Hello and welcome back to the blog!
Today we will be uncovering the obscure and random areas in your home that you just MIGHT be overlooking when it comes to cleaning. Of course, if you have limited time, I always recommend a surface clean of your bathroom and kitchen, as well as a general declutter and a vacuum, but today, I wanted to go a little further for those of us who are looking to add just that EXTRA level of cleanliness to our homes.
Enjoy!
1. Baseboards
These need dusting. And I will say it again for the people in the back, but BASEBOARDS NEED TO BE DUSTED. They can get so yucky even though we don't even touch them! Dust, dirt, and even pet hair will accumulate on these bad boys, and honestly, dirty baseboards can bring down the entire ambience of your home if you're not careful! A nice white baseboard can look especially ridiculous if they're not dusted on a regular basis, and yes, I am going to be giving mine a run over with a damp cloth after closing my laptop and finishing this blog post LOL.
My Dutch grandma and aunts would always task one of their children or grandchildren to take a damp cloth and dust the baseboards, but don't forget the window sills too while you're at it! These small details can make all the difference. Try to do this once a month.
2. Your washer needs WASHING
I know this might sound crazy, but your washing machine needs to be washed. No, you don't need to run bleach through it, and you don't need to take a cloth to it! There is a simple and eco-friendly solution: EcoSwirlz washer cleaner tablets!
Of course this point is inspired by the lovely company EcoGals, who has graciously sponsored today's VLOG, but you know that I like to check products out before I recommend them to ya'll, and seriously, I love these. Since using these tablets, I have noticed that we are no longer dealing with wacky and weird moldy washer smells! Even if you keep the lid on your washer propped open to avoid mildew, you should still be giving it a good clean once a month. You just pop in a tablet, run a cleaning cycle, and are good to go! Honestly, I cannot wait until they come out with dishwasher tablets too, because I love a good eco-friendly and safe product. Check out their product on Amazon, you won't regret it!
3. Inside your DRAWERS
Yes, this might be weird, because no one will really see these, but your drawers and cupboards need a good clean out. Weird crumbs and stains can form in your drawers, making your utensils dirty. We all know the horror of opening a kitchen drawer in a college house just to find weird oil and grease stains coating all of the cooking utensils. Nasty.
Take a Saturday once a season to empty out your cupboards and drawers in your kitchen and bathroom to give them a good wipe down and to vacuum out all the extra crumbs, dirt, or hair that has gathered. You will be so happy you did.
4. Lamps and light fixtures
Dust and clean out all your lamps and light fixtures! Vacuum out those cobwebs or even take a damp cloth to the bases of these fixtures. But remember to never touch a lightbulb with a damp sponge or cloth as it will burst! I learned that hard way and I am SO thankful that the Lord protected my eyes from getting shards of lightbulbs in them. What a nightmare.
But honestly, the bases of lamps, or even the outlets and plugs can get kind of dirty and dusty in any home. Tidying these up will make everything feel just a little more elegant and fresh.
5. Your storage areas
Vacuum out the floors of your storage rom and closets, and make sure you don't have anything strange growing or happening behind them. My storage areas tend to get weird tumbleweeds of dog hair in and around the items, and it is honestly unbearable to go barefoot inside my downstairs storage room when I have not vacuumed it out.
Just because guests don't see these places doesn't mean you shouldn't clean them! Keep these areas tidy and everything you are storing will last much longer. Try to take everything out of the area, vacuum the floor, and even wipe down the buckets and tubs you use to store things. Take extra time to reorganize before you finish, and then give yourself a high-five for a job well done!
In total, we have so many areas of our homes that tend to go unnoticed and under-cleaned. Take an extra Saturday every other month to really clean out those extra areas, and you will have WAY less cleaning to do when it comes time for a deep Spring clean!
xoxo,
Cait
Great post! Thanks for all these reminders to clean the hidden and overlooked places in our homes. 🥰