Spring cleaning has traditionally been the season for deep cleaning and refreshing your home. But why then and not in winter? Winter actually provides the best opportunity to do the deepest cleaning given that many people tend to hibernate or spend more time inside than outside. Besides, wouldn’t you rather spend the first weeks of spring outdoors when the weather is warm than stuck indoors cleaning your home?
Here are some of the reasons why a deep winter cleaning makes more sense:
- Sick air
“Baby it’s cold outside” translates into doors and windows being closed most of the time, and winter usually the time of year when colds and flu attack prolifically. Being exposed to varying temperatures from the warmth of the home to the colder outdoors can wreak havoc on our body’s immune system so, when we do go out, we are more vulnerable to bugs and viruses carried by others. A sneeze, for example, can carry up to some 8 metres in around 22 seconds, and droplets can linger for up to 10 minutes.
When one member of the household gets sick, it’s really only a matter of time before everyone gets sick, which is why it is uber important to disinfect the home, particularly in areas that have high traffic like the kitchen and bathroom. Door handles and light switches should also get a good sweep.
Suggestion: Disinfect at least every two weeks.
- Air circulation
With the more intensive closure of doors and windows, the quality of air in the home is reduced. Many people are likely to turn on heaters, including their aircon heating systems, or even burn live fires, all of which can kick up dust from venting systems.
Cooking without ventilation can also introduce air pollutants. Cooking fumes can contain over 200 harmful gases, like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's) and aldehydes, both of which are known carcinogens.
Suggestion: Open the windows and doors for at least an hour a day. While you may lose internal heat and even attract more dust into your home, the quality of your air is refreshed daily.
- Super dust
You’d think that dust is limited during winter given that generally you are not opening up the house as often as other times in the year. Yet in our South African environment the dryness of the outdoors, including decaying grass and leaves, presents a far greater dust and dirt challenge. And, if you have dogs and cats, they will be bringing those bits and pieces indoors.
In winter we experience much more ‘settled’ dust because there is less natural fresh air circulating, meaning that dust is likely to leave the home through natural ventilation. Our skin is also dryer from heating systems, and, when skin dries out, it tends to flake.
Dust is a major contributor to breathing disorders, and exacerbates asthma.
Suggestion: Vacuum at least every three days.
- Time saving
A good clean in winter will remove the layers of grime that have accumulated over the year, giving you more time to enjoy the early spring days instead of being stuck inside rubbing and scrubbing. The areas most likely to require a deep clean include beneath and behind furniture, the oven, stove-top and extractors, and the bathrooms where germs thrive.
Winter is also a great time to involve the family in the cleaning process. They are stuck indoors anyway so it makes sense to include them in the cleaning. Even young children can be given easy tasks such as polishing and dusting, with a potential reward for doing a good job.
Suggestion: Disinfect the areas you rarely consider, such as dustbins, toilets and toilet brushes. Indoor window cleaning, especially blinds, makes perfect sense, leaving the outdoor windows for spring.
- Clutter monsters and dust collectors
Decluttering your entire home during winter makes perfect sense. It allows you to really contemplate the value of an item, whether it still has a use or a sentimental or attractiveness feature. Every member of the family should be involved, be that considering their own personal items or those generic things that are being wasted when they may have value to someone else.
Decluttering allows you to consider donating to needy communities, repurpose or recycle into a more useful piece, and rid yourself of broken items that you have been storing ‘in case’.
Suggestion: Include clothing and old bedding, towels and curtaining in the declutter chore. Also the kitchen cupboards where things not or rarely in use tend to get pushed to the back. And girls … don’t forget your make-up and skin products.
Other resource:
