The holidays are good and done, but the winter, quarantines, and visiting friends and family can leave your home a mess! Here are some great tips and tricks to keep your house clean and make that early spring cleaning a bit easier!
Get Organized!
We tend to accumulate a lot of stuff over the holidays. The wet and cold weather provides the perfect opportunity to get the jump on indoor organizing and cleaning those areas outside of our usual weekly tasks. A deep cleaning may feel a bit overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Begin by evaluating each room for anything that needs to be thrown away, donated, sold, or stored! Then make a task checklist for each room. Don't try to do it all at once. Breaking the tasks up over a few days can make the job feel manageable and even, dare we say it, enjoyable.
To get you started, we've listed 10 cleaning hacks to launch your new year's cleaning off to a fresh start.
1. Clean out your Fridge and Freezer
Check for expired foods, maybe change out the baking soda you put in there last year, and give everything a once over with bleach or lemon and water solution. It's a pain, but doing a quick clean once every few months can prevent a nightmare in a few years. And, don't forget to behind and beneath the appliance and the drip pan.
2. Clean the Dishwasher
Vinegar is the go-to solution for cleaning your dishwasher but make sure and clean the filters and the inside floor and sides of the door. Remove filters based on the appliance directions and run through with hot water and soap. If there are two, clean them both. Wipe down the racks and blades with vinegar and any gadgets and the sides of the door with soap and warm water.
Run a cup of white vinegar through the normal washing cycle, open the dishwasher, and let air dry.
3. Post-Holiday Oven Cleaning
Self-cleaning ovens are a breeze. Remove everything from the oven, wipe out the oven with a damp cloth, and you're good to go. Set the dial to self-clean, and you're done. Be careful to keep children and pets away from your oven during the cleaning cycle. It can get very hot. Also, the temperature from the oven will heat up your kitchen, so be prepared if you plan on working in the area.
Non-self-cleaning ovens take a bit more elbow grease. Remove racks. Wipe out the oven with vinegar and water. Use a baking soda paste (water and baking soda for stubborn areas and scrape or pry off burnt piles of food. Turn on the oven to 425 for 30- minutes, then let sit with the door closed until cool. Once completely safe and cool, wipe out any remaining debris.
4. Pantry
Check for outdated food, anything moldy, and clean the shelves and any hidden areas with vinegar and warm water. Keeping your pantry fresh will keep the pests away.
5. Microwave - Lemons are Magic
Not only are lemons incredible for cleaning stainless steel, but lemon in half a cup of water can clean out your microwave no problem! Just drop the juice of one lemon into ½ a cup of water and microwave for three to five minutes! The acid and steam will weaken any cooked-on grease, allowing you to clean it with ease!
6. Washer and Dryer
Vacuum and dust behind and under the appliances. Keeping the area clean from large amounts of accumulating debris and lint can help prevent dryer fires and mold.
Always consult the appliance manual before cleaning for any specifics.
Washer: Run a cup of white vinegar on the short, hot cycle of your washing machine. Clean with a damp cloth of white vinegar and water all other areas, including the lid and inside the drum. Let air dry.
Dryer: Clean all areas, including the drum, with a damp cloth and white vinegar. Remove the lint basket, clean, and use a vacuum for residual dust and lint.
7. Sanitize that Showerhead!
Soaking your showerhead in white vinegar overnight can break down mineral and hard water buildup! The best kind of cleaning hack is the kind where something does the cleaning for you!
8. Get More Mileage out of Those Sponges!
Here's another microwave hack. Sponges get kinda musty over time, but you can kill a lot of that weird smell by soaking them in water and microwaving them for a minute or two on high!
9: Clean those Blinds!
Blinds can accumulate a lot of dust quickly! If you have a vacuum, brush attachment, or microfiber cloth, you can bust through even the heaviest dust buildup. Plastic blinds might require a soak in warm water before their wipe down!
10. Keep, Toss, Donate, or Store
When it comes to gathering stuff together and evaluating whether it stays or goes, take it easy! Go room by room and put things into the Keep, Toss, Donate, or Store category on your list. Remember, there is always room to reevaluate. Store your undecided and extra items with Downtown Self Storage. We at Downtown Self Storage have storage units available of every size and at great prices and we have all the boxes and supplies you'll need to get organized.
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DOWNTOWN SELF STORAGE - DAVIS STREET
Website: Davis Street
1305 NW Davis Street
Portland, OR 97209
503-388-4060
DOWNTOWN SELF STORAGE - JOHNSON STREET
Website: Johnson Street
1304 NW Johnson Street
Portland, OR 97209
503-388-4061
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