Spring is HERE! Spring is one of my favorite seasons because it's the perfect balance between winter and summer. Spring cleaning is a great time to open our windows that have been closed for the last couple of months and bring fresh air into our homes. Cleaning your furniture doesn't have to mean using bottles of toxic cleaners filled with harmful chemicals  and heavy scents. With just a few household ingredients and tricks you can safely and effectively have a fresh, clean home.

Vacuum. Vacuuming should be done often to remove soils, dust, and airborne particles from carpets and rugs. Soft surfaces like our carpets, area rugs, upholstery, cushions and fabric drapery work as a filter that traps and captures airborne particles. The problem is these surfaces don't have a way of releasing these particles once captured, they must be removed physically. Vacuuming is an effective way to removing these particles and it eliminates allergens that are not visible. Tip: Remember to also vacuum your upholstered sofas and chairs. Not only does vacuuming clean the surface but increases the longevity of the fabric.  

Dust Hard Surfaces With Microfiber. Microfiber clothes are my favorite and highly recommended products for cleaning your furniture. When used dry, microfiber clothes are excellent because of their ability to capture, trap, and hold dust particles from hard surfaces like wood, metal, glass, leather, stone, etc. My favorite microfiber clothes are Norwex's EnviroCloth because of it's antibacterial agent. It can be used wet to clean and disinfect or dry to remove dust. 

Use the Power of Vinegar. Distilled white vinegar is an effective cleaner because of its high acidity. It can be used to destroy bacteria and remove stains and odors. Here's just a few cleaning powers vinegar has.

• cleans glass surfaces
• cleans indoor wrought iron furniture
• removes grease stains from suede furniture
• vinegar, lemon juice and linseed oil can be used to clean sealed wood furniture

Polish With Lemon. Lemons can be used for multiple cleaning solutions. They also offer a fresh scent when cleaning. Most furniture polishes leave an unpleasant, heavy, oily finish on hard surfaces such as wood. Instead you can use a few drops of lemon juice mixed with olive oil to polish varnished wood furniture. After polishing, if you have a residue you can remove excess polish naturally with cornstarch. 

Clean With Baking Soda. Baking soda is always handy to have around the house for several reasons but pertaining to cleaning your furniture here's a few.

• Sprinkle baking soda on your fabric then vacuum to remove odors from your upholstery furniture.
• Wipe down your leather sofa with a mixture of a cup of salt water with two tablespoons of baking soda and one teaspoon of flour in a bowl to clean your leather furniture. Don't forget to dry with a a dry cloth.
• To clean your copper accents buff your copper with a baking soda & lemon juice paste (mix baking soda with enough lemon juice to make a paste).
• To deodorize your rugs sprinkle baking soda on your rugs and let stand for at least 15 minutes then vacuum.

Before trying a new cleaning solution always test a small area first. Share in the comments below your favorite natural cleaning solutions.

À la prochaine,

Looking to make spring cleaning easy for the whole family? Check out: Q & A: Tips to Simplify Spring Cleaning