imagine. (I live in a house right now where there is a vent that isn’t connected to anything! Mysterious.) Jokes aside, your vents are probably transporting air around your house for your AC/Heater, and if they aren’t cleaned regularly, they're taking the dust right along with them! I once cleaned a vent that was packed so tight with dust, it was like cleaning out the filter of a drier, the dust peeling off in big chunks! If you regularly change your AC intake filter (which you should be doing, for example I live in a horrifically dusty house and have to do it every two weeks) you might want to take that time to do a quick once over of all your house vents as well. A scrub brush with a nice long handle, like one you might use in your kitchen for dishes, should be all you need. If you haven’t cleaned your vents since you moved in, well, you might want to accompany that scrub brush with some soapy water and a few microfiber towels.
Window Tracks - If you are especially tidy, windows might already be on your weekly rotation (Okay fine, maybe monthly...or you know...when you can’t see through them anymore), but have you been clearing out those tracks? If your windows are more of a hassle to open than they used to be, sticky build up on the tracks could be the culprit. All kinds of stuff finds its way onto your window tracks, grease, dirt, dust, hair, wayward bugs. Fortunately there are some excellent tools out there like this one from. Just add a few drops of your favorite degreaser dish soap in some water and start scrubbing! (In a pinch, an old toothbrush can do the trick, but I really think the tool is worth it!)
Fridge - You may already give your fridge a nice wipe down everytime you stock it up, but be honest, when was the last time you pulled everything out and took it apart? Fridge shelving and racks are designed to be removed for more thorough cleaning, even the butter drawers on the door can be delicately pried off their hinges for a good degreasing soak in hot soapy water. You may think your fridge looks pretty clean, but once you pull that shelf out you’ll be sure to find the remains of that fresh juice that exploded in the back last year, hiding beneath the seams! (Just me? Okay, fine.) Whether you’ve been ignoring messes building up in the back of your fridge, or are a regular cleaner, I think we can all agree that the place we keep our food is pretty high up on the list of priorities when it comes to a nice and thorough sanitization!
Oven Range Hood Filter - While you are in the kitchen sorting out that fridge, why not pop out that greasy range hood filter above your oven? If you’ve never even tried to take that thing out before, then brace yourself, it isn’t going to be pretty. Luckily, most if not all of those types of filters are designed to be popped out and cleaned from time to time. If you’ve got your sink full of nice hot and soap water from soaking the parts to your fridge, then just toss that in there for as long as you can. Once it’s had a nice soak, a healthy spray with degreaser and a good scrub with a bristle brush will have it like new! Don’t forget to make sure it’s completely dry before slotting it back into place.
Walls - Yes, you heard me. I did just say walls, but hear me out. Now, I’m not suggesting you get your mop and bucket out and start adding a weekly wall soaking into your routine, BUT they can be dirtier than you’d think, especially in those high traffic areas. That spot underneath your desk where you keep resting your feet? How about that place where your couch meets the wall near the arm rest? That spot where everyone puts their hand when they open the bathroom door? We touch our walls and leave oil and residue behind far more often than you might think. Not to mention in places like the kitchen, where grease can splatter and float around in the air and land just about everywhere in sight. While I won’t suggest a weekly wall cleanings should be tacked onto your routine, or even monthly, you should check in at least every few months to see if the build up warrants a wash. Not sure how to tell if it’s time? Take a damp soapy cloth or wet wipe and give a small area a swipe or two. Is there a noticeable difference between where you wiped and didn’t? Even a teensy difference? Then it’s time to get to cleaning!
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Well, there you go, not so painful, right? I hope these six suggestions help you (and me) get inspired to be more thorough caretakers of our homes. If all that sounded like too much work, you can always schedule a deep clean with us, and you’ll never have to know what kind of gunk comes out of your vents (it’s worth it, trust me.) As for me, I know I’m going to get started right away by taking down my curtains and giving them the wash they sorely need! Just...right after a few more episodes of my show...Happy Cleaning!
Read more of our blogs to maintain a healthy home.
View our blog, Keeping your Home Tidy with Pets.
View our blog, 5 Tips on keeping your home Tidy
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