Spring clean your way into 2018!

We’re all looking forward to the milder weather and longer evenings that (hopefully!) lie just around the corner.

But as well as bringing the warmer temperatures and perhaps the chance to dial down the central heating a notch, spring is also a good time to breathe fresh life into your home with a good old-fashioned spring clean.

Here are a few tips to help get you started:

Wardrobe

Sorting out the wardrobe could be a great place to begin when spring cleaning. Take everything out, be brutal with anything you haven’t worn for a couple of years and make a pile to donate to the charity shop. These shops can often use even very old clothes for rags. Use the chance of having an empty wardrobe to put everything back in order, arranged by colour or style.

The oven

No one likes doing this mucky job, but deep cleaning your oven can be highly satisfying. One tip is to mix bicarb of soda with vinegar, pour over the inside of your oven, leave overnight and wipe off with a sponge in the morning. Minimal effort for maximum results!

Bedding

If you can, throw the duvet and pillow in the washing machine a couple of times of year – clearly this will help keep it in good condition.

Fridge

Have a good old clear-out of all those half-full, forgotten jars and give your fridge a thorough wipe-down. If you cut a lemon in half, and put one piece each on the top and bottom shelves of your fridge, it will help keep any unpleasant smells at bay.

Windows

Clean your windows at least twice-yearly according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and according to the type of window. (PVC-u models, for example, need a different treatment to aluminium ones.)

Brush off any built-up dust first, then wash with a sponge in warm soapy water (but don’t overdo the suds). If you’ve gone for one of the stronger window-cleaning solutions on the market, take care not to damage the surrounding paintwork.

Wipe off excess water with a clean squeegee, and then remove any remaining liquid using a damp, wrung-out microfiber or chamois cloth, before drying the windowsill, which some of the water may have spilled over.

One tip is to give windows the once-over on an overcast day – so that the sun doesn’t dry up the cleanser, leaving streaky marks before you’re done.

You can also create your own cleaning solution by adding two tablespoons of vinegar to a small bucket of warm water. For really grimy panes, use two tablespoons of ammonia or domestic borax per gallon of liquid and rinse with the vinegar solution, then dry with a dry, lint-free cloth.

Finally, use some crumpled-up newspaper to buff the clean, dry glass and give your windows a bit of added sparkle.

But for a truly refreshed look for your home, you can’t beat replacing worn-out windows with new versions. At Paradise, we‘ve been supplying windows in Oxford and Oxfordshire for more than two decades, and have earned our reputation for quality and service. Talk to us now about how we could transform your home.