How To Detox Your Bedroom in Ten Steps (And Why You Should!)

woman spring cleaning her home

Ah the traditional spring clean, time to get the house sparkling (and get round to all of those little jobs that somehow manage to get put off with a regular clean!) At the year's first hint of sunshine I'm all about raiding the cleaning aisle in the supermarket, and getting stuck in to get the house looking its best. A bit of a sad fact about me is that I quite enjoy cleaning, I find the whole process extremely satisfying and am always much happier and more productive in a clean environment. However even with a regular cleaning schedule and keeping organised, there are always going to be the kinds of jobs that either get skipped over or only need doing occasionally- and so a full spring clean is a good time to get everything sorted. Planning on giving your room a good spring clean? Here are ten steps you wont want to miss.

1. Hoover Your Mattress
Here's a nice terrifying fact for you: a mattress can double it's weight in ten years because of dust mites and their waste. There's one to sit and ponder over as you go to sleep tonight...eek! You can help to keep dust mites down by regularly cleaning and dusting, using allergen proof bed covers and keeping your room well aired and dehumidified- however dust mites are hardy little blighters and keeping them away altogether is basically impossible. You can help to prevent them from accumulating in your mattress by regularly hoovering it, most vacuum cleaners come with a special attachment. This is also a good time to give your mattress an airing too, lean it up the wall and open the window allowing the air to circulate for an hour or so while you get on with the rest of the cleaning.

2. Wash and Iron Bedding
Bedding should be washed once a week- and as much of a pain as it is, this is one thing you should always make time for. Seeing humans are quite disgusting creatures who sweat and shed skin, your sheets get manky pretty quickly (even if they look like they're fine). Add a bit of pet hair into the mix if your dog or cat likes to sneak up onto the bed during the night, and all in all it's worth the effort of just getting them done. Put them on the hottest wash cycle your washing machine does, with plenty of fabric conditioner for that gorgeous clean sheet smell.

3. Wash or Replace Your Pillows
If they're not washable and more than a year old, you're going to want to replace them and here's why. A pillow can double it's weight in just three years because of accumulated material; as with your mattress, old bedding can also harbour dust mites which can cause acne and aggravate allergies. If you think about it, your face is pressed up against something that's potentially harboring all sorts of allergens for eight hours a night- so make sure it's clean for health and hygeine reasons! So best to air on the side of caution, and replace them if necessary.

4. Sort Out Drawers/ Wardrobe
This is likely to be the thing that takes up the most time when it comes to spring cleaning, as you're removing and reorganising most of the stuff that you own. The best way to go about this is first remove everything from every cupboard and drawer, and clean all of the empty surfaces. Sort everything you've taken out into three piles- 'keep' 'donate' and 'bin'. You then only have to worry about organising and putting back everything in the 'keep' pile. Now is also a good opportunity to switch out all of your winter clothes for spring/summer outfits and shoes, and put thick coats and boots into storage. Holding onto too many things (especially if they're no longer useful or necessary) not only takes up precious space but psychologically can also leave your mind feeling cluttered. Getting rid of the old gives you more room to store and enjoy the things you do need and love.

5. Wash and Iron Curtains
This is the sort of job that tends to get overlooked on a regular day of cleaning, which is why getting your spring clean on is always a good idea. Unlike bedding they of course don't need to be washed every week, but should be done twice a year at least. Fabrics like curtains can hold onto pollution from when the window is open which is particularly problematic if you live in a city or on a busy road. Make sure you check the manufacturers washing instructions, as the last thing you want to do is shrink them so they no longer fit at the window! Give them a good iron too, as lets face it creased curtains are never going to be a good look.

6. Thoroughly Hoover the Floor
Not just the old once over like you would normally, now is the time to get serious and get behind all of that furniture! Pull out the bed and any large pieces of furniture and thoroughly hoover, it's really quite horrifying the amount of dust that can accumulate behind furniture over time without you ever realising. Get right around the edge of the room with the crevice tool on the hoover (the long, thin looking one) and generally just everywhere under things where you can't normally reach.

 7. Clean the Carpets
Even if you take really good care of your carpets, over time there are always going to be things like food and drink spills and bacteria trodden in from shoes/paws which can mean a breeding ground for harmful germs (research has shown that carpets and rugs can even harbour things like pneumonia, E. Coli and salmonella!) Steam cleaning or using a carpet cleaner once a year can help to solve the problem and leave them nice and fresh. I personally love the Rug Doctor, you can hire them from supermarkets for about £20 a day and they're so powerful they leave your carpets looking like new. Plus it's one of those disgusting yet satisfying things when you see the colour of the water that the machine has pulled up after you're done.

8. Wash the Windows
This has got to be my least favourite job, and it's fair to say I'm rubbish at it (and always end up spending ages battling smeared glass!) Unless you're a bit brave with a ladder it might be best to hire a professional to clean the outsides of the windows, but you can do the insides yourself with a wet cloth, a dry cloth, a vinegar/water solution and lots of paper towels.

9. Dust All Surfaces
Made up of waste matter including shedded skin, pet dander, pollutants, insect waste, dust mites and dirt- dust is not only pretty damn unhygenic but unhealthy too. Causing or worsening conditions like asthtma, rhinitis and in some people allergic reaction- it's definitely not something you want to be breathing in around your home. As a general rule you should be dusting at least once a week (I like to keep a pack of cleaning wipes in my room which makes it really quick) but it's easy to forget things like windowsills, on top of the wardrobe and on light fittings. Other places to check are on top of your door, the tops of mirrors and on artificial plants.

10. Clean Electricals
Finally, as well as dust all of those hard to reach places don't forget to clean up your electricals too.  Electricals are well known for attracting dust, plus things like computer keyboards, remote controls and tv power buttons are hotspots for bacteria. A good way to clean hard to reach crevices on electronics, is buy a can of air which will dislodge anything that shouldn't be there.

Have you started your spring cleaning yet?