Your Guide to Spring Cleaning
Posted in Living by Sandy Dodge
Image Source: Canva
Many of us have found ourselves spending much of our time indoors as of late, and as spring blooms in the sunlight, you might be noticing that it’s time to treat your home to a little TLC. When it comes to wellness, your health and the health of your home go hand in hand. Here are some tips to guide you through your spring cleaning this year.
First clean, then disinfect
General cleaning rids your home’s surfaces of contaminants, but disinfecting targets pathogens. A combination of the two before—as well as after—your spring cleaning will have your home in peak health. When disinfecting, target high-touch surfaces such as doorknobs, countertops, and faucets.
Devices like your computer, phone and tablets are worthy of disinfecting as well, since they are high-touch surfaces that we carry around constantly. Avoid cleaners heavy in toxins and chemicals, which spread throughout your home. Look for plant- and mineral-based ingredients and natural solvents.
- Work top-to-bottom
- Working from ceiling to walls to counters to floors guides dust and debris downwards and prevents any re-cleaning of the same areas.
- Ceiling
- Being the season when allergies kick up, a quality dusting can be even more important for your health. Curtains, blinds, carpets and ceiling fans all collect dust easily; being thorough in these areas will pay off in the long run. Don’t forget the corners where cobwebs collect.
- Walls & Windows
- Consider giving your walls a cleanse with a damp towel, especially in the kitchen near your oven and coffee maker. Cleaning your windows helps bring in more natural light and is the key to getting the most out of your home’s view.
- Floors
- All floors need a good cleanse, but different materials require different cleaning methods. With laminate and vinyl flooring, dry mopping will do the trick. Sealed wood floors can take mopping, but waxed floors can’t—they require sweeping or vacuuming instead.
Declutter
Decluttering can be a daunting task. But with more time at home, we have more time to conquer this task day by day. Divide the rooms up by how much time they will take to declutter. Rooms like the kitchen and playroom will likely take longer than the living room or bathroom.
- Separate the unnecessary or underused items into two categories: Donate and Storage. Gather your donated items—whether they’re going to thrift stores, local shelters, or charity—so they can be distributed out in one trip.
- When it comes to storage, consider which items are likely to be taken out more often, like tools or seasonal items. Put them away last so they are easy to access. Hopefully this exercise, done year after year, will cut your storage stockpile down to what is essential.
Go for multipurpose
- Minimalism is a space-saving movement that has picked up momentum in recent years. Even if you aren’t looking to downsize, incorporating multifunctionality into your home can bring an added dimension to your spring cleaning.
- Common multipurpose features include lofted beds with below storage, using a corner desk to create an office nook, and folding tables to transform a dining room to a dinner party with ease.
OPEN HOUSE – WALDPORT, OREGON – 11/14/10
OPEN HOUSE
SUNDAY, 1pm – 3pm
160 SE Rose St, Waldport, Oregon
Beautiful setting for this 3+ bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath home. Expansive deck that showcases the valley views. Open floor plan with laminate flooring, featured wood accents on ceiling and walls. Large room downstairs that could be a great room or master bedroom. SELLER TO PAY 3% OF BUYER CLOSING COSTS WITH ACCEPTABLE OFFER! $197,500. #3167/10-2388
OPEN HOUSE – WALDPORT, OREGON 8/21/2010
OPEN HOUSE
SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010, 12pm – 3pm
455 SW Range Dr, Waldport, Oregon
Beautifully Landscaped. Contemporary home with many details throughout is situated on the 9th tee of the beautiful Crestview Hills Golf Course. Game room with Billiard Table, pellet stove and golf cart garage. Sit on the deck and enjoy a spectacular view of the golf course and pond! Conveniently located within walking distance of the beautiful and pristine Oregon Beach. $425,000. #2647/10-696
April Open House Weekend on the Oregon Coast
Windermere West Coast Properties & Real Estate Gallery is pleased to participate in National Open House Weekend, April 10th & 11th.
Saturday, April 3rd, 11am – 4pm
Saturday, April 10th, 11am – 4pm
Sunday, April 11th, 11am – 4pm
Green-built Condos – 9 Units RemainingInvest with Friends and Family: Up to 4 Owners AllowedMarch Open Houses on the Oregon Coast
Saturday, March 13th 11am – 4pm
Sunday, March 21st 11am – 4pm
Saturday, March 27th 11 am – 4 pm
Green-built Condos – 9 Units Remaining. Invest with Friends and Family: Up to 4 Owners AllowedNewport Oregon Open House, Saturday, Feb 20
Get Directions: 919 NW Spring Street, Newport
MLS Number: 10-450
Open 1 – 3 pm
Priced to sell! This 1316 sq. ft. 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home is priced $19,000 below RMV. Attached garage, wood laminate flooring, spacious master bedroom, and no yard work makes this home desireable. Home located within walking distance on historic Nye Beach.
