51Æ·²è

Each March search demand for “Spring Cleaning” peaks in the UK as Brits look to start the new spring season with a deep clean or clear-out of their home. Searches for “How to spring clean” have risen 49% over the last week as the first day of spring approaches compared to the same period last year.  While there is nothing more satisfying than having an annual spring clean once the warmer season hits - it’s often hard to know where to start and the sheer amount of clutter you may be clearing out can be overwhelming. TikTok is a great place to find tips and tricks you may not have thought of and with over 18,700 posts with the hashtags “#Springclean” and seeing over 322.5 million views, there are plenty of tips to be found. With this in mind, the experts at 51Æ·²è have trawled through Tiktok’s most popular tips to compile a list of their top hacks on how best to spring clean your home in 2024. As we reach the end of the winter months, getting organised and transforming your space into a freshly cleaned and less cluttered environment boosts your mood and gets you ready for the next season. 1. Start Small Before the deep spring cleaning can commence, it is a great time to clear out any clutter. Clearing out the clutter can be incredibly overwhelming - especially when you accumulated a lot over a long period. A key tip is to start small. Starting small allows you to make small steps towards a big, long-term goal, and a little progress every day will have a far bigger impact over time. If you start small you will feel a sense of achievement quickly. This will motivate you to continue. A great principle to stick to was created by online creator Becoming Minimalist , called the 12-12-12 Challenge. The idea is that you locate only a select number of items at a time dedicated to the clearing out of your home. First, you need to locate 12 items that you are going to donate, then 12 to throw away or recycle, and 12 to return to their proper home in your house. Repeat as often as you like, and you’ll start to see the clutter disappear. 2. The 20/20 Rule The need to hold onto too many items, otherwise known as the “just in case” items, can really impact your spring cleaning and make the venture that much more difficult. When struggling to make decluttering decisions so you can easily deep clean your home, the 20/20 rule comes into play. The 20/20 rule is designed to help you get rid of those items that are cluttering up your home, that you’ve held onto “just in case” but have instead remained unused, taking up space in your home. When coming across these times you need to ask two questions - can this be replaced for under £20 or less? Can I replace this item in 20 minutes or less? If the answer is yes to both of these questions - it’s time to get rid. If the answer is yes to one of these, then take more time to consider if it’s easily replaceable and if you have the space to keep it in the meantime. 3. Learn How to Spot Clutter Learn how to spot clutter when it comes to spring cleaning your home to ensure a quicker and more efficient cleaning process. This can apply to any item that you might not actually need. Anything you are keeping ‘just because’ or through obligation, it may be time to show it the door. Clutter can grow exponentially through bad habits or even guilt, and result in a build-up of dust and dirt in difficult-to-reach places due to excessive amounts of clutter. If you take the time to identify the usefulness of said clutter regularly and discard things that way, you can easily release any of it from your home before it creates an irritating build-up and makes your spring cleaning journey more difficult. 4. Create a Spring Cleaning Checklist Lists are always a great place to start when it comes to spring cleaning your home. This way, you can plan and map out as much as you want to get done within certain time frames. When we step into a dirty or cluttered room, our brains are immediately overstimulated which makes it difficult to focus. It’s easy it is to get distracted while clearing out and cleaning when you start doing 5 things at once. A key tip is to make a list of every room in your house. When you enter the room make a list of everything that needs to be both cleaned and decluttered. Take on one room at a time and tick off each section of the room as you clean. With a checklist handy, you can focus on one thing at a time, taking you through a more structured approach to your spring clean. It not only keeps you as organised as possible but gives a great sense of achievement as you tick off each item on your list. 5. Let Go of Stuff That Doesn’t Fit Your Current Lifestyle Take an inventory of everything that you own, from the spare chair you have cluttering up your hallway to the winter jacket that you haven’t worn in 5 years. Assess each of them individually and ask yourself if they align with your current lifestyle. Does it bring you joy and does it serve a purpose? If it’s not seasonal and you haven’t used it in the last 6 months, it may be time to consider getting rid of it. This also applies to keeping things just because they were expensive - sorry to break it to you, but that money has been and gone. If you don’t use it anymore, consider donating it or if you want to make back that expense consider selling it on a re-sale site. 6. Start With What You Can See When it comes to knowing where to start, it’s recommended to begin cleaning and clearing out the parts of your home that most need it. Start decluttering the stuff that you can see (the stuff that's taking up visible space all over the house rather than items stuffed in a wardrobe or a cabinet) and do a deep clean on, around, and underneath those items. The rooms that are generally used the most are usually the ones to accumulate the most dust, clutter and dirt and therefore are likely to need more immediate attention. The kitchen and living rooms are great places to start your spring cleaning venture. As hubs of the home, if the rooms are messy, cluttered or dirty, they can feel stressful and frustrating. 7. Tackle the Entryway/Space by the Front Door There is nothing more stressful than staring straight at a bunch of dust, general clutter or dirt as soon as you walk through the front door. The hallway or entryway is usually the place that has to handle the most dirt, dust, and clutter, due to the level of footfall every single day. Clear and wipe down any surfaces, put away any out-of-season coats or shoes, and give the space a real deep clean. From mud on the floor from shoes to dust bunnies that have accumulated over time, giving your entryway a real deep clean will make the rest of your home feel easier to tackle. If you are looking at throwing away a significant amount of clutter, be it from your entryway or the house in general, hiring a skip is a great way to remove large amounts of clutter that allows you to really clean every spot thoroughly. 8. Get Organised Cleaning your house in preparation for spring is far easier when your home is organised. Although moving items from one place to another seems slightly redundant, utilising storage spaces is a great way to organise and sort things out that don’t necessarily need to be in your house, but you want to keep. Ideal for anything from furniture to boxes of books and children's toys, storage units are available in various sizes depending on what you need to store away. This way, your home can only have things in it that are needed, making it easier to keep on top of your regular cleaning activities. By staying on top of your organisation, cleaning your home will feel less stressful and can be done quickly and easily. This way, you can have a clear and organised home that’s the peaceful and calming space it should be. Checking Off Your Spring Cleaning Checklist Spring cleaning your home doesn't have to be the daunting task you are putting off on your to-do list. By following this expert-approved checklist, you can avoid any unnecessary stress and stay on top of your home environment by organising and cleaning quickly and easily - ready to help you start the new spring/summer season afresh.