Lifestyle

Spring cleaning tips to revitalise your home

From refreshing your wardrobe to reorganising your drawers, here’s how to spring clean your home and the hacks to help you through it

Spring is nearly here and as well as shedding layers and enjoying a little more time outdoors, the season is all about reevaluating our living spaces and freshening up our closets. From reducing your drawers to coveted essentials and servicing garments in need of some care, to organising your new work-from-home desk and finding the right scent to fill each room, here are some suggestions and essentials for your spring clean.

Re-evaluate and reduce…

Now is the perfect time for going through our wardrobes, drawers and cabinets, taking an inventory of what’s there and stripping them of any excess baggage. Chances are, you’ve been unintentionally hoarding pieces of clothing, make-up, jewellery or perhaps stationary you’ve forgotten about. Use this downtime to evaluate what you’re harbouring and adopt the Marie Kondo approach of asking: does this item give me joy? If the answer is no, it’s time to let it go.

Next, work out a plan for the physical removal of your pre-loved items. If you're able to donate them to charity, the British Heart Foundation runs a free removal service for furniture and bulkier items that are in a condition to be rehomed. For smaller pieces, check whether your nearest charity donation points are currently accepting second hand goods, or look to organisations like Little Village, a children’s charity with hubs in Wandsworth, Camden and Southwark, which has continued to take donations throughout the pandemic.

Spritz, spruce and scrub…

Cupboards uncluttered, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get scrubbing. Cleaning your home from top to toe might prove to be the task you’ve been looking for to take your mind off the news or to help you vent your frustrations. If not, look to cleaning gurgu Mrs Hinch for inspiration, whose videos somehow manage to make scrubbing services and dusting away cobwebs look productive and energising. As for what to use, switch products which are heavy in toxins for eco-friendly ranges that will clean your home without damaging your health or the environment. With so much time spent indoors, the last thing we want is to compromise our health by using chemicals which could potentially cause skin irritations or trigger allergies, respiratory issues and headaches.

1. Attirecare Clean Home Spray 2. Mangle and Wringer natural bleach, from £3.50. 3. Kinn Eco-Cleaning starter pack 4. Ferm Living Glass Cleaner 5. YOPE mint & mandarin washing up liquid

Service…

Before rearranging your wardrobe with the items you’ll be keeping, check for any servicing that needs to be done. If you don't have a local tailor in your area, services like Laundrapp – which collect garments from your door and bring them back freshly laundered or dry cleaned – could become your new best friend.

Beyond that, it’s a time for adopting a ‘make do and mend’ attitude. Invest in your own tools- a good sewing kit, a lint roller and a steamer to fully service your wardrobe. We know the less we wash our clothing the better it is for the garment (and the environment), so a good fabric spray may be all you need to refresh items. We also swear by a folding board for perfectly packing away our heavy knitwear so they are neat and ready for next autumn.

1. Brabantia Folding Board 2. Liberty London compact sewing box 3. Steamery lint brush 4. Steamery Cirrus No.2 Hand Steamer
5. The Lab Co signature fabric mist

Organise…

House cleaned and cleared, it’s time to reshape your drawers and organise your cupboards, wardrobe and desk. Apply logic to your cupboards, catagorising your items into food groups and positioning these items together so they’re easy to find. Place the items you use most regularly at the front of each shelf.

Shed your winter wardrobe, folding items you don’t have room for into compression bags and (moth-proof) storage boxes for safe keeping until the next chilly season. Replenish your hangers with your spring and summer essentials, organising these by colour for added aesthetic appeal.

Organise your drawers too, using dividers to arrange items neatly and trays to contain any loose keys, buttons or pens. Keep your desk tidy with any books or papers stacked neatly to one side and plenty of space to set up your laptop each morning. Add a touch of personality – a vase or a photo frame – to make it a space you look forward to coming to each morning and ensure it’s well-lit by adding a desk lamp.

1. Vitra Akari Table Lamp 2. O-Tidy in Sky Grey 3 .Kuza ceramic vase 4. Rattan storage basket 5. John Lewis vacuum storage bags

Scent…

Spring cleaning complete, it’s time to fill your home with uplifting scents that will help centre the mind and make you feel confident about hosting this season. Right now, our preference is for natural scents with woody or floral notes and soothing, aromatherapy blends ideal for calming and balancing the nervous system. Here’s some inspiration…