Clean the living room furniture
Dab a bit of coconut oil on a microfibre cloth, then rub down wood furniture. “All of my wood comes out beautifully, and it is much less expensive than any special wood polisher you’d buy,” says Novak. To clean the couch, remove all the cushions so you can vacuum between the crevices. Keep those tight spaces cleaner in the future by tucking a sheet between the cushions. “Going forward, you would just need to ball that up and shake it out vs. having to vacuum all those crevices,” says Novak.
Head to the dining room
If you light candles in your dining room, wipe down the walls with equal parts warm water and white vinegar to get rid of any soot build-up. Next, as you clean the table and chairs, make sure to scrub the underside of the seats. “People have food on their hands and pull their chairs in, but we never think to clean under there,” says Novak. Stick candles with wax build-up in the freezer to make the excess easier to chip off, and pull out a spring-themed tablecloth or place mats instead of putting back your winter linens (which should have gone in the laundry earlier).
Wash your kitchen cabinets
Using your top-down strategy, clean off your kitchen cabinet handles and doors. “You might be very surprised when you clean a cabinet door and you think that’s what they look like but they don’t,” says Novak. “That’s just what happens when they’re coated in a layer of grease.” Wipe them with a cleaning spray, then polish the wood with coconut oil. Next scour your freezer and fridge for food that is spoiled or has freezer burn. Wash the rubber gasket on your fridge door with soapy water to keep the seal tight and prevent cold air from escaping, says Novak.
Stop skipping these 11 spots while spring cleaning your home.