Everyday Limes

By Leslie Campos from Well Parents

Photo via Pexels

Ah, spring! The season of pear tree blossoms, chirping birds – and allergies. Yes, spring is beautiful, and everybody’s thrilled that they finally don’t have to scrape a shell of ice off their windshield in the morning. But spring also means pollen showering the air like confetti, plus plenty of coughing, sneezing, hacking, and more coughing. 

People have always cleaned their houses when the weather warms because a well-scrubbed home means less dust, mold, and dander. (And lower medical bills on respiratory issues.) So if you’re looking for motivation to clean out your cabinets and pitch the junk in your attic, consider these mental and physical benefits of spring cleaning, courtesy of Everyday Limes.

Banish Allergens, Get Rid of Chemicals

Winter clutter isn’t just a buildup of old furniture and appliances – it’s also your home’s bog of mold, mildew, pet hair, and mouse droppings. “High resale value” doesn’t exactly leap to mind in this situation. Neither does the thought of healthy children. Cluttered homes aggravate children’s asthma, especially if the carpets haven’t been vacuumed and rodents are skittering behind the walls. 

Even if you don’t have kids or suffer from asthma, it’s still a good idea to allergy-proof your home. Dehumidify the basement. Shampoo your carpets from wall to wall. Expunge your house of its chemicals. This can be an especially helpful practice if you or your children suffer from multiple chemical sensitivities.

Check the walls for lead paint, reduce the number of plastics you own, and mix together your own cleaning products with greener ingredients like vinegar and baking soda. Finally, replace your air filter with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter, the recommended device to sift out the noxious specks that have been linked to heart disease and spiked blood pressure.

Dusting and Vacuuming

You dusted the whole house, from the kitchen table to the rug in the front hallway to each spindle of the banister – yet dust keeps coming back. That may be because of the dust that keeps shifting down from those hard-to-reach places behind the ceiling fan or atop the cabinets. To pull off this operation, you’ll need a ladder, an extendable duster, or a microfiber cloth that you can wrap around a mop handle with a rubber band. Don’t neglect the window blinds, garbage disposal, sliding door tracks, and HVAC covers. 

Don’t forget to vacuum at least once a week. Although you can’t see it, humans shed millions of skin particles every day, which – combined with food bits, beetle grub, and latex and spores – accumulates into several pounds of nastiness throughout the year. Want to wade through that? No. Vacuum. And then vacuum again. Keeping up the practice of cleaning and optimizing your space is a great way to reduce stress.

The Pantry and Closets

Many people consider the kitchen the soul of the house, and the pantry is the kitchen’s storage unit. All those shelves can easily get cluttered with jars, cans, flour bags, a bottle of soy sauce, and a couple of sweet potatoes tumbled in the corner, so follow a few simple steps to organize it. Buy see-through containers and label what’s inside, so that you don’t have to keep pulling off lids and peeking in each time you want to boil some rice. 

Also, arrange items that are similar – cooking oils can all go together, or grains like quinoa and couscous, or fruit jams and jellies. Take a few minutes a day to touch up on all the organization you’ve already done, and spend some time decluttering your closet. Throwing out that pair of jorts that went out of style in the ’90s or those knee-high gladiator sandals that roost in the corner are easy ways to clear up some space.

The health benefits of spring cleaning include breathing more easily, cleansing your body’s toxins, and battling asthma and allergens. But dusting and washing and freshening up will also allow you to let the breeze blow through the windows and relax in your home without hacking and sputtering. Plus, an open clean space makes you feel like you’re steering into the future rather than brooding on the past. And, in that sense, springtime truly will be a sign of change and newness.

Everyday Limes is a great place to find handmade and vintage finds, including unique items from artists. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!