Miscellaneous Monday: Spring Cleaning-Start Slow its a Marathon not a Sprint

Hello all!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and if you were in the Midwest, I hope you had a chance to get outside on Sunday and enjoy the sunshine.  The warm weather definitely boosts my spirits but it also signals a time to start the annual spring clean out!  I have too little attention and time to tackle more than one room/project at once, so I like to start with something easy that has instant results:  cleaning your bed!

• Now is a good time to clean your bed linens, and not just your sheets!  Wash everything, including your comforter, and all duvet covers (for those of you who have one) and bed skirts.  If your washer is a normal size, don't try to jam your comforter in.  Head on up to your local laundry mat where they have oversized washers just for the purpose of cleaning large items.  If you don't have the time to sit at the laundry mat, some laundry mats have drop off service and may charge you by the pound for your items.

• Another easy way to freshen your bed is to flip your mattress.  Make sure all the sheets and mattress covers are removed and then flip your mattress, so the top is on the bottom.  Its suggested you flip your mattress every six months in order to provide even wear and keep your back feeling better as your mattress ages.  A quick note, don't use the handles on the sides of the mattress to lift it.  The side handles aren't that strong and were designed for positioning the mattress once it is in place on the box spring.

Image Courtesy of Photostock

• Before you flip your mattress and it is free of sheets and covers, give the mattress a quick vacuum. There is a lot of dust you may never notice, and the last place you want dust is in your bed.

• Are your pillows getting stinky?  If you spent more than the average price on your pillows and don't want to part with them, read the care labels on the pillows before washing.  Depending on what the fabric is will dictate how to wash them, and how to dry them.  If you have pillows stuffed with polyester or down, you can throw them in the washing machine.  Just make sure you balance the load by putting in two pillows and run them on the gentle cycle.  You can place the pillows in the dryer and use a few tennis balls to keep them poofed up.

• Once you have washed your sheets and your extra sheet set you have to fold everything.  One of the most annoying tasks is figuring out how to fold a fitted sheet (the sheet with the elastic corners).  I could attempt to explain how to accomplish a square fold on a fitted sheet, but suggest you follow the advice of Martha Stewart, complete with photos.

Photo Courtesy of Suat Eman

Have you started cleaning your apartment/house yet?  What task do you do to make your place feel spring clean?

Looking forward to a lovely Tuesday!