Out with the dirt, in with spring: A guide to cleaning your home for a fresh start

Spring is finally here! And with a brand new season, comes the perfect excuse to freshen up your homes. Windows, floors, and clutter may get all the attention, but we're advocating for paying a little extra attention to those often overlooked spots throughout your space. We've curated a guide just for you. So here are some easy organizing tips and must clean areas you might neglect during other seasons. We present to you, our Goods guide to spring cleaning:

Throw your pillows in the dryer

Throw pillows often get forgotten about when tidying up around the house. You snuggle with them all winter, but they never seem to get a deep cleaning. To freshen them up, simply throw them in the dryer under the hottest setting with a tennis ball or two. This will make them fluffy again, get rid of bacteria and dust mites, and bring them back to life!

Shampoo those area rugs

It's also important to get out the residue that's carried into your home from winter in your carpets, like salt, dirt, and dust. If your carpets are in need of special care, send them out to get professionally steam cleaned. Otherwise, consider investing in a shampoo machine for rugs and carpets to give them a deep clean when needed.

Disinfect your home

Spring cleaning is a great time to tackle surfaces you may not regularly think to clean, like your door knobs and light switches – and they should not be ignored! The best way to clean is with disinfecting wipes, or you can make your own disinfecting solution at home. 

Here's what you'll need:

• Water
• Rubbing alcohol
• Spray bottle

Here's how to do it:

1. Mix four parts water to one part rubbing alcohol into spray bottle.

2. Spray on light switch and wipe with microfibre cloth.

3. Start with the outside of your home. Begin with the front door knob, then walk through your entryway and do your closet handles. Continue throughout your home in the same manner until you've disinfected those high-traffic, but easy to forget surfaces. Use cotton swabs for the tight areas you might encounter.

Refresh your mattress

We spend a third of our life on our mattresses, so they are definitely due for a refresh in the spring. The bed is actually one of the dirtiest object in our bedrooms – researchers found that our bedding that is anywhere from 2 to 20 years old can contain between 4 to 16 different species of fungus! This is definitely not helpful for allergy sufferers. Just a friendly reminder to rotate your mattress seasonally. To help you remember which corner goes where, put a sign on the side according to seasons. Once the mattress has been rotated, it's time to refresh it! All you need is baking soda.

Here's how to do it:

1. Sprinkle baking soda onto the mattress. Baking soda neutralizes both acids and bases, so it actually eliminates odours rather than just covering them up

2. Leave it on for at least 8 hours. But if you can handle it, sleep on the couch for one night to give it a full 24 hours.

3. Vacuum the baking soda off the mattress. So fresh!

Deep clean the showerhead

If your shower head is clogged and dirty, you may not be getting as clean as you want to be. So here's how to banish grime, mildew and bacteria buildup.

Here's what you'll need:

• Vinegar
• Water
• Resealable plastic bag
• Elastic band
• Paper towel

Here's how to do it:

1. Mix part white vinegar in resealable plastic bag.

2. Add 2 parts water to the bag.

3. Place bag around showerhead and immerse the showerhead in liquid.

4. Wrap bag closure around the head and wrap an elastic band to secure it. Soak overnight.

5. In the morning, remove the bag.

6. Give the showerhead a quick wipe with a damp paper towel if needed, and jump in!

This method can work for all faucets around the house including in the kitchen or laundry room. You can even remove all your faucets and do this as a batch in a well ventilated area.

Clean and organize your fridge

For a very thorough spring clean, take everything out of your fridge and give it a thorough scrub with very hot soapy water. Wear rubber gloves so the water can be extra hot!

While you're ridding your fridge of grime and bacteria, make sure to toss out expired stuff. When it's time to repack your fridge, here are our tips to help keep it organized.

Create an "eat me first" bin. Food that is close to expiring or needs to be consumed soon goes straight into the bin. This will make it much easier to reduce food waste and save money. While you're at it, create a scraps container too. Throw all your leftover peels and ends into a labelled container, store them in your freezer, and use them when you're ready to make soup broth.

If you have leaky sauce bottles, or want to store your bottles upside down, all you need to reduce the mess is an egg carton. Cut the carton to size and then pop it in your fridge door. If you have condiments that need to be stored upside down, simply put them onto an egg carton liner, too so they don't leak onto fridge shelves.

Have you ever seen a more organized freezer? Use file folder holders you'd find in a standard office to keep boxes and freezer items organized and stop them from collapsing onto each other.

Many people don't even know that this part of their fridge exists, so it's important to give it some much needed TLC. Excess water from your freezer flows through the drain pipe as it defrosts and empties into the drip pan or drip tray. Generally, the water evaporates quickly, but sometimes it sits and leads to bacteria and mould developing. The good news is that it's simple to clean – just turn your fridge around, unplug it, and remove the pan which is likely located near the bottom of your fridge. Take it out and wash it with very hot soapy water in the kitchen sink, or rinse it and just toss it into your dishwasher. Just be sure to dry it before popping it back in.

As dust builds up, the lifespan of your fridge is reduced by a factor of ten years or more. To prevent this, unplug your fridge, get behind it, and clean out the coils every year or so. Simply vacuum them using the crevice attachment. Easy!