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Spring cleaning tips to help you save time

July 2014

Summer sun and flower filled gardens have a habit of making you want to beautify the spaces inside your home too – spring clean anyone?

Though necessary, a spring clean can sometimes feel like a daunting task. To lend a helping hand, we’ve put together some tried and tested tips that’ll have your home looking picture perfect in no time at all – meaning you get to spend more time soaking up the great British sunshine.

1.   Plan your route and your rooms:

Make the spring cleaning process as efficient as possible by creating a check list of the rooms that you need to do. Starting at the top of the house, list each of your rooms, the order you’ll tackle them in and the jobs you need to make sure you’ve done before you can move onto the next room. Plan in time for breaks then start working your way through the list, you’ll quickly find that ticking off all of the stuff that’s been done is really quite satisfying – it’ll also make sure you never miss a bit!

2.   Let the sunshine and the fresh air in:

Natural light and fresh flowing air are your best friends when it comes to spring cleaning. Make sure that all of your windows are opened wide to help fresh air circulate around the home, wafting away any dust or musky smells. Tie back curtains and keep blinds open (or removed if they’re getting a cleaning too!) to let as much natural sunlight in as possible – it’ll help pick up any dust patches, stains or scuffs that you might not have seen otherwise.

3.   Don’t get distracted:

While having the television on in the background might seem harmless, there can be too much temptation to stop for five minutes to find out what’s happening in your favourite soap. TVs, mobile phones and computers all provide the potential for distraction which could mean that a one day job turns into a weekend session. Keep your phone out of sight and the TV turned off, but make sure you’ve got your music turned up – up-beat music will help to keep you motivated and dancing with the vacuum cleaner is much more fun.

4.   Gather your tools:

Save yourself from having to search for different cleaning products as you move from room-to-room by gathering everything you’ll need to complete your route (see point one) into a cleaning caddy. Marigolds? Check! Dusting cloths? Check! By keeping all of your products in one tidy, organised place – you can switch from spritz to scrub in a jiffy, it’ll probably save you a few trips up and down the stairs too!

5.   Get rid of the dust gatherers:

A spring clean is the perfect opportunity to de-clutter. As you’re working your way around the house from top-to-bottom, room-to-room, keep a bag for rubbish and a bag that you can fill with things that you no longer need but will be perfect for a charity shop. You’ll not want all of your hard work to be undone by dust gathering bits and bobs that no longer serve a purpose. Putting them to one side for someone else to love is therapeutic and it’ll help leave your rooms clean and de-cluttered.

There you have them, five handy hints to help make sure your spring clean is planned with precision to leave your Story Home looking tip-top without needing heaps of time.

Now put your feet up and relax, look around at your brilliantly clean Story Home and breathe a sigh of relief that it is all done. Now you can begin planning the housewarming!Spring Cleaning feature Image