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Six Surprising Spring
Cleaning Tips
(ARA) – Most of us have our spring cleaning routines – research
shows that more than 60 percent of Americans engage in seasonal
cleanup of their homes. While you’re packing away winter clothes,
washing the windows and sweeping behind appliances, you may want to
consider some “outside-the-box” tasks.
Here are six tips for a more creative spring cleaning agenda:
1. Declutter. Spring heralds the start of garage sale season. But
don’t limit your decluttering to the usual areas – garage, basement
or attic. Tackle the task throughout your house. Clutter in your
living space – from mail spilling onto your kitchen counter to
unused or nearly-depleted shampoos, cosmetics and body scrubs in
your bathroom – has a bigger impact on your life than what’s packed
away in the crawl space. Cut clutter in every room of the house.
Divide clutter into boxes marked “keep,” “donate” or “throw out.”
2. Clean up your home computer hard drive. Shockingly few people
perform what should be routine computer maintenance – from
defragmenting to spyware detection. Make sure you’ve downloaded and
installed all available updates for the software you use most. Check
virus software subscriptions and definitions to ensure they are up
to date. Archive important data and delete old, unused or
unimportant files.
3. Gather up spare change throughout the house. Most of us have a
family change jar, but we also tend to leave change throughout the
house. Collect change from under the sofa cushions, empty the change
jar, and pick up that stack of loose coins from the laundry room.
Coinstar estimates that the average American household has about $99
in spare change floating around. Why not use that cash to reward
yourself for cleaning? Coinstar offers free coin counting at select
supermarket locations when you put that change on a gift card such
as Amazon.com, Starbucks, Pier1 Imports or Borders. To find a
Coinstar location, visit www.coinstar.com.
4. Take care of your indoor landscape. The houseplants you regularly
water could use a dusting off. To clean leaves, place the entire pot
in a bathtub and use a hand sprayer (or your hand) to lightly shower
dust off the plant. Give artificial plants or flowers a brisk shake
outdoors. Tidy indoor water features – from tabletop or wall
fountains to fish tanks – according to the manufacturer’s
instructions.
5. Clean up your music collection. Anyone with even a modest-size
collection has CDs separated from their cases, cases without
jackets, scratched discs, damaged audio tapes and cassettes without
cases. Gather it all together in one spot. Make stacks of unmatched
CDs, cases, tapes and jackets. Toss irreparable discs and tapes.
Match CD and cassettes with their cases whenever possible. Separate
the music you listen to on the road and use a carrying case to help
keep discs and tapes organized in the car. Organize music you listen
to at home and store in racks that fit your home’s décor and your
storage space.
6. Take care of the parts of your home that make summer enjoyable –
from the air conditioner to your outdoor grill. Have your central
air system serviced before it gets hot. Change filters in window
units. Clean and refinish your deck. Whip your gas grill into shape
using a wire brush and rust solvent to remove rust spots. Prime worn
spots with a heat-resistant paint.
Courtesy of ARA Content
If you are interested in more, please
check out our
Annual Preventative Maintenance
Program
and you won't have to worry about at thing. |
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