The blog has four different parts:
1. Clear out 2. Sort 3. Store 4. Clean

We have made some short video clips for each area. You can click on them and watch the video clips or choose to just read the text. The content is roughly the same.

1. Clear out

This is a tip for those of you who find it a bit difficult to clean and perhaps even think that it gets "messier" when you start cleaning. By starting the cleaning by clearing out, you quickly get order and tidiness, quickly see results and, above all, structure in your work. So, start by picking up and throwing away all the rubbish that is lying around. Clear off kitchen counters, hall furniture and so on, but don't clean them now, just pick up the rubbish. Don't forget the flowers. Go through and remove withered leaves, into the compost with them. Spray flowers that need it with water, water them and put the flowers back.

2. Sort

Throw in the right "bin", sort immediately: metal in one container, hard and soft plastic separately, and then paper and compost separately. Now you will see that there is actually not that much that should go in the household waste. Now take all the waste, even from workrooms and the bathroom, and here you take the opportunity to clear out empty shampoo and soap bottles.
Source-separate! Once you have thrown everything away, go to the recycling center and get rid of all the junk.
Phew! Now the worst is done 😉

3. Store

Summer storage of winter clothes and avoiding pests Take care of the storage and switching of summer and winter clothes, summer and winter shoes. If you live in a house that has storage spaces with, for example, chicken wire in between, this is extra important. Pests such as moths have in recent years gained an increasingly strong foothold in Sweden, and unfortunately, the moth spreads both quickly and easily from household to household. Jackets and other thick winter clothes, especially those made of natural materials such as wool, down and cotton, are particularly vulnerable to moth attacks. Therefore, be careful to wash your clothes; it is best if they are freshly washed when they are put away. Some garments are very difficult to wash, and then you can take out the pockets, brush off the garment, any hairs and dust, spray lightly with linen water and hang out to air. When the garment is dry and clean, put a couple of mothballs in each pocket, leave the pockets open. If the garment lacks pockets, you can hang a moth ring around the hanger. Both mothballs and moth rings are completely non-toxic in red cedar.
Hang the garment on a hanger and put a plastic sack / large bag over the hanger. Tie the bottom and seal the hole where the hanger has gone through the plastic with tape. Label the bag so that you know what is in it for the autumn. In the same way, you store thick sweaters, gloves, hats and thick socks that you do not need during the summer.

Summer storage of winter shoes Summer storage of winter shoes. Take out any inner shoes and wash if possible. If the shoe feels unclean, you can pour a couple of tablespoons of baking soda into each shoe. Let stand overnight and then shake out. If there is baking soda left in the shoe, you can vacuum out the shoes. Put the inner shoe back in and put in shoe trees to keep the shape of the shoe. If you lack shoe trees, you can make balls of newspaper and fill the shoe with them. The point is that the shoe should keep its shape. Tie the laces and put the shoes in a plastic bag that you seal well.

That it smells good and a lot is not the same as it actually being clean.

4. Clean

Then it's time for the actual cleaning. Here we want to take the opportunity to raise the question: Is a strong scent the same as it being clean? A strong scent of perfume is actually not the same as it not being dirty, and do we really want to add chemicals when we clean? If the goal is to remove dirt, why should you add chemicals? You can handle pretty much all cleaning in the home with soap, vinegar, acetic acid and baking soda. You can read more about this in the cleaning blog.

If you buy a package for natural cleaning from Västerbottenssåpa, a simple guide on how to clean environmentally friendly and toxin-free is also included. Soap can be used to clean all surfaces at home. Only plastic floors should you use soap sparingly on. Baking soda cleans your stainless steel sink and also becomes a good drain cleaner together with vinegar. Acetic acid replaces rinse aid in the dishwasher, fabric softener in the washing machine and removes bad odors. Vinegar, as mentioned, becomes a good drain cleaner together with baking soda, vinegar also dissolves tape and glue residue very effectively. Here it is a matter of deciding whether it is a major cleaning or a simpler cleaning. If you have planned the major cleaning, you should preferably start by pulling out the stove, cleaning the oven and the kitchen fan. Most kitchen fan filters can actually be run in the dishwasher. You do all this most easily with soap. A fatty soap like Västerbottenssåpa easily dissolves greasy dirt in and around the stove and oven. Then take the bathroom, floor drain, sink drain and toilet. You do this most easily with warm water and soap. There are special brushes available for the sink to reach both the drain and overflow protection. You also clean the toilet easily with soap. If you have discoloration in the toilet, you can let soap stand in the toilet for a while and then clean with the brush. Change both towels in the bathroom and kitchen textiles.

Hang out rugs, preferably beat them. Dust, preferably with a duster of ostrich or wool. They absorb dust without just moving it around. Shake out the duster outdoors. Wipe surfaces with a damp cloth and a little soap, shelves, moldings, tables and counters. Now, you can bring out the vacuum cleaner. Vacuum thoroughly, even behind furniture.

Last of all, wet-mop the floors. If you have really stained floors, a floor scrubber (scrub brush on a handle) can be good to have. There you go! A bunch of fresh tulips on the kitchen table and the spring cleaning is complete!

This blog is written by Sara Idenfors, Västerbottenssåpa.
All products used are environmentally friendly and can be ordered at www.vasterbottenssapa.se

__________________________________________________________________________

Questions and answers

- What is the first step in spring cleaning?

The first step is to clear away rubbish and tidy up the flowers to create order and structure in the work.

- Why is it important to source-separate waste?

Source-separating waste helps to organize and reduce clutter, while promoting a more sustainable lifestyle by recycling materials.

- What alternatives are there for cleaning effectively without using chemicals?

We suggest using natural cleaning agents such as soap, vinegar, acetic acid and baking soda instead of harsh chemicals.

Order natural cleaning products here: Västerbottenssåpa