The wintertime blues can make it difficult to get up and moving, but a home full of people living their lives won't stop generating messes to accommodate the doldrums. This can create a cycle of a messy house leading to a lack of motivation and repeat. To keep your home shining brightly in the long, dark nights, follow our tips for wintertime house cleaning.
1. Shift Your Schedule
Different times of the year bring changes in the patterns of life across the entirety of the animal kingdom, and humanity is no exception to the constant alteration of nature. When you go out for your morning jog, you could find the temperature has dipped from uncomfortable to frigid overnight and spend the first 10 minutes shivering to death. If it gets too cold in the morning for your daily exercise, you can shift your workout routine to the afternoon and spend the morning sprucing up around the house before work instead. Some quick, easy tasks you can tackle include:
- Washing and disinfecting wastebaskets: Your garbage cans are a haven for germs, so do yourself a favor and clean them out. Spray a 50/50 mixture of water and vinegar on the sides of the garbage can, then take a bristle brush and scrub to remove any residue. Rinse it out and let it dry.
- Washing and disinfecting toilet brush and holders: There are some simple solutions you can make to clean your toilet brushes and brush holders. You can mix one part bleach with six parts water, or a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water. Rinse each item first, then immerse it in a bucket of hot water with one of these solutions for a few hours. Rinse off the solution and you're all set.
- Turning over furniture and vacuuming underneath: The dust covers on your furniture are meant to collect those pesky dust bunnies. If they've been doing a good job, there is probably a good collection of dust hiding under your furniture. Vacuum it up to get rid of dust once and for all.
2. Take Advantage of the Sunny Days
Days in the winter are shorter, colder, and often wetter than those throughout the rest of the year. Every day that brings a spot of sunshine and clear skies should be considered a valuable resource. If you need to do work outdoors, watch for a beautiful day to take care of cleaning windows, siding, winterize your entryway and more.
3. Focus on the Interior
Because working outside will be difficult, it can help to focus your efforts on the interior of your home. On the days when cleaning the exterior is challenging because of the weather, you can still complete chores like cleaning out a rarely-touched closet or putting a sparkling shine on every surface in the kitchen. Focus on areas you rarely clean, and give your home a thorough spot inspection that would leave the strictest drill instructor proud of your work. Some cleaning projects to place at the top of your list are:
- Vacuuming your dryer vent: Lint buildup can create a fire hazard, so it's important to keep it clean. To do this, pull out your dryer as far as the pipe allows, disconnect it, and clean the outlet hole with a shop vac or regular vacuum hose. Then clean the vent pipe with a dryer snake cleaning tool, which you can get for about $15 to $20.
- Replacing the air filter. Your air filter is charged with keeping your air clean, but it won't be up to the task if it's already covered in dust. Ideally, you should change your filter once every three months. Check in with your HVAC contractor to find out what type and size of filter you need for your furnace.
4. Hire a Helping Hand
Even the cleanliest person can be overwhelmed by an ever-growing pile of trash, dishes, and other chores from a busy and lively household. For the diligent defenders of hearth and home in the Columbus, Ohio area who need the occasional sidekick, you can count on Two Men & A Vacuum for precision cleaning that will work with your schedule, your budget and your environment. For more details on the greenest and meanest (to dirt and grime) cleaning company in Columbus, check out our website and blog.