Spring has sprung… Some may say even summer has joined us earlier than anticipated; what’s a more perfect time to grab your glass and head out to the patio to take in the warm breeze, the radiant colours and just relax?- but wait! You haven’t even tackled your spring cleaning yet!
The reality is, your house, yard and garage are filled up with trash and unused items you’ve accumulated within the past year, and there’ll be no kicking back or relaxing until you tackle a few spring home projects. A sure sign of spring (or summer in this case) is a dumpster in your driveway. Here’s some inspiration
Step 1: Rent a Dumpster Bin
Spring cleaning is a great reason to rent a dumpster. Yes, this is a thing. Not just a legend passed down from your great-great grandmother. But before you can tackle the actual scrubbing of corners, you have to clear out
Start WIth The Garage
We’re all guilty of holding onto things that really have no business taking up space in our homes, for nostalgia’s sake or what have you. I think we can agree that the garage is the hotspot for ‘sentimental’ items…
The goal is to clear out your garage enough so that if you’re looking for something, you don’t need to rummage through a pile of stuff to find it. Go through each item carefully and ask yourself “Will I use this again?” or “Will I even notice this if it’s gone?” Toss the items that you answer ‘No’ to, and for the items you must keep, you should go out and grab large sorting containers or cheap plastic/ steel shelves to assist you in organizing your belongings.
Next Stop: The Kitchen
Open up each cupboard, take each item out, give it a hard stare and ask yourself if you make use of it. An alternative for throwing out the items you don’t use is donating them! If it’s in usable condition, take it down to your nearest second-hand shop and it may become somebody’s treasure.
Hit The Bathroom
Purge the beauty products that have gathered dust for a year and toss out old cosmetics. Even if there’s no expiration date on your products, bacteria will gather after a few months of being unsealed.
Scrap any broken toys, old mops and towels, broken or ripped furniture, and whatever else you believe doesn’t have a place in your house come summer, and the rest of the year.
Inspect The Outside Of Your House
Inspect your roof for any loose, missing or damaged shingles. Check the yard for any damaged shingles that may have fallen. Inspect your wood fencing. Remove any badly rotted or damaged pickets, boards, lattice or wood steps and replace them.
Clean out the debris from your gutters, and consider buying easy-to-clean mesh screens that cover your gutters and prevent debris from clogging them which could mean less work next spring!
Clean Up The Yard
Go in with your rake and rake out fallen leaves and dead foliage (which can smother plants and foster disease). You should also prune away dead or damaged branches.
If your metal and plastic outdoor furniture needs a good clean, mix a generous amount of dish liquid soap with warm water in a bucket. Then spray the furniture down with a hose. Using a nylon scrub brush, wash the chairs with the solution; then rinse thoroughly. Cut the drying time by tipping the furniture on its side in the grass to let the water drain off.
You should also try and remove any mud, dirt, or mildew that has built up on your patio, and remove any items that may be cluttering your patio or deck.
One thing to note: you can toss almost anything in a National Bins rental — except for hazardous materials. such as ashes, tires, batteries, asbestos, chemicals, pesticides, paint, propane tanks, etc.