Powered by Mom has been doing some Spring Cleaning!
It’s that time of year again where many of us start to get our spring cleaning done. There’s something about the nicer weather that motivates us to purge and get things organized and orderly. However sometimes it can seem like a lot to do all at once. Don’t sweat it take one thing at a time and it will get done and we can even offer you some tips sand tricks to help you step into spring and get organized.
One of the many reasons I love the community where we live is that each year we have a spring cleaning date where we can put out certain types of items and our city will take it away. However, that’s not the best part, everyone puts it out a few days beforehand so that so that people can go through it and take what they want and repurpose it. In fact I find that a lot of it disappears before the city comes to take it way.
You know what they say one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. We literally have people with trucks going through the neighbourhood loading up and it’s great to see. So if you don’t have the advantage of such a spring clean up in your area there are still so many things you can do to help you with your spring cleaning!
Here’s what our street looks like during the spring cleaning week:
The makers of Arm & Hammer™ would like to help make the whole process easier on you with these tips for getting everything from your kitchen, to your laundry, to your patio sparkling clean, all while saving you money!
- Make a list – Start by listing out every room of your house, without forgetting places like the utility room, laundry room, garage and closets. Then, think about cleaning tasks for each room. It’s satisfying to cross things off your list as you complete them.
- Work from the top down, inside to outside, to make sure you don’t get what you just cleaned dirty again.
- For clothes, do your washing in cold water. Using a detergent specially formulated for use in cold water like ARM & HAMMER™ Coldwater Laundry Detergent, not only gets out dirt and odours in low temperatures, but saves you money on your energy bill at the same time, compared to using hot water. At busy times like this when you’re likely doing multiple loads, it can make a big difference.
- Clean one room, or even one area of one room, at a time to avoid unfinished jobs. The satisfaction of seeing one room sparkle will make the hard work feel like it’s worth the effort.
One of the most powerful and effective kitchen cleaners available today can already be found in most Canadian households. Did you know that baking soda has more than 101 uses around the home and is inexpensive and can be used safely around the whole family? Here are just a few ideas to get you started:
- Keep your fridge smelling fresh all season long with odour-eliminating products such as ARM & HAMMER™ Fridge Fresh™. For best results, replace every three months. Helpful hint: change with the change of the seasons – like right now for spring! Baking Soda helps eliminate strong odours in both the fridge and freezer to help foods taste fresher longer.
- Instead of harsh chemical cleaners, use baking soda as natural and food-safe surface cleanser on your kitchen counters. Sprinkle it onto a damp sponge or cloth to wipe surfaces clean.
- To restore the shine in your sterling and silver plate serving pieces, make a baking soda paste with 3 parts ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda to 1 part water. Rub onto the silver with a clean cloth or sponge till tarnish disappears. Rinse thoroughly and dry for a sparkling clean shine.
- Before you pull out your patio furniture for the season, give it a thorough cleaning with baking soda. You can also keep your outdoor furniture fresh by sprinkling a little baking soda underneath cushions or inside the storage bag.
I do many of those tips already, having ARM & HAMMER™ Fridge Fresh™ is a must in my fridge, we always have one in their to keep it all smelling fresh!
What are some of your spring cleaning tips? Feel free to share we love your comments!
I’m a Church and Dwight Ambassador but as always all opinions are always 100% my own!
Deborah says
May 9, 2014 at 5:02 PMWow, I think it’s great that your town does the trash pick up day and that people put their stuff out early. The town my daughter lives in does that once a month. They don’t do that here.
I don’t really have any spring cleaning tips. I try to declutter year round and haul the stuff to the Goodwill.
Shirley Wood says
May 9, 2014 at 2:27 PMI don’t know where you are but that is super cool for the community to do! I wish we had that here.
Judith B says
May 9, 2014 at 1:32 PMWe have one too and I wait all year for it.
