5 Spring Clean Hacks…no rubber gloves required

It’s spring– well so they tell me. Personally, I still have my coat and scarf on, but there is more light about – which is lovely… BUT highlights that my flat is in need of a bit of TLC.

Now, unlike most things in life, I don’t rush spring-cleaning – I do maybe an hour or so every weekend, and then suddenly it’s summer– so I can stop. Cunning eh.

 

Here are my favourite 5 quick spruce-ups, which can be done in a couple of hours, preferably on a Saturday morning while listening to Graham Norton, that make my home look a bit more loved, and me, feel like I deserve a nice lunch.

1/Buy a bunch of flowers – a vase full of daffodils costs about £2 and looks very spring-like and yellow.

2/ Throw a cleaning tablet in your washing machine and dishwasher (I’ve got ones that work for both) put both on at a high heat wash.  While you’re in the kitchen halve a lemon and put it in the fridge, I can’t think why, but I am sure but I read somewhere that it’s a good idea, then have a cup of tea and a biscuit.

3/ Sort out one item of clothing. Socks are a great place to start – they are just so matchy matchy. I have tons of pairs (and a good collection of single ones…keep waiting for their partner to reappear) but the blighters gather together in an orgy-like heap at the bottom of the drawer making it hard to find the pair I want (I am rather particular about my socks).

Now if there’s one thing in life that I aspire to it is neat drawers. I get serious drawer-envy when I come across one of those perfect Pinterest photographs of organised drawers – full of dividers and all colour-coordinated and neat.In my experience (which admittedly is rather limited) drawer dividers are really expensive and can be pretty flimsy so you can imagine my delight when I was in Office Outlet (the shop formerly known as Staples) recently and spotted these rather snazzy boxes – 4 for £5.99.

What the hell they are actually for is a mystery but let’s not worry about that – just bin the lids and they are perfect for sock storage. Hey presto an organised sock drawer.

PLEASE NOTE – Socks have been sorted by both function (sports, cosy, weekend-wear, work-wear) and colour / quality (not black ones, black ones with no bobbly bits, black ones with bobbly bits).

4/ Clean your screens. My office area is prone to being a bit, how shall I put it, manky. The keyboard is home to enough food debris for a light mid-morning snack, so it’s time for its annual tip upside down and violent shake and a quick once over with the Pledge, then I give my screen a wipe  (with proper screen cleaner)– and for good measure, I do the TV, ipad, mobile and phone. And they all smells lovely.

5/ Change your bedding and while you are at it replace your winter throw/ bed cover with a lighter, brighter one – you know that one you need to dig out from the old suitcase under the bed – best wash it first.

And a bonus for those of use with a touch of OCD…

6/Alphabetise your herbs (I pinched this one from my friend Louise) – takes just a minute and you’ll never again mistake your Fennel Seeds for your Cumin.

So there you have it…how to sort of spring clean your house in under 2 hours, without putting on rubber gloves.

Have you any FAST spring cleaning tips– that don’t involve Toilet Duck?

THE END

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