Instead of wasting the gorgeous
springtime, scrubbing down the shower walls or organizing those mismatched
Tupperware, save the sorting and buffing for winter (aka, the dreariest
season).
We’re forced to stay indoors and
face the facts — our house is a mess. So, as soon as temperatures start to drop,
grab your sponges, put on your favorite music, because this is the Winter Wipe
Down. Your house is no match for this year’s
wipe down; no surface will be left unsanitized and no closet unorganized.
Getting started:
Starting your Winter Wipe Down can be
stressful. There is so much to get done but you have no idea where to start. Take
your Wipe Down step by step.
What needs your attention most? Is
there something you’ve been meaning to get to this year but haven’t? Maybe the
linen closest looks like it exploded or the windows could use a little Windex
TLC. Pick one part of your home and
focus on making it as organized as you can.
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Living Room:
“Bins and baskets are my best
friend,” said Angela Jeroloman, a mother of two from South Blooming Grove.
“They’re perfect for quickly storing clutter when guests stop by during the
holidays.”
Home Goods has a variety of baskets in
all different designs and colors to ensure that you can store all that mess in
style. Set aside one basket for throw blankets for those chilly nights.
Take a look at the things in your
living room. What’s taking up the most space? Get rid of the old magazines that
sit untouched on your coffee table and replace them with holiday fragrance
candles.
Before your guests arrive for holiday
partying, pull out the couches and arm chairs and make sure to vacuum behind
those tough to reach spots. Don’t forget to reach floor and ceiling corners and
shampoo rugs and carpets.
Kitchen:
With the holidays, comes the food,
which means chances are you are going to be spending a lot of time in the
kitchen. Make sure all your Tupperware is organized, tops with their proper
bottoms, so you’re not searching in a rush for a matching partners when
leftovers need putting away.
Pull everything out of your pantry,
every can, every box, and see what’s expired or what can be donated to a food
pantry. Make note of the ingredients you already have at the same time so you know
your inventory before shopping for holiday dinner and dessert.
Nothing gets your guests’ appetite
going better than a clean and sparkly kitchen. Wipe down walls, backsplashes
and cabinets with a dampened cloth. Use a tooth brush and powdered cleaner to
scrub those tough-to-reach spots in the sink and rout out dirt around the
drain.
The oven is going to see the most
action with all that cookie baking and turkey-making. Wipe the surface of the
stove; take off the control knobs and show them some love by washing them with
mild dish soap. A soapy cloth will do just fine when scrubbing the vent hood.
Just make sure to get all the excess soap off.
Fill a tub or bucket up with warm
water and let the oven grates soak. Soaking will allow any grease, grim or food
to loosen, making it will be easier to scrub off later. It’s important to clean
the inside of your oven every few months. Try using a ¼ cup of salt, ¾ cup
baking soda, and ¼ cup water cleaning mixture. Cover any bare metal or openings
with foil so they don’t get damaged
by the mixture. Spread it all over the inside of the oven and leave overnight.
Use a plastic spatula to wipe the remains off and wipe the oven clean with a
rag.
READ MORE: 9 tips to conquer clutter
Bedrooms:
Got kids? Each one should be given
some responsibility, no matter how big or small, for their own bedroom. Give them three garbage
bags. Tell them to use one for the clothes and toys they want to donate,
another for trash, and the third for items they want to keep. The last thing
kids want to do on a snow day is clean, but make a game out of it. Play, “Last
one to finish their room has to shovel the driveway,” a sure winner!
Dusting is a
never-ending chore. But the worst part about dust is the more you set it aside
the more it accumulates. Dust is mostly made up of shed human skin cells but it
can also contain flame retardants, heavy metals, and toxic byproducts of
cigarette smoke. It’s impossible to completely rid your house of dust for good
but the Winter Wipe Down is the perfect way to make a dent in the year’s build
up.
Make sure
all clothes, shoes and other objects are picked up off the floors. Strip the
sheets off the bed to make sure no excess dust falls onto the clean sheets
during dusting. Start off in one corner of the room and move clockwise to
ensure you reach every corner. Use a disposable or washable microfiber cloth.
The cloth can be used without the need for polishes or oils and won’t scratch
furniture or wood. Ceiling fans can attract the most dust so invest in a
ceiling fan cleaner to eliminate the use for a ladder or step stool, and the
extra long reach will make dusting much easier.
Bathroom:
Organization is just one part of the
Winter Wipe Down. Being organized and being clean are two different things. The
season that harbors yuletide cheer and holiday spirit is also the same time of
year that harbors runny noses and scratchy throats. Between the kids bringing
germs home from school and that sick co-worker that shares a stapler with you,
your family is bound to get sick.
Having worked in schools across the
Hudson Valley, Jeroloman understands that germs spread fast. “I try to keep up
with keeping my house organized but the one thing I ensure I keep on top of is
germs,” she said. “In each one of my bathrooms I keep Lysol wipes by the sink
so my kids and husband know they need to wipe things down when they’re done.”
Devote a shopping trip to just
purchasing bathroom cleaning items. Make sure that your arsenal includes a shower,
glass, toilet and counter cleaner, and be sure that they can disinfectant as
well. Set aside one pair of rubber gloves for each bathroom and stick with
disposable cloth wipes rather than a mop when tackling the floors.
READ MORE: Wow-worthy homemade cleaning products
Calling in the Big Guns:
Between tackling the linen closet and
the bathroom that needs sanitizing, this Winter Wipe Down can be stressful if
work and family commitments prevail. Then, don’t hesitate to call in backup. Hiring a local cleaning
service for a winter cleaning once or twice during the season, will ensure that
not only the bathrooms are thoroughly wiped down and germ-free but that the
grime caked on the stove burners are history.
Karen Tensfeldt of Monroe has been
helping Hudson Valley families clean and organize their home since 1987. She has noticed that over the years, people
start to get the cleaning bug during the winter season.
“Winter months are my busiest because
of the holidays,” Tensfeldt said. “People need the extra help so they can focus
on other things like organizing their decorations and shopping.”
Tensfeldt explained that heavy duty
cleaning is best kept for right before the holiday season. “You are going to
have guests over all the time,” she said. “It’s the perfect opportunity to move
the furniture and get those tough to reach cleaning spots.”
Tensfedlt suggests taking your Winter Wipe
Down slow, one room at a time. “Once you get one room going, you’re going to
feel so good about it that you’re not going to be able to stop.”
Don’t hibernate during the winter but
rather use those snow days productively. Get a head start on spring cleaning
and create your own Winter Wipe Down plan. But don’t forget to take some time
out of your Wipe Down to hit the slopes with the kids, drink some hot cocoa and
curl up near a fire. The winter is good for some things!
Jillian is a recent
graduate of Oswego State University. She is an avid runner and pizza lover who
lives in Monroe with her parents and two brothers.