The "great spring clean" is an essential step towards a home that is clean and healthy, free of mold, allergens, dust mites and cracks. A home that is regularly maintained stands up better to the passing of time: small problems (blocked pipes, mold, cracks, leaks) do not get worse. Equipment, planning, sorting and room-by-room cleaning: here is how to go about it by the book.
For those who are short of time these days, this big clean saves a great deal of it in the long run: everyday upkeep becomes simpler, and running the household becomes smoother.
The equipment you need
- Trash bags
- White vinegar
- Sponge, scouring sponge
- Vacuum cleaner
- White clay
- Steam cleaner
- Baking soda
- Feather duster or microfiber cloth
- Window squeegee
- Floor mop
- Scrubbing brush
Planning your big clean
- A big clean is not done in a single day: it is planned over one or several weekends, or even a whole week depending on the size of the house. Allow for breaks and devote one day to each room so you don't wear yourself out.
- We generally spend more time in the shared living spaces (kitchen, living room, dining room) than in the bedrooms: assign each of them a specific day on the calendar — better to do them thoroughly than too fast and by halves.
- The ABC of the big clean, as of everyday cleaning: always start at the top. In a house with several floors, begin on the highest level and work down; in an apartment, start at the far end and work towards the entrance.
The hall and the entrance corridor deserve particular attention: they give visitors their first impression of the home. Dust, air the space, brush, shake out the doormat and hunt down the least hidden cobweb.
Tidy, sort, throw out
- Clear out every room: one big trash bag, and you sort through the contents of each drawer, without hesitating to get rid of whatever is useless, unusable, superfluous or out of fashion.
- Store seasonal clothes folded in boxes, with lavender sachets or other moth repellents. Children's clothes that have become too small can be given to charities.
- Be ruthless in the kitchen: throw out cracked plates, chipped cups and clouded glasses.
- Back kitchen, garage, attic, cellar, laundry room: these storage rooms, often cluttered, also deserve their turn for dusting and sorting.
- Take down the curtains room by room to wash them, take them to the dry cleaner's, or steam-clean them — the same goes for duvets and bedspreads.
- Wash shower curtains in the machine, or wipe them with white vinegar using a large sponge.
- Put bath mats and small fabric rugs through the machine or the dry cleaner's; failing that, air them, beat them, sprinkle them with white clay (to absorb grease), then vacuum thoroughly or steam them.
- Clean fitted carpets with a special product, a vacuum cleaner or a steam appliance.
Cleaning every corner, room by room
Bathroom, toilet, shower rooms
- Scrape the mold off the joints, descale the faucets and make them shine.
- Pour a drain unblocker down the pipes as a preventive measure (or a baking soda/vinegar mix).
- Sort through medicines and cosmetics, and get rid of any that are out of date.
- Clean basins and bathtub with white vinegar (with a little dish soap and lavender essential oil added if needed).
- Clean the drainage pipes and the trash cans.
Kitchen
- Empty and defrost the fridge and freezer, then disinfect and deodorize them with spirit vinegar and baking soda.
- Degrease the oven, clean the extractor hood.
- Run the dishwasher empty to clean and deodorize it.
- Clean and disinfect the trash cans, empty and clean the drawers.
- Clean the toaster, run white vinegar through the kettle and the coffee maker.
- Check the expiry dates on food products.
Bedrooms
- Clean the mattresses to remove stains, dust mites and dust; check for dust bunnies under the beds.
- Air the bedroom for several hours and clean the headboards.
- Wash all the bed linen at 60 °C (or 40 °C depending on the fabric).
Every room
- Feather duster or microfiber cloth to dust, then the vacuum everywhere: baseboards, light switches, tops of doors and handles, radiators, shutters, blinds, hanging lights, tops of wardrobes, under the furniture, insides of cupboards and drawers.
- Windows and mirrors: water, a window squeegee and microfiber cloths, or a steam appliance.
- Finish with the mop.
Think also of the gate, the front steps and the façade: trimming the hedges, painting the shutters, stripping the façade, cleaning a roof overrun with moss, and inspecting for any leaks or cracks. Take advantage of this big clean to check for damp patches and get rid of them if necessary.
You always start at the top and work towards the far end: the golden rule, valid for the big spring clean as much as for everyday upkeep.
