Spring Cleaning - Tips and Ideas for Non Toxic Cleaning
Hello friends and hello S P R I N G!
The first day of official spring isn’t until March 19th, but let’s be real here, friends. It’s been warm and sunny in Houston since late February and thus, we have spring.
I’m low on free time right now and pulled an old post from the archives about spring cleaning. I have a list of things I want to organize and clean in my home room by room but that just hasn’t happened this year yet because LIFE is always surprising me. Hopefully soon I will start the room-by-room deep cleaning and purging of any unused things that can be donated.
I try to keep my home as non toxic as possible when it comes to cleaning and I am an avid Norwex lover. We have been using it since 2019-ish and haven’t looked back. It’s enzyme based and non toxic, plus most of the cleaning is done with their patented BacLock microfiber that removes up to 99% of bacteria with just water. You will see Norwex referenced quite a bit below after I list off things to clean.
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Now, let’s take a look.
I tend to clean as I go daily. I like to keep my place organized and tidy so I do things like make my bed every morning and wipe down the kitchen counters and bathroom sink every day. It is rare that I will leave a mess behind when I leave the house, but of course nothing is impossible. There's just something that triggers me to straighten up or put this or that away - it only takes a few seconds to leave the area tidy.
I tend to just clean things as I notice them too, like the restroom or vacuuming so there's no true schedule there for the most part and we do have a housekeeper that comes every week to every two weeks for a deeper clean.
My top spring cleaning rituals are:
1) Clean out your closets - ALL OF THEM. Get to it. Pull all of the junk out of there and make a donation pile. It is time to part ways with things you haven't used in years, have forgotten you even owned, and give up the mantra that you don't want to have to buy it again one day so you'll just store it. This goes for clothes, accessories, shoes, and any other household item. All of it! Having clutter, even unseen clutter tucked away in the closet, can feel burdensome.
2) Clean out your garage. Temporary storage turns into a graveyard of unused items. Lighten the load of clutter by donating what is in good condition and tossing the rest. Get large storage bins to store things in organized groups of items like holiday decor, Christmas lights, yard items, or rarely used tools.
3) Clean out every drawer in your house. I mean it. Toss the extra, mismatched socks and dingy undergarments with holes in them that you hope no one sees. Snagged or frayed clothes? Get them fixed or donate them. Clothes that don't fit well anymore? Donate them. Expensive yet unused items? Sell them. The kitchen junk drawer? Buy a drawer organizer and get rid of the junk.
Business cards? Enter them into your email contacts and toss them. Loose batteries? Store them in the Battery Daddy. Old books you won't read again? Sell them or donate them. Loose papers? File them or shred them. Old files? Scan them into an electronic file and shred them. Most documents are accepted as an electronic version now anyway so review what you actually need to keep original paper versions of and scan the rest. If you don't have a scanner at home, there are free phone apps that will do the job just fine.
You'll feel a million times better being clutter free. Now that you're more organized you can start the real cleaning! I like to start from the top down...
4) Dust off the fan blades and blinds. Dust/vacuum/wash your curtains. Once the dust settles, dust the rest of the furniture but make sure to dust underneath and behind items like your entertainment center, DVD player, etc. where you normally don't look. You'll be surprised how much dust is underneath and behind it. After that wipe down the baseboards. Norwex has amazing items for dusting like microfiber dusting mitts, bendable (washable and renewable) dusting wands perfect for fan blades and baseboards, and the Envirocloth.
5) Change out the air conditioner filters.
6) Next I would suggest taking things out of the cabinets to wipe down the inside of the cabinets...especially the kitchen and pantry. While the items are pulled out of the cabinets and pantry, toss any expired food items as well as any unmatched Tupperware. While you're in the kitchen, give your refrigerator a good wipe down too! Norwex has incredible microfiber cloths with their patented BacLock for various parts of the kitchen such as one for stainless steel, for counters, for windows, plus kitchen towels and dish towels, etc. They also have various enzyme based, non toxic cleaning products for the home.
7) Now you can move on to the easier parts like cleaning all of the windows and mirrors in your home. These Norwex window cloths will blow your mind. Streak free with just water!!
8) Wash all of the sheets and towels. Fresh bedding just feels good. The Norwex laundry options will forever be my essential go-to for laundry. A little goes a long way and the products last forever. Plus, their sheets are soooooo silky soft. The sheets are moisture absorbing and have the BacLock antimicrobial technology.
9) Clean your bathrooms top to bottom. Scrub down your shower tiles, tub, and sink. I'd suggest using gloves and getting out an old toothbrush to really clean out the grout. Norwex has some powerful cleaning products for calcium and rust (descaler), a bathroom cleaner, a probiotic cleaner, an all purpose cleaning paste, a powerful cleaning paste, and more. They also have non toxic hand soaps and laundry options that double as cleaning solutions when mixed with water.
10) Vacuum thoroughly and mop. This means, move the smaller furniture that you can and use the long vacuum nozzle to reach underneath and behind heavier furniture. We've stirred up a lot of dust by this point and you want to get it all! The surprising thing I’ve learned is my “top of the line, very expensive” vacuum does not pick up all of the dust. During renovations I could vacuum and them dry mop and damp mop with my (AMAZING) Norwex mop attachments and just water and still pick up dust!
*If you’re interested in converting your home to non-toxic, chemical free products then please reach out to Jessica and she can help point you to the right items you need!
*If you’re interested in learning multi-purpose tips and tricks for your Norwex, or want to learn more about the company and products Norwex then join her VIP page on Facebook where she shares information daily. I suspect there will be a spring cleaning type of challenge again and I find the VIP page to be so helpful to continue learning what my Norwex items can do - and I’m constantly learning something new. As a VIP there are a LOT of perks, from seasonal clubs for freebies, to Mystery Host events, to frequent games and challenges for giveaways. If you are ready for her VIP treatment, click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theHEALTHYclean
*To shop her small business, click here: https://www.norwex.com/?r=mbsuejq&s=jessicabrittain&store=us And to hear a little more about Norwex or scan the catalogs, shop her site, see what rewards you would get for hosting this month, click here and scroll the list: https://linktr.ee/VIPtheHEALTHYclean
What are your spring cleaning rituals? Are there things that you target around the house that would be helpful for the rest of us to work on? Comment below!
XOXO
