Spring clean your way to that new-home feeling

As the weather brightens up, bring a new lease of life to your home and boost your own wellbeing with a clean slate. It’s a great way to highlight general jobs, maintenance issues or decorating your landlord might need to know about too.

Here’s a checklist to help you refresh each room above and beyond your normal cleaning routine. It might be worth taking a couple of days out to do the job properly. But remember: a deep clean now could save you a lot of work and money in the long run. Keeping your home spick and span all year round means your landlord may be less likely to make a claim against you when the time comes to move out.

Kitchen

1. Empty the cupboards, fridge and freezer. Check the use by dates on everything and throw away anything that’s expired. Still in date but won’t get round to eating it? You could check if your local food bank is accepting donations.

2. Clean the inside, doors, shelves and tops of your cupboards.

3. Defrost the fridge and freezer and clean inside. Allow them to thoroughly dry before you switch them back on.

4. Clean the oven. You can try this yourself with plenty of elbow grease and off-the-shelf oven cleaning products. But it might be an idea to call in a professional oven cleaner.

5. Replace or clean the filter in the oven hood.

Living room

1. Move all the furniture you usually vacuum and mop around to the middle of the room so you can clean behind and under them.

2. Shake and leave rugs outside in the sun on a bright day to kill dust mites.

3. Clean the carpets with a carpet cleaner, or get a professional in to shampoo them for you.

4. Remove all ornaments, pictures and plants. Dust the shelves and each item individually.

5. Sort through and organise drawers, bookcases and shelves. Throw away or donate unwanted items.

Bedrooms

1. Wash duvets and pillows, or get them dry cleaned if they’re dry-clean only.

2. Flip, turn and vaccum the mattress, then leave it uncovered for a few hours with the window open to air it. You might also sprinkle bicarbonate of soda over it to absorb any smells and vacuum it up after a few hours.

3. Clear out your wardrobe and drawers. Donate, sell or recycle unwanted clothes. (Top tip: clean old socks make great dusters. Just pop your hand in and go.)

4. Move furniture and hoover underneath or behind, shaking out and airing any rugs like you did in the living room.

5. Make more space by packing away winter coats and clothes you won’t need for a while in suitcases or vacuum sealed clothes bags.

Bathrooms

1. Scrub grouting with an old toothbrush to remove stains or mould. For particularly stubborn marks or mouldy walls, you could use a mould remover spray or grout pen.

2. Wash and polish mirrors and glass shower doors with glass cleaner.

3. Get into difficult nooks and crannies like shower hoses and rubber seals with an old toothbrush.

4. Soak your shower head in a bucket with white vinegar for an hour or so to remove limescale. (Remember to rinse it thoroughly after.)

5. Replace the shower curtain if you have one that’s got mould or mildew. This is easier and more hygienic than trying to clean it.

Other

1. Clean all your windows, inside and out, including frames. If you can’t do this safely, consider hiring a professional window cleaner.

2. Garages, sheds and attics often become a dumping ground. Your spring clean is a good opportunity to have a sort-out in these neglected spaces too.

3. Wash or dry clean your curtains, and dust or vacuum your blinds as these can collect a lot of dust and pollution over the year.

4. Wipe down all your interior walls with sugar soap – it’s almost as good as a fresh lick of paint.

5. Let your landlord know any maintenance issues you find during your spring clean so they can fix them.

For more in depth cleaning tips and tricks, check out the Zero Deposit™ end of tenancy hub.