Newport Oregon Real Estate: Holiday Season Open Houses
Sunday, December 27th, 11am – 4pm
Green-built Condos - 9 Units RemainingInvest with Friends and Family: Up to 4 Owners Allowed
South Beach Real Estate: Open Houses December 19 & 20
Saturday December 19, 2009, 11am – 3pm
Details: MLS 09-1491
Directions: 52 SW 95th St, South Beach
MLS # 09-1491 Three Bedrooms, Three Baths $279,900
Sunday, December 20th, 11am – 4pm
Green-built Condos - 9 Units RemainingInvest with Friends and Family: Up to 4 Owners Allowed
Oregon Coast Open Houses: Sunday November 15th
We hope you’ll come explore this coming weekend’s Open Houses hosted by brokers of Windermere West Coast Properties:
Sunday November 15th
425 SE Scenic Loop – Newport – 11 am to 1 pm:
Custom Newport home with Bay, Bridge and Harbor views
Regatta Condos at Yaquina Bay– 11 am to 4 pm:
Green-built Condos - 9 Units Remaining
Staging your Oregon Coast Home for Sale
Staging your house is an important part of preparing to put your house on the market; it makes your house look bigger and brighter. It is about depersonalizing & decluttering your home so that buyers can visualize themselves living there.
What we recommend:
Clean— Your home needs to sparkle! Give it a deep cleaning (perhaps hiring someone to help) so that it sparkles. This includes cleaning your windows inside and out — and consider placing screens in storage for the winter to let as much light in as possible.
Fix— anything that is broken! Chipped tiles, holes in walls, dripping faucets, running toilets, etc. Leaving these unattended leads buyers to believe you didn’t take good care of the house. Make sure to touch up the paint inside or outside (or maybe even a fresh coat of a neutral color on some walls). Are there scuff marks that need attention without repainting the entire wall? Try one of the eraser-like products that gets even crayon off walls!
Eliminate Clutter— This is the hardest recommendation of all! We are all attached to our “stuff”, but others don’t have that attachment and see it as clutter which make rooms seem smaller. Make it a point to reduce your “stuff” by at least 50% (you can store it in boxes and put it in an offsite storage shed).
De-personalize— Remove anything that potential buyers won’t be able to identify with. This includes family photo walls, political and religious items. Because buying a home is an emotional decision, you want potential buyers to make a emotional connection with your home by being able to “see” themselves in it.
Bringing your House to Market
Curb Appeal– You have only one opportunity to give a buyers the best “first impression” of your house. They usually form an opinion in the first 30 seconds of seeing your home. Therefore, consider spending a little extra time (and money) to spruce up the front (weed your flower beds, mulch and plant flowers, trim bushes, pick up leaves, repaint your front door, replace old house numbers and your mailbox, get a brand-new neutral doormat, empty the driveway, etc).
The Entrance— Make it light and bright. Replace all your old bulbs with bright compact fluorescent ones, so the first glimpse inside your home enforces the positive, uplifting feelings you fostered outside. Leave all the lights in the house on and open blinds/curtains. Make sure the coat closet is mostly empty to demonstrate that there is plenty of storage in the house.
Kitchen— Everyone says kitchens sell homes, so its important that you spend extra time to clean and de-clutter this area! Most things on the counter — and everything on the floor — must go. Clean both the inside and outside of your refrigerator (removing all your magnets, papers, etc). If your cabinet knobs are old or out-of-date, replacing them can give your cabinets an inexpensive “facelift.” If replacement isn’t an option, discover what a coat of spray paint can do to modernize your cabinets or doors! And lastly, get your cabinets and pantry neat and tidy. Move bulk purchases and extras to a storage unit. Potential buyers will be turned off by kitchens that seem to have inadequate storage space.
Bathrooms— You absolutely must get rid of any mildew/mold and soap scum! If you have shower curtains replace them with a neutral color. Remove all personal toiletry items from the countertop. Freshly launder bath mats or remove them all together. Before each open house or showing, break out a new set of high-quality, neutral towels on the towel bars and a fresh bar of soap in a dish.
