Spring Time

During Winter, all you want to do is snuggle on the sofa under a blanket, with a cup of Tea and a good book. Now this is wonderful, but Spring is just around the corner and it's time to come out of hibernation London! And what's best to get you feeling in the mood? Spring Cleaning! It's time to pack away anything to do with Winter (yes the Christmas Tree should probably come down now) and get ready for the Sun, who hopefully remembers the UK this year.
Now we at NeighbourBlog HQ aren't exactly thrilled with the prospect of cleaning, so we've scoured the interwebby and asked all of our Mum's for tips on how to make it as pain free as possible. Here is what we found...

The Closet

We can already hear the sighs of woe. When you were younger it was Monsters in the Closet that terrified you, now as an adult it's the sorting of the clothes that terrifies you. But we promise this CAN be easy. But you must promise to stop being so attached to the mini skirt you bought at 18. We're all grown ups now. We can't wear it EVER again. Winter has been and gone though, so you aren't going to need the Jumper with the giant reindeer on the front are you? Take out all of your 'winter' clothes and clean them, then use your suitcases under the bed and put them in there until they're needed again. This will open up space in your closet for all of our wonderful summer outfits. Next, organise. Split your clothes into sections. Work, Beach, Everyday, Party. Stick to the sections and your life will become so much easier.

Throw, Throw, Throw

Do you REALLY need that fish in a sombrero from your Mexican holiday in 1999? No. You don't. It can be difficult to part with such things though, we do understand! But storage isn't the answer! Getting rid of old junk is actually amazingly liberating, plus you can earn money from it too. 'Yard Sales' are huge across the pond in the USA. Your neighbours come and take a snoop at all the junk that has been living in your home then buy it! But you can also put things on eBay or Gumtree. 

Clean out the Fridge and Defrost the Freezer

Don't worry, we can and we will help you get through this task. As gross as it may be. That one time you tried to make Hummus and the Tahini Paste is still at the back of the fridge? Bin it! Clear the fridge, bin anything you know you won't use and take all the shelves out, give them a good scrub in the sink and disinfect your whole fridge. The freezer too is a good one to defrost, we all know that hidden microwave meal isn't going to get eaten. Be ruthless.

Deep Clean Carpets and Rugs

It's never a good sign when you have to move furniture to remember what colour your carpet is. You can easily rent a carpet cleaner or hire a pro. You'll be amazed at how much cleaner the room will look just by doing this. Plus, it will smell awesome.

Clean the Curtains

The best way to do this is obviously a Dry Cleaners, but if you don't want to fork out then a steam cleaner is amazing at giving your curtains a new lease of life. You can pick them up pretty cheap now, splash out a little extra on the scented cleaner that you mix in with the water and it'll be so very worth it.

Replace Batteries

Go round and replace all the batteries in your Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide detectors, then test test test!

Use Back Up

Use your resources!! Make a game out of cleaning for the kids, things may not be top standard but you'll get through things much quicker.

Expired? Retired!

Your medicine cabinet could probably do with a good clear out too. Check the expiry dates on them and throw them out if they are even just a day out.

Do it Yourself

Spring is the perfect time to get on with the little things that have been bugging you since last year. If you aren't so handy you can always hire a pro. But there's nothing more satisfying that doing it all by yourself.

Refresh your Bed

We all know there's nothing better than freshly washed sheets. But do one better in Spring. Flip your mattress, give your bed frame a good clean, and buy some new sheets. Clean your mattress topper and your pillow covers too, when you get into bed that night you will be thanking NeighbourBlog. 

We hope our tips will make your Spring Clean a little less painful! Anything you think we missed? Let us know! Tweet us @NeighbourBlog and let us know your Spring Cleaning Hacks!

The NeighbourBlog Team