The smaller the apartment, the easier it is to keep clean, right? Well . . . not exactly. While yes, you do have less space to worry about when it comes to dusting and scrubbing, it’s also easy to overlook some of the things that are making your place look dirty.
Maintaining a small apartment is an art form (when you’ve lived in small spaces, you know), and it requires a whole different set of eyes and priorities than a larger place might. Are you looking at your apartment and wondering what to even put on your Spring cleaning list? We’ve got you covered. Here are some things you might not think of cleaning that will make a colossal impact on your space (and some hacks to tackle these tasks the easy way).
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Blinds and Curtains
These are probably the last on your list of Spring cleaning priorities, but move them to the top! Natural light is so crucial in smaller spaces, and I’m willing to bet you have a good layer of dust on your window coverings. Check the instructions on your curtains, but you can usually throw them in the washer and dryer (just make sure to iron out any wrinkles before rehanging them). If you have blinds like me, the easiest way to clean them is to remove them and put them in your shower or tub. Splash some dish soap and hot water on them. Let them soak if you can, or scrub them with a cleaning brush as they’re being rinsed. Your apartment will feel like a completely different (and better) place with sparkling-clean blinds or curtains.
Unsplash / _rishideep
Fans
Fans get SO dirty throughout the year and just continue to blow around dust in a small space. It definitely takes some time, but dismantling them is so worth it. Get a screwdriver and a cleaning solution, and get to wiping. You’ll feel so much better every time you need to turn the fan on knowing you’re not taking in loads of dust. And if you’re lucky enough to have a ceiling fan, you don’t even have to dismantle it! Just wipe it clean.
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Doors, Doorways, and Light Switches
We tend to ignore doors, doorways, and light switches when it comes to cleaning, although they’re some of the most-touched spots in our homes. If you take a second to look at them, you might be shocked to find a slew of hand marks and fingerprints. Take a cleaning solution — I love Koala Eco’s Natural Multi-Purpose Kitchen Cleaner ($12.95) as it removes bacteria and cleans away scuffs and marks without toxic chemicals, while the fresh lemon and mandarin scent is an added bonus! — and spray away those dirty marks. Even if you don’t have marks, it doesn’t hurt to sanitise these highly trafficked hand areas.
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Baseboards
Even if these don’t look that bad, I’d still encourage you to take a cloth and a bowl of soapy water and just run the wet cloth along all of your baseboards. I was shocked to find how dusty mine were – and they aren’t even very thick baseboards. Your place will look so much cleaner without these little pockets of dust surrounding it.
Getty / Douglas Sacha
Vents
When is the last time you paid attention to your vents? Exactly. Take your vacuum and a brush attachment, and give them a good cleaning. If they’re anything like mine, they accumulate a nice layer of dust very easily. If your vacuum isn’t getting everything, I’d recommend taking a paper towel with some cleaning solution on it and wiping your vent in the spots your vacuum missed.
