Keep your common area clean with your flatmates this spring!

Spring is a time for new beginnings: blue skies, a clean slate… and a clean kitchen! If you’re like my flatmates and I, you try to keep your common area clean on the regular, but you’ve been procrastinating doing a proper a Big Clean.

If you can get motivated as a group, it’s very easy to do this Spring Clean and - bonus - keep it sustainable and eco friendly!  Here are a few of my best tips to keep the Spring Clean equitable, efficient, and green.

1. Make a clear plan and split the job

We all have different standards of cleanliness: there’s always a flatmate who thinks it’s okay to leave their dishes in the sink for a few hours, and flatmate who’s infuriated by it. So, the first goal for the Spring Clean: keep the harmony in the flat!

• Make a comprehensive a list of tasks and assign each task to one person. You can write down the list and put it in a visible place in the kitchen (the pin board for example). That way, you can cross each task off as it gets done, which makes the cleaning even more satisfying.
• It's best to let people choose their task: I know that I like wiping surfaces more than I like vacuuming, so I am more likely to do that on the regular - and to do it efficiently for the Spring Clean.
• Plan clear days where each person is free to do each task: this ensures that the cleaning actually gets done!
• It’s a good idea to keep people accountable of their tasks, but don’t create conflict in the flat: harmony is the priority! A clean flat also means clean air between all of you 🌬️

2. Think of the details

The idea behind the Spring Clean is to do things you would not usually think of (or, let's be real, bother with)! Here are a few things to remember:

• 🧹 Don’t just vacuum, mop the floor as well. And remember to empty the hoover reservoir! We forgot to do it in my flat, and dust exploded everywhere in someone’s room - it wasn’t pretty. It’s always better to plan ahead than to clean up spills later.
• 🥬 Do sort of the cupboards to throw away everything that has gone bad or what is about to go bad. To make it fun and minimise food waste, you can plan a flat meal around food that you should eat soon!
• ❄️ Also remember to deep clean the fridges, freezers, and cupboards (and defrost them if necessary - the freezers, not the cupboards).
• 🔥 You probably remember to wipe the cooking surfaces regularly, but if you haven’t cleaned the oven(s) yet, now’s a good time to do it.
• 💦 We all know that the water in London is super hard, so if there’s limescale buildup on the faucets, wipe those down!
• 🧽 And finally, the things everyone always forget: clean out the bins! 

3. Keep it sustainable!

This is kind of a bonus tip, but it’s always a good idea to try to make the Spring Clean an eco-friendly one! Unfortunately, a lot of cleaning products that you can buy off the shelves at the supermarket are not very good for the environment. Plenty of alternatives exist:

• One of the more well-known ones is using white vinegar instead of fancy scented cleaning products. My family swears by it, and it works well for pretty much everything.
• If you’re really motivated, you can also make your own cleaning products. If you don’t know how, never fear, the Internet is always here for you, and it is ripe with tips to DIY your cleaning stuff. And, as a bonus, it often ends up being cheaper than buying them!

For quick tips, Instagram reels and YouTube videos are a great place to look and get inspired about making your Spring Clean more sustainable! This is one example that I found super quickly, and there are plenty of others.

Happy cleaning folks! 🧹🌸