DIY Spring Cleaning and Reusing

It is finally spring and we are through with yet another winter! The first thing that comes to my mind when spring approaches is warmer days but also spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is currently a trend as many people are finding themselves without things to do at home. Like a lot of people, if you are also at home socially distancing from others, you can spend your time doing some cleaning and decluttering.

As a teenager, my mom and I used to work really hard when it came to spring cleaning. We’d clean all the wooden cabinets, all the dusty corners, cluttered drawers and closets, and wiping down all the walls in our house. Most importantly, we made our own spring cleaning products and supplies at home.

In this post, I will be focusing on how you can clean using everyday household items that don’t require you to travel to a store as often.

A great way to divide spring cleaning around the house is to divide it by each room. 

Living Room

Deep cleaning living rooms involves cleaning couches, floors, rugs, and wiping down surfaces that have accumulated dust on them.

A good recipe for a DIY carpet shampoo is:

• ½ cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide
• 4 tbsp white vinegar 
• 2 tsp non-bleach laundry detergent
• ½ cup of fabric softener

The carpet shampoo can be used for deep cleaning carpets and couches.

*Always be sure to test the product on your fabric in a small inconspicuous area first and check and follow manufacturer cleaning instructions.

Kitchen

Kitchen cabinets usually have grease collected on their surfaces. To combat the grease use a mixture of: 

• ½ cup lemon juice 
• 2 cups of white vinegar

Gently scrub the cabinets using a soft scrubby and an old toothbrush to get in the grooves.

To simply clean and polish your cabinets, use a mixture of 

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Apply the mixture using a rag or a cloth all over the wooden cabinets, rub, and clean. The mixture does need to be stirred frequently as the oil tends to separate from the vinegar and water.

*Always be sure to patch test your surface in a small inconspicuous area first and check manufacturer cleaning instructions.

To clean the dishwasher, scrub the bottom of the dishwasher using baking soda, a spray of white vinegar, and an old toothbrush. After, put some white vinegar in a bowl and place it on the top rack of the dishwasher and run the hottest cycle with the vinegar inside. Vinegar will do the work of disinfecting the dishwasher while removing any buildup of foods and bacteria.

Sinks can be cleaned by sprinkling baking soda all over them and a little bit of dish soap. Scrub the mixture all around the sink and faucet then rinse with hot water.

Bedroom

For my bedroom, I usually strip down all the sheets, pillow cases, and blankets and put them in the washer. I also wash my pillows then put a couple of tennis balls in the dryer with the pillows to fluff them up. 

As I keep my windows open most of the time, the rest of my room usually accumulates a lot of dust on my nightstand, dresser, headboard, fan, and light fixtures. If you have ever bought a commercial duster wand, and still have the handle you can make your own duster using fleece or flannel. I use this to dust all the dusty areas.

I started off by ripping my old flannel shirt and tying each piece on a handle that I kept.

Image of the duster halfway complete

This is what it finally looked like.  I used it to dust off my fans, and all the dusty areas in my room, it worked really great. Once it is extremely dirty, the pieces can be untied, washed and reused again.

The finished duster ready to be used

Lastly, I finish shampooing the carpet in my room and cleaning any glass or mirror surfaces with a glass cleaner and flyer papers or newspapers.

Bathroom

The bathroom is my favourite area to clean, I think because it is the smallest. I usually start by cleaning the sink and counter top with baking soda and dish soap. I sweep and mop the floors thoroughly. Now, to clean the tiles there are a lot of different homemade recipes you can use. I wanted to find a mixture that was non-toxic and still did the job well. Here is what I found:

• 7 cups of water
• ½ cup of baking soda
• ⅓ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup white vinegar

Put the mixture in a spray bottle, spray it all over the tiles and scrub using a scrubby and an old toothbrush and voila, grout is now clean. 

Besides all the cleaning, I also go around the house and declutter drawers and closets. Stuff that I have no use for anymore gets reused or recycled. 

Some examples of reused items are:

My mom sewed her own cushion covers from old bed sheets. 

DIY cushion covers from old sheets

This is an old project but a few years ago I turned my old bookshelf into a bench. It works great.

I turned my bookshelf into a bench

I would really encourage this season for everyone to get creative and work with the things you already have at home. It can be a challenge but there are a lot of resources on our Reuse-It blog and Pinterest page on reusing items to create something you need. Share your reuse creations and recipes in the comment section below!

Submission and photographs by Radhika (Volunteer)