Is Your Home Ready for Spring?

If we spend winter in our warm and cozy nest, then the first rays of spring sun bring awakening and a different mood – we want to enjoy fresh air and sunshine and draw new energy from it. Also, our home longs for at least a thorough refresh, if not a complete renovation.

The spring sun creates a pleasant sense of anticipation, but it is also merciless, clearly highlighting all the spots and dust that have accumulated on less frequently cleaned surfaces and which went unnoticed in the winter darkness. The first thing you notice when looking out of the room towards the sun is the winter-dusty and refresh-needing window. Actually, you'd want to carry out a spring refresh throughout the entire home.

So what exactly should you do to make spring feel welcome?

• Let the sunlight into your room! With above-zero temperatures, it's the right time to do a thorough window cleaning, because dirty windows let through less light and the sun's rays bring all the dirt into view. Don't wash exterior window panes in frost or when the sun is shining directly on them: moisture will freeze on the glass and in the seals; in sunny weather, washing water dries quickly and leaves streaks on the window panes. Before washing the panes, you should clean the window sills and ledges. Use a microfiber cloth for window cleaning, which easily removes dirt and doesn't leave streak marks on the window.
• Wash curtains and clean vertical blinds. Heavy winter curtains could be replaced with lighter ones in brighter and cheerier tones.
• Take your carpets to the laundry or dry cleaning. A vacuum cleaner won't get all the dirt out of carpets, and before spring arrives, it's the right time to have them cleaned more thoroughly.
• Make room in your closets! There's no point in keeping old clothes or things you haven't used in ages. If your home has too many things, it's hard to relax. Winter clothes and boots, skis and skates can now be stored away. Better yet, take items you no longer need to a recycling center or shelter.
• Wash the winter out of your pillows, comforters, and bedding too! You'll rest better yourself in a clean and fresh bedroom. Wash bed linens in at least 60-degree water and if possible, hang them outside to air.
• Clean doors and walls. Wallpapered walls are cleaned with a vacuum cleaner or a soft dry cloth, painted walls with a damp cloth. The darker the wall is painted, the less it tolerates vigorous cleaning.
• Clean your refrigerator and kitchen cabinets. Also throw away dry goods and other unnecessary items that have exceeded their shelf life.
• Dust shelves and also hidden places, such as the tops of cabinets and light fixtures. Bring cheerful colors into your room, buy, for example, a brightly patterned tablecloth for the dining table.
• Bring new life to your room – buy spring potted flowers for the windowsill or a new green houseplant for the cabinet. Sow herb seeds and grow your first culinary herb on the windowsill!

Article source: Arco Vara