Lisa Palmese says
May 9, 2014 at 2:59 AMWhat Great Spring Cleaning Tips and Ideas.
I am doing that Now and will use some of yours!!
Thank You Very Much
Lisa
Marla Saddler says
May 7, 2014 at 7:35 AMGreat idea!
Deanna mancinideanna mancini says
May 7, 2014 at 12:47 AMWhen I lived bk home in jersey my friend lois and I would cruise around during spring “cleanup” week….it always amazed me what sime were throwing away…i picked up a full patio set,a gorgeous cedar trunk just to name a couple things…when I moved here to cali my neighbor inherited patio set and sister the cedar trunk 🙂
EJ (Jane) says
May 6, 2014 at 7:09 PMWow, I wish I lived in your neighborhood! If you have any information on how to start an endeavor like this please share. I would love to do this in my town.
cynthia grunden says
May 6, 2014 at 7:39 AMThese are some very great tips and ideas that I will be using as I am doing this in the next few weeks.
Debbie Epps Kennedy says
May 6, 2014 at 7:18 AMLove this idea!
Jennifer Hiles says
May 6, 2014 at 6:58 AMGreat tips! I still have a lot of Spring cleaning to do. Wow, I wish we had a clean up day like that. There are some really heavy things I’d love to dispose of but am not sure how. I love the tip about cleaning one room/one area at a time. I too often try to do too many things at once and end up with a disaster everywhere!
Barbara Riffe says
May 6, 2014 at 4:55 AMI love that people come by and pick up stuff and not let it go to landfield. We don’t have that option we have to load it up and drive a hour to good-will.
TEE WILLIAMS says
May 5, 2014 at 10:25 PMawesome idea! community clean up day, to show some support in your community
LeeAnn H says
May 5, 2014 at 9:43 PMI need to do some spring cleaning myself. My house is too small for the stuff I have. =(
Stacy Giacosa-Bauer says
May 5, 2014 at 8:30 PMI Love Spring Cleaning and getting it done before the kids get out of school! Every year all the homeowners in my neighborhood get to do their own garage sale at the end of May! Thank You for the chance to in
Julie Simpson says
May 5, 2014 at 12:33 PMI live in a townhouse so we don’t have that sense of community and its also right near campus so I just take a room at a time and being disabled I don’t collect things and don’t have a lot of furniture so it’s not do bad.
Anne says
May 5, 2014 at 9:23 AMI wish my town had a clean-up day. The closest it comes is its participation in a multi-town electronics collection, but there’s no chance to see what everybody else is giving up–you just drive up to their pick-up location and they take the stuff. Still, it’s free, which is better than bringing it to the town landfill, which charges for everything.
wheezi (Jeanne Jewett) says
May 4, 2014 at 9:44 PMI am moving at the end of August.. so spring cleaning is definitely the phrase for the season!
Jennifer Taft says
May 4, 2014 at 6:16 PMSpring cleaning pick-up day is an awesome idea! I love me some spring cleaning for sure!
Cher Garman says
May 4, 2014 at 10:15 AMThank you so much for the terrific Spring cleaning tips! I am going to get some baking soda now! And the clean-up date for the community is such a great idea. I think more communities should do this. It would make a huge difference!
Sarah Marynowich says
May 4, 2014 at 10:12 AMI love love looooove this idea! I always feel so guilty when I have to get rid of certain things in our home – usually they end up at as donations that I hope the facility accepts! I have been nesting like crazy lately, so I am going to have to give some of these ideas a try! Great post!
Mary Withrow says
May 3, 2014 at 7:27 PMOur spring clean is coming up in a few days and I had forgot until I seen your post! We make entirely to much trash, so I always try to recycle as much as possible
Laurie Nykaza says
May 3, 2014 at 6:47 PMGreat tips and I love cleaning with baking soda. My deep fryer needed to be cleaned and soap was not cutting it so I tried the baking soda made a paste and it took all of the grease off the inside of it. Nice to see people pick up items and repurposing them.
