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

My tip is to spring clean one room or when the room is full of stuff then just part of a room at a time so it doesn't feel overwhelming. I tend to start by putting "junk" in bags which I then go through one at a time (often when the children are in bed and I can watch the tv at the same time) which makes de-cluttering less of a tedious chore. I hate thowing things out if they have some use so most things go to friends, neighbour and charities. I try to focus upon how much better I'll feel once everything I no longer need has gone to someone else who actually wants my things.

my top tip is give a fresh coat of paint to areas like the hall stairs and landing. it makes you clear everything out of the way and get all cobwebs and just brightens the place up and that motivates me to venture further into the other rooms.

my other mission currently is to fill the bins (recycling what can be and black bin for what can't) to the brim every fortnight. it is a time of clearing out all of the accumulated junk and clutter that has amassed.

the point of 'filling the bins' is to make me really venture into the barns and everywhere to get stuff out that doesn't need to be there. lots of crap in my barns and under the stairs etc that needs sorting.

Declutter surfaces.
Take clutter to charity shop.
Whisk round surfaces with nice smelling polish/cleaner.
Place vase of spring flowers on newly decluttered, sparkling surface.
Job done!

Coming rather late to this thread - I LOVE tictacsir's house birthday idea. Ours is in September so I have time to prepare a lovely autumnal themed party :)

As for my own tip... If you have loads of CDs or DVDs, buy storage folders like this. It stops young DCs removing CDs and throwing them all over the floor, creating mess, and frees up the most amazing amount of shelf space you can then fill with more crap

folders

Clean the windows, makes everywhere look cleaner & brighter!

Start the week before Christmas, get your kids to decide which toys they want to pass to children who aren't as lucky as them so they can make way for new toys, get your DP in the loft and empty out everything, go through it and throw away/recycle/donate anything that's not been used for 2 years.

Then when spring comes, go through all your winter clothes and anything that was not worn, goes to charity shops and everything else gets ironed and vacuum packed away.

Hang out all your duvets and pillows and let your kids beat them with a tennis racket, cricket bat, anything - gets all the dead skin out.

I use Dettol wipes to clean the toilet. A cloth rinsed in hot water to polish and dry with kitchen roll. Fill my sink with hot water and soda crystals - gets rid of scum.

I use babywipes to clean the stainless steel cooker, it gets rid of greasy smears instantly... they also work on my toddlers bottom just as well :-)

I have always been a BIG FAN of White Distilled Vinegar for cleaning almost anything.
I use it almost everywhere and its really cheap to buy too. (pennies in most supermarkets)

I use it in my kettle to remove limescale - just fill your kettle with water and add about 1/2 cup of distilled vinegar.
Let it stand overnight, then rinse well -I usually fill it about 3/4 times with clean water the next morning before you use it.
And it's a lot cheaper than a descale product.

Scissors - Wipe over the blades of your scissors when they become sticky/dirty with a cloth that has been dipped in neat vinegar, then you just wipe dry with another cloth.

I also wipe down tiles in the kitchen/bathroom with it, glassware to bring a great shine. Mirrors ....love vinegar.

The only thing my kids hate is the smell, so I have to rinse everything really well.`

I prefer to do my spring cleaning on a nice sunny day, while the windows are open.
I start off with washing the curtains. Bring the duvet and pillows, carpets out and leave them there for couple of hours or longer to have a natural antibacterial effect.
Separate my children's clothes which became smaller and the toys not suitable for them any more and give them to charity or sell.
I move the not very heavy furnitures to have a thorough hoovering (I use my Filter queen majestic); wipe all over, walls, top of the furnitures.
Clean the windows with some vinegar mixed water as I have allergy from other chemical sprays and it really works.

top tip... don't wait for spring :)

Delegate! To the children, your partner, your Mum and if all else fails, a professional.

Don't sit down after breakfast/dropping the kid's at school. Stick some music on, get the windows open and follow the list that you wrote the night before.

Phone merry maids and get them to do a spring clean.

Throw open the windows and put all fabrics through the wash to dry in the sunshine.

When you've cleaned the tops of kitchen cupboards, place a layer of newspaper or wrapping paper there, which you simply replace the following year - no more cleaning. If you store seldom used items there, wrap in clingfilm first. It's not noticeable and when you come to use it, you whip off the clingfilm and have a clean pan/ teapot etc to use.

I too prefer to do a spring clean when it's actually spring and warm enough to open windows.

Put some music on if that helps.

Everything in it's place. If it doesn't have a place, find one!

Once surfaces are clear, dust with damp e cloth and then vacuum.

William Morris said if something is not beautiful or useful it shouldn't be in a house (something like that!). I use this to help me to judge whether to chuck something or not.

Dust while you're on the phone - if my mum's in a talkative mood I can get the banisters and moulded bits of doors and kitchen units done during one call.

I bought some groovy patterned dusters etc to motivate me. It even worked! a bit

always start from the back of the house and work your way through from there, no point starting at the front by the time you get half way through you will be dragging allsorts through what you have already done x

as a woman and clearly being an entirely different species......(I hate these questions :) My best tip is to have my hubby do it for me :)

Pay someone else to do it. Enjoy having a clean house and knowing that you're helping the economy too.

I have to set myself a time limit otherwise I get too distracted from any jobs. So I blitz a room in the allotted timeframe, I find that I am so motivated to get the room done that it is easier this way. I only do a max. of 3 rooms in a day.

My main nagging point/handy hint to the family is not to dump things all over the house - at least put them in the right room, this makes the cleaning process much easier!

Work through one room at a time