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9 steps to get your home spring clean

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Living Space

After the long days of winter have finally moved on and the sun makes a regular appearance, it’s hard not to want to spend all your time outdoors. But a thorough spring cleaning doesn’t have to take all spring. Tackle these items one by one, and you’ll be outside lounging in the sun in no time.

1. Do a declutter. Take a laundry basket and go room to room collecting items that can be donated and recycled, such as unwanted books and magazines. Spring feels clean when the tops of surfaces are cleared off. Create plenty of open space in your home, and pitch old clothes, toys and knickknacks.

2. Dust thoroughly. Grab your dust spray and a stack of microfiber cloth and go from room to room dusting lampshades, light fixtures, doors, door jambs and window sills. Be sure to dust, ceiling fans and ceiling corners. If walls are dusty, Swiffer them (www.swiffer.com) instead of doing it by hand.

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3. Vacuum deeply. Go after your floors and carpet, but also put neglected areas, such as under/behind beds, furniture and appliances, on your vacuum list. Give your sofa and chairs a vacuum, getting into small spaces with your crevice tool. Vacuum your mattress, then turn or flip it.

4. Deep-clean the kitchen. Take the typical act of cleaning the kitchen a step further by cleaning the fridge and freezer, oven, vent hood, and microwave. Wipe down cabinets, clean and polish the fronts. Find a place to stow small countertop appliances to clear off counters. Replace old hot pads and ratty dish towels with new ones.

5. Show linen love. Give your linens some attention by storing heavy blankets and comforters after dropping them at the dry cleaner. Toss out torn towels and stained sheets. Wash your mattress pads, bed skirts and pillows. Replace worn bath mats, shower curtains and curtain liners. Add a few dryer sheets to the linen closet to give it a fresh scent.

6. Turn to a bathroom blitz. Give your bathroom a good going over with a scrub brush. Work on getting grout cleaned with a powder cleaner that will give you extra scrubbing power and leave you with sparkling tile. Clean out under the sinks, and discard unused medicines or bath products you don’t need or use. Hang up new towels and a bright new shower curtain.

7. Do some touch-ups. A cleaned home will never look clean if you have smudged walls and dirty trim. If your paint is washable, go room to room and scrub stains and scuffs clean. If not, give them a quick touch-up with some paint and a foam brush.

8. Clean the porch and patio. These are the portals to your home, so a good wash will make your home feel clean too. Sweep away dirt and leaves, or blow off debris with a leaf blower. Follow with a bucket of lightly sudsy water and a long-handled scrub brush to scrub and wash off stains. Rinse with clear water.

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9. Hire cleaning help. Some things are harder to clean because we lack the right machinery. Once your house is cleaned, schedule your carpets to be steam cleaned. If your tile floors have dirty grout, hire a cleaning company to come steam them clean. For stained driveways, walkways or the roof, contact a pressure washing company to take mold stains away and make them clear and clean again.

(For more information, contact Kathryn Weber through her website, www.redlotusletter.com.)

(c) 2018 KATHRYN WEBER. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

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