The quickest and cheapest spring clean – ever!

Money saving tips on your spring cleaning with a little help from Loans 2 Go…

Spring will soon be here and there will be the predictable articles on social media and in magazines about spring cleaning.

If spring cleaning feels like something that other people do but you don’t, read on…

Five benefits of spring cleaning

Even if you are not one of those people whose home always has to be perfect and pristine, spring cleaning is a really good idea. As well as making your home look its best, there are many other benefits to spring cleaning.

Five of these are:

It makes you fitter

Anything that gets you up on your feet rather than sitting in a chair is good for your heart; and many cleaning activities, such as vacuuming, can burn up calories without you even realising it.

It makes your home healthier

Deep cleaning your home will get rid of dust, dirt, germs and bacteria that can cause or worsen a variety of illnesses.

It makes your home safer

Making sure there are no obstacles, tripping hazards, or small items to stand on makes your home safer and more accessible for everyone.

It alleviates stress

When your home is full of mess, clutter and unfinished projects you can begin to feel stressed and anxious; unable to relax.

It lifts your mood

If your home is neat and clean you feel comfortable and happy being in it, and have the space to relax and unwind. You will also sleep better.

Five ways to save money on spring cleaning

This all sounds great, but one of the things that puts many people off spring cleaning is the cost of cleaning products. It seems like you have to spend a small fortune before you can even start to think about the cleaning itself.

But this is not the case.

Many simple cleaning jobs can just be done with a cloth and warm water. So don’t feel that you always have to use specific cleaning products. There are also many natural household products that you can use for cleaning.

Here are five of our favourites:

Bicarbonate of soda

Bicarbonate of soda is a very versatile mild abrasive that will clean to a shine without scratching. Ideal for use on a variety of surfaces, including kitchen and bathroom.

Vinegar

Vinegar is great as a window cleaner and also a good all-purpose cleaner for surfaces and floors. For best results mix 1 part vinegar with 1 part water then just clean the surface as normal.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is really good as a natural bleach and also for cutting through grease. So it makes an effective and freshening cleaner for the kitchen and bathroom.

Castile Soap

Castile soap is made with olive oil and has no animal fats or synthetic substances. Diluted castile soap makes an excellent all-purpose cleaner and neat soap is brilliant at removing grease and stains. It is available from many supermarkets, chemists and health food stores.

Essential Oils

Different essential oils can be used for a wide variety of cleaning uses. For example, orange oil and pine oil are excellent natural floor cleaners, cinnamon oil and pine oil are both effective against mould, and thyme oil’s natural antibacterial properties work well on kitchen surfaces and chopping boards. And they all make your home smell wonderful too!

How to save time on spring cleaning

So by now you hopefully have the motivation and materials needed to spring clean, but – let’s be honest – you don’t want to spend days doing it!

So here are eight of the main things that you need to do in your spring clean. We reckon that each one will take around an hour. So one person could do them all in a day or – much better – a team of people could do them all in super fast time. Why not team up with family and friends and you could spring clean a whole house in half a day, then enjoy a victory celebration afterwards!

Many spring cleaning plans focus on one room at a time, but we reckon that a task-based approach is much quicker. The key thing is not to waste any time, so if you are unable to finish one task – for example waiting for something to dry – then move onto another one: