NOW CLOSED Currys want to know Mumsnetters' top spring cleaning tips. Post your best here and be in with a chance of winning a £100 Currys PC World gift card

[AlexMumsnet]

Spring's almost here apparently and many of us feel the urge to clear away the winter cobwebs and give the house a proper deep clean (or even just flick a duster round).

With this in mind Currys would like to find out Mumsnetters' top tips for spring cleaning. This could be motivation, how to find the time, what the benefits are, or tips relating to the products (or services of others) that you use at this time of year.

Currys say "We have a great line of products that we think make Spring Cleaning a breeze - we'd love to know your top tips, and what makes it easy for you?"

So what are your top spring cleaning tips?

Currys will be choosing their favourite 10 tips added on this thread to feature on the Currys pages on Mumsnet and possibly elsewhere. This page will also feature competitions over the next few weeks so make sure to check it out and enter!

Everyone who adds their tips to this thread will be entered into a prize draw with the chance of winning a £100 Currys PC World gift card.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

[Hopezibah]

Rather than let the jobs build up to a huge amount, keep on top of the routine cleaning by adopting a one-and-done approach. For example, leave a cloth in the bathroom and quickly wipe around the bath or shower each day when you have used it. We keep a small vacuum cleaner upstairs as well as our main one downstairs so that if a quick vacuum around is needed, you don't need to wait until next time you have got the vacuum cleaner upstairs, you can just do it there and then. Try ironing just a couple of items of clothing each evening to stop the ironing pile growing to the size of mount everest (also only iron items that REALLY need an iron - everything else really doesn't matter that much).

By staying on top of those pesky little chores, you will free up enough time for a big spring clean when you need it. Otherwise we used to find that the time we had set aside for decluttering and a big spring clean, would be spent just catching up on all those little chores and we'd run out of time or be too exhausted to do a proper spring clean.

Make it a fun challenge for the kids to get involved in. They can do a fabulous job of cleaning skirting boards and dado rails with old pairs of socks. Even polishing using old socks on their hands is fun.

Encourage them to do their own decluttering. A good time for this is just before their birthday or christmas to make room for their new toys.


Oh and don't forget to spring clean the car. My poor car gets rather overlooked so a really thorough clean inside and out is really appreciated.

[CheeryCherry]

I do housework little and often, while waiting for something to cook, or when on the phone. I try to keep everything in its place and encourage the dcs to do the same, if it looks tidy, you're half way there! Everything tidy before we all leave the house on a morning, and same again before bed. Always feels better coming home/getting up to a tidy, organised house. And I madly clean before going on holiday, so its lovely to come back home to!

[missorinoco]

Get a feather duster. Great for doing the skirting boards as well as the cobwebs and picture frames.

And open up the bag of vacuum cleaner attachments. I found the edger, and my carpets looked amazing.

[Cambam2010]

Aways tidy first before trying to clean.

If you can't find a home for something consider whether you need it.

When having a clear out have 3 boxes/bags to hand. 1 box for keeps, 1 box for bin and 1 box for the charity shop. Once you are reduced down to 1 box - go through it again! It is tempting to hold on to stuff.

[craftynclothy]

Choose easy storage - we have Trofast stuff for the kids toys. It's so easy to pull out one tub and fill it, then move onto the next one and so on.

Sort through the kids clothes every few months and get rid of the stuff they've outgrown so drawers aren't overflowing. Do the same with your own clothes but perhaps less often.

Work your way round a room with a bin bag and a box for stuff that needs moved to another room.

Once it's tidy/sorted it doesn't take long to whizz round with a duster and the hoover.

[xcxcsophiexcxc]

If you dont use it donate it to charity

[domesticslattern]

Yeah, invite people round so you have to do the clean of shame.

[flutterbynight]

If the grout between your bathroom tiles is discoloured or a bit mildew-ridden then don a pair of rubber gloves and apply some thick bleach to the grout using an old sponge, then scrub away with an old toothbrush and before long it will look like new! You can rinse the bleach off at the end with the shower head. I'll be doing this at the weekend, bizarrely I'm quite looking forward to it I love the before and after effect!

[flutterbynight]

That is the grout will look like new, not the toothbrush!

[CarrieDon]

I watch/listen to downloaded BBC progs on my tablet as I clean up the house - makes me stick to the task for longer and even scout around for another thing to clean because the programme hasn't finished yet

[BinarySolo]

Clean your cleaner! Vacuums get blocked by dust so if you can remove the filter and give it a good scrub, or replace the filter you'll get improved suction.

A damp rubber glove removes pet hairs from fabrics. Simply wear the glove, run under the tap then rub where the pet hair is and it should clump together ready to be removed.

[TotallyEggFlipped]

I always send everyone away if I want to clean properly. It's much easier to clean the house without a load of other people in the way. (unless they're old enough to help).

[ProbablyJustGas]

Get your OH cleaning alongside you, not just your kids. It goes a lot faster if you each take a half of your home and divide up the chores. Sets a good example to the kids too.

File your paperwork away as soon as you get it. Or dedicate an afternoon to sorting it if it's a bit mixed up and all over the house. Saves you from going bonkers when you can't find your last MOT certificate and the car tax was due yesterday.

Don't forget the garden, if there is a garden. Weeding a dandelion bush is a lot harder than it looks.

Kathi Lipp's three-box/two-bag system for decluttering - boxes are Other Room, This Room, Donate and bags are Trash and Recycling. Take one room at a time with this system, putting things into the appropriate boxes and bags. Dust/clean/hoover empty space as needed. Take care of Trash, Recycling and Donate accordingly. Put back things in the This Room box. Remember to actually find homes for the things in the Other Room box that belong in other rooms (instead of jamming the box in a closet like I did ).

[thebestpossibletaste]

My top tip is to clean a room when you're in it, i.e. when I'm cleaning the bath after my daughter has been in it in the evening, I clean the whole bathroom.

My second tip is keep cleaning materials close to hand if possible. I always have a pack of antibacterial wipes tucked away in the bathroom and downstairs loo.

Declutter as you go along instead of letting it build up and becoming an impossible task. Throw junk mail in the recycling straight away. If you don't need to keep something, get rid of it straight away instead of stowing it away to deal with another day.

[Tee2072]

Along the same line as invite the in laws, I invite my mother from the US. She who lectures about how could I not possible own x/y/z cleaning implement?!?!

Last time it was a Swiffer mop thing. So I've ordered one to hand her when she gets here on the 30th.

[ClaraOswinOswald]

Set yourself a time to do an room and go flat out to get it clean and tidy. then go and have a cup of tea/catch up on Mumsnet before doing the same to another room.

Train your kids (and DH if not already) to help. Many hands make light work and all that.

[MakeTeaNotWar]

Bag up any shapeless, worn or unloved clothes and get them to the charity shop. Keep surfaces clear - always easy to run a duster or damp cloth over a debris-free surface. Load the dishwasher after every meal, don't let it all stack up on the side into an intimidating mountain of mess.....

[HotPinkWeaselWearingLederhosen]

Sometimes it pays to get the professionals in.

I have a man cleaning my stairs and landing carpet now. I can never get it properly clean, and it is a great incentive to scuba the walls and bannister tomorrow for a swanky clean hallway.

[Shaky]

Clean almost everything with baby wipes

[HazeltheMcWitch]

Use a shower/window squeegee to get LOADS of pet hair off carpets, flooring and upholstery.

[firawla]

I find it easier if I get dh to take the kids out somewhere so I can get cleaning done much quicker without all the little ones under my feet

[TicTacSir]

We have a "birthday" for our house (coinciding with the date we moved in) when all of us (young dc's included) declutter, polish, mop, air the rooms, change to the spring/summer duvets and then bake a lovely lemony cake for our lovely house with candles for each year we've been here. I have a box of special decorations for the occasion too, a lovely Easter-y theme of little chicks, eggs, bunny rabbits (not live, you understand) which the kids love putting out as a party piece when everything is done. And I buy a beautiful spring scented air freshener plug-in for the kitchen. Gets everyone in a much better mood for the warmer weather!

[enormouse]

Borrow your in laws dog/invite somebody with a dog round after meals to clear up after your little ones attempt to feed himself. Way more effective than a vacuum cleaner and your DC will amuse himself with said dog whilst you wash up etc