Your family has tracked snow and salt through your house with careless abandon. You pulled off a marathon Christmas cookie-baking session that your kitchen still has not recovered from. The entire family has spent an inordinate amount of time indoors, and your house shows it.
But within weeks it will be time to start anew; plants will begin peeking through the slush, you will be frantically looking for the lightweight jackets you shoved into the back of the closet last October, and you will be hoping against hope that the foil-wrapped lump in the back of your fridge is not the turkey your mother-in-law sent home with you on Thanksgiving.
It can all be too much to face; and besides, didn’t “spring cleaning” go out with our fabled apron-wearing mothers?
Say hello to a whole new era of spring cleaning, one where the long term effects of our scouring and disinfecting on the environment is considered; where the concepts of “organizing” and “de-cluttering” are de rigueur, and where not many of us want, or are even able, to spend one cent more than we absolutely have to in order to get our homes into shape. Welcome to Spring Cleaning 2010.
As with most challenging tasks, simply getting started may be your biggest hurdle. Dr. Cindy Voelz, a psychologist with New Perspectives Counseling Services in Westminster, has some advice on how to make spring cleaning less intimidating:
“When tackling any big project,” she said, “it is always helpful to break it into smaller, more manageable jobs. For example, cleaning the house could be broken down into cleaning specific rooms.”
Dr. Voelz also prescribes promising yourself a treat when you finish, such as going out to see a movie.
Okay, Now that you are psyched up, you will probably want to begin with the basics, which will lead to your next conundrum: Should you hire a cleaning company or do it yourself? Most cleaning companies offer a “one-time” spring cleaning, but prices will vary. Paula Dills Friedrich of The Cleaning Authority says, “The fee is determined by the size and condition of the home.” Dawn Fiscella, of Immaculate Clean points out that homeowners can expect to pay anywhere from $160 to $500, but an initial walk-through should always be free.
If you do elect to do it yourself, here is what Peg Holcroft, of All Things Possible recommends:
“Spring is a great time to tackle those cleaning tasks that don’t get done during your routine cleaning.” That can include washing baseboards and woodwork, removing and cleaning vent covers, cleaning light fixtures and ceiling fans and washing curtains and windows.
“It’s nice, said Fiscella, “to have the interior of the oven and refrigerator cleaned out, removing all the grime from the holidays.”
Should you consider “green cleaning?” Is it worth it? More and more companies are offering special “green cleaning” services. Rachelle Strauss, author of Household Cleaning: Self Sufficiency (Skyhorse Publishing, New York, NY), says that not only are natural products better for the environment, they can, contrary to popular belief, be cheaper. She maintains that when you purchase cleaning products, you are mostly paying for the packaging.
“Green cleaning can be less expensive than buying conventional products,” she said. “Using white vinegar, baking soda and lemons couldn’t be more frugal.”
After you have finished pondering your product options, your next step might be to take a hard look at your dusty air ducts.
Duct cleaning, said Rob Ward, from Dirty Duct Cleaning by L&T, “ÉCan help eliminate indoor air pollutants such as dust mites, mold, mildew, animal dander, and smoke that continue to circulate throughout your house and build up.”
That is the kind of job, said Ward, that homeowners should not do themselves. “They should have a professional do it who is trained and has the proper equipment.”
Expect to pay between $300 and $700 for duct cleaning, but do not let the cost scare you – “Once completed they should be good to go for 5 to 7 years,” he said.
Dave Schneider, of T&D Duct Cleaning, reminds us not to forget another important area: the dryer vent, which can decrease the efficiency of your dryer, and even be a fire hazard. If your dryer hose is only a few feet long, cleaning it can be a do-it- yourself job, but for longer vents, you will want to call in a professional.
When it comes to carpet cleaning, Brian Ward, from Heaven’s Best Carpets, also recommends professional cleaning. Do-it-yourself shampooing, he said, involves harsher chemicals that are hard on carpets.
“Ours are very environmentally friendly, and we also clean with low-moisture. The do-it-yourself machines can over-saturate your rugs,” he said.
Ward’s service charges 31 cents per square foot. You can have your carpet cleaned for less, he said, but his company vacuums, cleans baseboards, spot cleans and grooms your carpets, which not all services do. For a machine rental from a hardware store, you can expect to pay $20 a day and the cost of the rug shampoo.
Now that you have grappled with things indoors, it is time to venture outdoors and take on your faded gardens.
“It’s pretty simple,” said Ross Snell of Snell’s Greenhouses: “Basically it’s raking leaves and dead debris away from your beds, cutting back any dead foliage from last year, and putting down fresh mulch. But don’t mulch over perennials.” For quick color he recommends spring pansies.
Finally, spring cleaning is the perfect time to get rid of all that junk that seems to accumulate in your home throughout the year.
“A cluttered home is much harder to clean than an organized one,” said Friedrich.
“There are some people who have a very hard time letting go of their Ôstuff,’” said Dr. Voelz. “For those people it is helpful to have someone aid in the decision-makingÉ A trusted friend or relative might be able to helpÉ”
Which brings us back to where we started: those messy people who live with you. Who better to help with spring cleaning?
“Don’t forget the power of social support,” said Dr. Voelz. “Doing the project with someone whose company you enjoy makes completing the project much more fun!”
