Summer Cleaning Tips

Nearly everyone loves summer with its warm sun-filled days that blend easily into fun-filled evenings. Of course, everyone also knows that summer time is filled with its own unique cleaning challenges, from out of town visitors to kids home all day on school vacation and more. These cleaning challenges often include grass stains, tracked in mud, melted blobs of ice cream, toys strewn inside and out, and crafty messes all around. Let’s tackle summer’s cleaning confrontations head on with these simple cleaning strategies to keep your home fresh, clean, and organized without the hassle.

Cleaning up Outside – Patios, Decks, Porches, Entryways

By keeping these outdoor areas clean and tidy, you’ll also find less dirt and grime can make its way inside. In most homes this means the entryways, like the front porch, where you greet your guests and the meeting spaces, like the deck or patio, where you entertain. Begin by keeping your walkways, stairs, and steps clear of clutter, debris, toys, etc. Once the area is clear, sweep away grass clippings, leaves, and the like. If you have decorative plants around the front entry or on the porch, deck, or patio, keep them watered and trimmed all summer long.

You’ll also want to clean your outdoor furniture, a short and simple process that only requires water and a mild dish soap with a little ‘elbow grease’ to get the job done. If you have cushions, be sure to follow label directions before washing/cleaning. Should you find rust on your metal furniture, sand it, rinse it, and apply a fresh coat of paint if needed. And be sure to add the final touch of checking your outdoor lighting to keep everyone safe as the summer fun continues into the night.

Keep the Dirt Outside

How? The solution is simple.  Ask your guests, your kids, your relatives, your family to leave their footwear at the door. If you don’t like that idea, or feel it’s a bit over the top, invest in a high-quality door mat for all your entryways. The youngest to the oldest can then wipe their shoes or even their bare feet before entering. You might even consider two mats at each entry, one inside and one out for an added barrier that keeps dirt, dust, pollen, grass, sand, and more from making its way inside,

Now to the Interior – Keeping it Simple

So far, you’ve tackled the outside cleaning projects which can help keep the inside clean as well. Now, one of the best summer cleaning tips is this: Don’t let the small jobs turning into major cleaning projects. This can be as simple as sweeping up crumbs, wiping up spills, and spot cleaning when you see a problem. Little cleaning issues that go unnoticed or ignored often turn into big messes that take a lot of effort to clean. To avoid around the clock cleaning, practice these simple and easy habits for maximum cleaning impact.

• Don’t let yourself get sidetracked. Finish the little job, before moving on.
• Have the entire family join in when whole house cleaning is needed. Assign everyone a task and get the job done in a fraction of the time.
• Have everyone wipe down the bathroom when they’re done using it – this simple effort will keep stains, mold, and mildew away.
• Assign weekly (or daily) tasks to your family, sweeping, vacuuming, emptying the garbage, laundry duty, etc. If they complain, remind them sweetly, “many hands make light work.”
• When sorting laundry in summer, begin by sorting clothing that needs to be pre-treated from clothing that doesn’t.
• Confine dining and snacks to the kitchen or the outdoor dining area, so crumbs and spills won’t manifest themselves over the entire house.
• Have everyone pick up after themselves, after all tidy looks cleaner than messy.

These tips should help you keep clean all summer long, but should you need assistance, call on Signature Maids for aid with all your large or small cleaning projects.

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