You’re Probably Not Cleaning the Most Obvious Part of Your Home
With Spring Cleaning for Your Mood, we’re helping you get your housekeeping done no matter what state of mind you’re in. For 20 weekdays in April, we’ll focus on cleaning a new area of your space, with three different ways to get it done—so it’s easy to stay on track even when you’re busy, tired, or away from home. And to make it go even better, enter to win your Your Everything-You-Need Spring Cleaning Tool Kit from OXO at the bottom of the post.
Baseboards and walls usually fall into the mom category of cleaning: We only remember to clean them when our mom is coming to visit. And while they certainly don’t need to be on your weekly to-clean list, baseboards and walls do deserve some semi-annual TLC. Today, we’re going to spiff them up so they’ll shine for the rest of the year. You’ll be surprised what a big difference even a little love makes.
Day 19 Assignment: Baseboards & Walls
Baseboards and walls are like big frames around the picture of your home—and like regular frames they can get a little dusty. Unlike picture frames, they can also get scuffed up by squeaky shoes and marked up with your kids’ crayons. Let’s make sure the rest of the picture is looking good by starting with the frames.
So what are you in the mood for today?
A Satisfying Deep Dive: Give your walls and baseboards a thorough wipe-down.
Is that paint you painstakingly chose dulled by months of dust? Capture it in no time with the OXO Long Reach Dusting System (there’s a ceiling fan duster too, while you’re at it). Switch to the Microfiber Floor Duster for the baseboards. Then, hit the house top to bottom — or at least your most high-traffic areas — with a high-powered clean. The Microfiber Spray Mop makes the job effortless.
A Quick Win: Do a walk-around where you remove scuffs and spot clean.
Admit it: Watching scuffs disappear is kinda fun. Erase the black streaks left by errant rainboots and who-knows-what-else, and you’ll be amazed how much tidier everything looks. Then hit trouble spots with a good all-purpose scrub brush and watch your clean factor increase even further in an instant.
A Mindful Reset: Ready yourself for quick touchups later.
You know your walls and baseboards haven’t seen the last of scuffs and streaks. Assemble a scuff remover kit — whatever mix of dusters, rags, or brushes you use — to keep in a convenient spot for the (inevitable) next time.
Visit the Spring Cleaning for Your Mood page to check out all the assignments so far.