Spring Forward Into Clean
Tired of being cooped up with a winter’s worth of clutter and grime?
It’s time to get organized and give your home a thorough spring cleaning. Put on the music, open a window and get ready for brighter days ahead.
Organize upstairs
Bedrooms are catch-alls for clutter.
“Put it in the closet, and it’s out of sight, out of mind,” says Rob Krystal, owner of Restore-Order, an organizing service in Crystal Lake.
He suggests three steps to organize a bedroom: purpose, purge and plan.
Purpose means deciding how you will use your room. Is an adults’ bedroom for sleeping only, or is it also an exercise space? Are kids allowed? Talk about ideas with everyone who uses the room, and set guidelines for use.
Purge by sorting what to keep, donate or throw away. When the room is empty, clean it. Don’t be tempted to skip the purge step and go straight to planning your new room.
“You can’t plan until you know what you’re working with,” Krystal says.
To plan, chose items that personalize the room such as photos and decorations. Also, consider your purpose. In Krystal’s bedroom, kids are allowed in at certain times, so the couple keeps a basket of books and toys. Decide the best way to store items and stick with it.
“Deal with temporary clutter as soon as possible,” Krystal says.
Organize downstairs
In the kitchen, consider what you use most, the type of cooking you do and who uses the room. Purge items that aren’t used or are duplicates.
But Fran Piekarski, president of Remedease in St. Charles, says this isn’t always as easy as it sounds.
“People attach emotion and meaning to things. Rather than tell a client to get rid of something, I might suggest they recycle it, repurpose it or give it to someone (who) needs it. This way the item isn’t destroyed, but given a new purpose,” she says.
Create work stations, and store items used for certain jobs together. After your kitchen’s organized, clean it as you use it.
“If you spill something, wipe it up. It makes clean up faster and easier,” Piekarski says.
For the home office, most utility bills and receipts can be thrown out after a year. Exceptions include items that are part of tax exemptions or receipts needed for warranties. Tax returns can usually be thrown out after seven years. When in doubt, Piekarski suggests, contact an accountant or financial advisor, or visit the IRS Web site at www.irs.gov.
To stay on top of office clutter and make next year’s taxes easier, dedicate a folder for tax information.
“All documents that are necessary for next year’s return can be filed in this folder,” Piekarski says.
Clean as a whistle
As you organize, use a canister vacuum to clean cabinets, closets and under beds, suggests Kelly Resek, owner of Comfort Home Cleaning in Crystal Lake.
Purge dust by vacuuming inside heating vents; keep up with filter changes for your furnace, air filters and humidifiers.
“If you don’t keep these clean, then they just blow dust all over the place,” Resek says.
Fireplaces can leave sooty reside on door frames and baseboards. Clean them with a vacuum and oil soap. Vinyl mini-blinds can be cleaned in the bathtub using a mild all-purpose cleaner. Wood blinds can be cleaned while hanging with a vacuum and oil soap.
Go green and use vinegar to clean glass, mirrors, shower doors and wood floors.
“The smell dissipates very quickly,” Resek says.
Remove grease by sprinkling on baking soda and squirting with vinegar. Lemon oil brings a shine to furniture and stainless steel.
Don’t forget the outside
“Once the snow melts, prune trees and shrubs before the branches leaf out,” says Jason Saunders of Lawn Doctor of McHenry County.
To stimulate turf, run a light rake across the grass to remove snow mold (a fungus that leaves a crusty white layer on the turf). In April, core aerate and spread a pre-emergent fertilizer.
“Core aerating creates pockets for the roots to spread into and gets air and water down to them,” Saunders says.