Welcome to Little Lake County’s Green Guide to Spring Cleaning Series, where we will share our favorite green cleaning tips, ways to simplify your home, and ideas for the kids to help. Follow us room by room to transform spring cleaning from a dreaded annual chore to a healthy and productive family activity.
Spring Cleaning – The Bedroom
The focus of our bedroom cleaning is definitely to simplify. While wet cleaning rules the kitchen and bath, cleaning out the closets is the big task here. I really try to take an objective look at everything and ask two important questions:
- What purpose does it serve? (or not as the case may be)
- Where does it make sense to keep it?
Season Swapping
While it’s still chilly, very soon, you can drag out those spring and summer clothes and put away the winter ones. But don’t commit any closet or storage space to clothes that your little ones have grown out of. Donate or set aside for a garage sale.
Wardrobe Parsing
Take a real objective look at your wardrobe. Does it fit? Does it flatter? Have you worn it in the past year? I have friends who flip their hangers around, only turning them the right way after wearing the item. At the end of the year, get rid of anything that is still hung backward.
Linens
Do you really need to keep all those old linens lurking in your closets? How many guests do you really have in any given year? Cut old worn sheets into cleaning rags and donate the rest. Many animal rescues will take old blankets, sheets, even towels.
Carpets
Sprinkle baking soda over your carpet before vacuuming – great at getting rid of odors. For spot-treating spills or stains, use my homemade all-purpose cleaner.
Wood Furniture
You can also make your own non-toxic wood polish using any oil (I like coconut or olive oil) and some lemon juice. The oil enriches your wood while the lemon juice cleans it. Depending on the job, your ratios will vary. Clean wood that needs a polish should use a 3:1 ratio of oil to lemon juice. For wood that needs more cleaning, reverse the ratio. Experiment to see what works best for you, but remember that the lemon juice’s acid can dissolve pre-existing wax. If you need a more detailed recipe, check out the DIY recipe from Lemons, Lavender, & Laundry.
Extra credit
Looking to add some green to your bedrooms? After all, you do spend a large portion of your day sleeping or at least trying to sleep, as the case may be. Consider buying a toxin-absorbing plant. A few easy to find varieties include spider plant, peace lily, and dracaena. Put one in each bedroom (possibly on a high shelf as many of them can be toxic to pets) and breathe a little cleaner while you sleep.
Put the kids to work.
My (almost) five year old can mostly clean her own bedroom and then help her brother clean his. And don’t even get me started on the fights over who gets to use the vacuum. I also have them help me parse through clothes and toys, although it can be hard for them to let go of favorites at times.
Find our full Spring Cleaning Series:
By Kristy K.
Round Lake
Kristy is the mother of two young children, who join in her quest for unique restaurants, fun places to play and a little personal sanity in the process. She does her best to teach her children healthy habits, kindness, compassion and a love of nature while also learning that sometimes we need to let go of our ideals in the name of fun.
Leave a Reply