Happy spring! It’s April, and it’s time to do our April deep cleaning! If you haven’t been reading and cleaning along with me yet, check out my Deep Cleaning Schedule for Your Whole Home! That post has a printable schedule that you can post in your home, follow, and check off on when you’ve completed each job. If you haven’t already done the January, February, and March jobs, feel free to start there. Or just jump in with April’s deep cleaning fun!
April Deep Cleaning Jobs:
April is all about the windows. Here’s what we have for this month:
- Wash the blinds.
- Wash the windows trim.
- Clean the window panes.
- Wash and iron the curtains.
- Replace the air filters.
Supplies You’ll Need:
- Bucket or large bowl of warm water
- Your favorite non-toxic cleaning concentrate OR a multipurpose spray – I’m using Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds. Another great option I love is Branch Basics.
- Microfiber cloths
- Window cleaner – I’m using my homemade glass cleaner. A non-toxic store-bough one I love is ECOS Window Cleaner with Vinegar.
- Laundry detergent – I use Molly’s Suds.
- Air filters
April Deep Cleaning:
1. Wash the Blinds
To clean the blinds, I use the same solution I used to clean the walls in February and the doors in March. Start by filling a large bowl or bucket with warm water and add about 2 teaspoons of Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds.
I LOVE Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds for a few reasons.
- It is made of natural ingredients, not toxic chemicals.
- It is scented with essential oils, not artificial fragrances.
- It’s safe on my skin and does not irritate my eczema, like many harsh cleaning products I used in the past did.
- It’s a concentrate; so you only need to use a small amount mixed with water. This 32 oz bottle lasts forever!
- It has so many purposes. You can use it as laundry detergent, dish detergent, and for cleaning just about anything!
- It’s effective! It actually works to clean what I need it to clean.
Dip a microfiber cloth into the solution and wring it out so that it’s just damp. Then, using the cloth, wipe each blind to remove all the dirt, dust, and fly poop (Yes-fly poop! That’s what those little black, brown, or orange dots are on your blinds and window frame!). I wipe them all, and then turn the blinds the other direction and wipe that side as well. Make sure you wipe the rotation wands down too.
Go through and clean each set of blinds in the house this way.
Rinse your cloth out with water between each set of blinds to avoid spreading the dirt around on the blinds. You may need to switch the cloth out for a clean one after cleaning every few sets of blinds. You will also need to empty the water and make a new, clean soapy water solution when the water gets dirty. That way you can effectively get the blinds sparkling clean.
Another way you can clean your blinds is by spraying them with your multipurpose cleaner. I either make my own multipurpose cleaner or use my Branch Basics all purpose cleaner. Just spray the blinds and wipe them down. If your blinds are super dirty though, the soapy water mixture would probably work best.
Watch my YouTube video to see my April deep cleaning in action!
2. Wash the Window Trim
Using the same soapy water solution you used to clean the blinds, clean the trim around the window. Clean the edges of the window pane, and all the trim around the window, getting in all the grooves.
After I clean the edges of the window pane, I open the window and clean in the window jam. This is the dirtiest part! Do your best to get out all the yucky pollen, dirt, bugs, fly poop, spider webs, and whatever else you find there!
You’ll most likely need to switch out your microfiber cloth after this! Finally, put the window back down, and clean the trim on the bottom of the window to remove any dirt/dust/pollen that may have flown in the window. Repeat this procedure for all the windows in the house.
3. Clean the Windows
I like to make my own glass cleaner. It’s so simple to make and it’s non-toxic, unlike ammonia cleaners! Just add 2 Cups water, 2 Tablespoons white vinegar, and 10 drops of lemon essential oil to a spray bottle and shake! When I first started making this glass cleaner and using it, it surprised me how using 3 natural ingredients worked so well to clean the windows and mirrors – without leaving smudges!
If you don’t want to make your own glass cleaner, like I mentioned earlier ECOS is a great, non-toxic glass cleaner I’ve used.
Spray your window cleaner on the windows and wipe them down with paper towels to clean any dirt, dust, or smudges.
I just clean the inside of all the windows. I do not go outside to clean the windows, but if you want to be really proactive you can. My husband pressure washes the house (that will be in May’s Deep Cleaning post); so he cleans the outside of the windows at that time.
4. Wash and Iron the Curtains
This is a job that takes a lot of time (waiting for all the curtains to wash and dry), but not a lot of effort. I like those kind of jobs! Before you even get started cleaning the blinds, take all the curtains down from the windows. They can be washing while you do the rest of the April deep cleaning jobs.
Separate your curtains into whites and colors. Start a load of either one. I do about four curtains, depending on the size.
I make my own laundry detergent, using grated Dr. Bronner’s Organic Lavender Castile Bar Soap, Washing Soda, Baking Soda, and essential oils. Once again, it’s so simple to make and much less toxic than conventional laundry detergents.
All you do is grate two bars of soap over a bucket. Then add 2 Cups washing soda, 2 Cups baking soda, and 40 drops of your favorite essential oils. My favorites to use in this laundry detergent are lavender (I recently and have come to LOVE this brand of pure essential oils), orange, and lemon. But I usually coordinate with whatever scent of Castile bar soap I got. Then just mix it all together and store in a jar like the one pictured below.
A great store-bought brand I love and also use sometimes for the convenience is Molly’s Suds. I love the peppermint scent made with real, natural peppermint essential oil.
Wash your curtains on a delicate cycle and dry on a low heat setting.
Once the curtains are clean and dry, start the ironing. We’re almost done. Hang in there!
Take one panel at a time. Check the tag on the curtain panel to see what it is made of. Make sure you adjust the setting on your iron for the material your curtain is made of. But you’ll probably need to use a low to medium heat setting.
Wipe down the curtain rod with your microfiber cloth first. Then replace each curtain back onto the rod it came from.
5. Replace the Air Filters
If you’ve been cleaning along with me, you probably replaced your air filters in January. It’s been three months; so it is time to replace them again. I change my air filters 4 times a year. Take each air filter out and look at it. If you can see quite a bit of dust on it, it is time to replace it with a new, clean one. Check out my January cleaning post for more information on replacing your air filters.
That’s it for April deep cleaning! How’d it go for you? Is there another natural, safe product you use to clean your windows and trim? What non-toxic laundry detergent do you love? Let me know how the window cleaning goes for you and if you have any tips to share or questions in the comments below!
Happy cleaning!
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