Kathy Lane says
May 3, 2014 at 6:39 PMI wish I could find the time to do some Spring Cleaning.I love the idea of letting people go through the stuff you put outside in your throw away piles.I hate to see stuff throwed away that somebody else might be able to use.
Ari T. says
May 3, 2014 at 6:22 PMIt’s nice that your community has set up the dates for everyone to put out unneeded items and even better that there’s a demand for items to refurbish! If you can’t recycle, reusing is the next best option as they say. I appreciate all the helpful tips on how to go about cleaning. I know that for me specifically, I have to do a little at a time so that I don’t end up burnt out from fatigue and the inevitable allergy attack that I will get from all the dust. I also appreciate the fact that less-toxic and harsh cleansers are not required as an A&H baking soda with water mixture makes for a great cleanser.
Christina A. says
May 3, 2014 at 5:30 PMI wish our town had the spring cleaning pickup date…that would be great!
I always wash our clothes in cool water to save energy and it works just fine! 🙂
Shannon says
May 3, 2014 at 4:20 PMI have gone through a lot of my stuff, not necessarily in the Spring, and given it away to people on CL and Freecycle.
joann tompkins winborn says
May 3, 2014 at 4:18 PMI live alone and clean all the time so no real spring cleaning for me!
sheri anderson says
May 3, 2014 at 2:26 PMWow, don’t know if I’ve ever done Spring cleaning this thorough but thanks for the pointers, some great ideas here!
Kristy Franks says
May 3, 2014 at 11:32 AMThank you so much for the helpful hints I really love your site and your reviews
rain says
May 3, 2014 at 6:50 AMthat’s a really great idea. of course you get rid of things you don’t need but, you also might turn around and gain things you really don’t need…lol.
Powered by Mom says
May 3, 2014 at 11:01 AMlol Rain, nah I don’t go looking at what others have put out but yep I can see that happening
Christy Peeples DuBois says
May 3, 2014 at 5:51 AMThe list you provided is helpful in getting spring cleaning done. Thank you. The spring cleaning day y’all have is wonderful and it reminds me of one persons junk is another persons treasure in that others can repurpose. That is great.
Sherrie C. says
May 2, 2014 at 8:48 PMThanks for the helpful list. I wish we had a community cleanup day where were lived. What a great idea! Tomorrow I’m going through my garage and getting rid of tons of stuff that’s been building up over time. Next it will be the house. Lots of work but has to be done 🙂
Rita Spratlen says
May 2, 2014 at 7:55 PMI love this. I love that people can come get it and use it if they want. Such a wonderful idea! I have seen where a lot of the stuff goes at the Goodwill. If people knew it ended up in bins and thrown out. I just see so much waste in our society where we should be able to help our people in need.
millieoja says
May 2, 2014 at 6:06 PMWow that looks like my house we to doing house cleaning
Virginia Rogers says
May 2, 2014 at 3:48 PMGreat cleaning tips. Love the Arm n Hammer tip. But especially like the comment of one man’s junk can be someone else’s treasure. So many people do not think and throw so much in the garbage that someone else could be using.
Wanda Tracey says
May 2, 2014 at 9:58 AMI love the idea of how you put things out a few days before community clean up day.I know many colledge kids who are looking for ways to get things that are still useful and they go around to collect things.It really helps them out.Way to go! You have the spirit!
rochelle haynes says
May 2, 2014 at 9:11 AMI hate to clean
Bridgett says
May 2, 2014 at 5:29 AMI really need to do this!
Candy Kelley says
May 1, 2014 at 8:30 PMWe do this every year and donate what we can and rummage of the rest always keeps things clutter free on a yearly basis and leaves room for cleaning.
lisa says
May 1, 2014 at 2:27 PMWe also have a community clean up day.The only thing I don’t like about it are the people that come through with pick up trucks and root through the trash.