Spring Cleaning: Your Car

Our spring cleaning series now travels to your car! Yes, that vehicle you have neglected all winter because you figured it will just keep getting worse with every snow storm. This weekend will be a great time to really scrub your car to sparkly clean. Best tip: always clean from the top down, both inside and outside of the car. Follow these steps to get your car ready for the spring and summer:

washing a carRemove all the clutter.Get a bag and throw out the trash. Then clean out all the stuff that doesn’t need to be in there, extra winter hats, gloves, snow removers, etc. Don’t forget the trunk!

Clean the inside windows with special car window cleaner. Some window cleaners with ammonia make your car windows more foggy, so getting the special car window cleaner is worth it.

Wipe down front dash with cleaners made for car interiors.

Take your car mats out and power wash them. This is an easy task for rubber winter mats, but can also be done with carpet mats, just make sure you let them completely dry before putting them back in your car.

Use a heavy duty vacuum (like the ones at the car wash) to completely vacuum the interior.
Change your tires if you put on snow tires. If you didn’t change your tires, check your tire pressure and treads.

Check the fluid levels to make sure everything is adequate.

Wash the outside of your car from the top down. Getting an undercarriage wash at the car wash is also a good idea, to really get at any of the left over salt under your car.

Now you are all set to hit the open road! Drive safely this spring and summer!

Spring Cleaning: The Oprah Experiment

Over the next few weeks of spring we will give some excellent spring cleaning tips. Spring is a time to start anew! Why not give your house a new life? A favorite spring cleaning task is the Oprah Closet Experiment. Oprah didn’t invent it, but she made it famous.

closet

Here are the steps to take to clean out your closet and get rid of the clothes you don’t wear:

Turn all your hangers around backwards
Every time you wear an item, turn the hanger around
Do this over a period of 6 months or so (long enough to go through seasons)
Everything that is still on a backwards facing hanger, donate
This closet cleaning technique does not render immediate results, but spring is a good time to start. Your closet will become uncluttered and look more organized. Happy Spring Cleaning!