DIY Springtime Spruce-Ups for Cheap with Evelyn Walwyn!

 

Flowers are blooming, and a DYI springtime spruce-up for cheap is beckoning! Your house may be bursting at the seams with some unnecessary things! If not, don’t judge me (because mine is!), but if you can relate, meet my sweet and funny friend, Evelyn Walwyn, who spent time with Birmingham On the Cheap to help us get our home lives in order!

 

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Evelyn, a singer/songwriter from Huntsville, Alabama, is talented and creative, so I picked her brain for help. I needed a plan of action to clean the house and get the kids to do their part so I could keep my sanity!

 

Thankfully, Evelyn helped to make sense of the foolishness I tried to carry through 2021 and came up with some pretty nifty DIY solutions. She also offered up a list of tips you may have never thought of before to maintain your hard work around the clock.

 

If you’re judging, we won’t mention those Christmas trees just now heading to the recycle center months after Christmas, deal? Now, let’s do this! Time to spruce-up for cheap!

 

 

What are the biggest things people can do to declutter their home for Spring?

• Get rid of something you haven’t used in five or six years. Clothes, mostly. If you’re bringing something new in, get rid of something old. You’re not a storage unit! You keep bringing stuff in and before you know it, your house is cluttered. 
• Growing up poor, you tend to hold onto things. I used to have this toaster for over 15 years until a friend came over and asked why, when Walmart has them for $15. It was like a lightbulb went off, but we were poor growing up, so that stuff sticks with you.
• Stop talking to your clothes – they’re not coming back. Get rid of them. I used to talk to my clothes all the time! I’d say, “I’ll be wearing you again, just wait!” (laughs) I never did, so they went to the trash. It’s the truth – get that mess out of your house. Why are you holding onto those things?

 

In a larger household, cleaning up can be extremely overwhelming. I often have to be motivated to do massive decluttering and cleaning jobs. What are great ways to get motivated to get started AND actually complete a cleaning project?

• You do one room at a time. Sometimes we go room to room picking things up. I don’t care what other rooms look like, if you start in the kitchen, finish the kitchen. I have learned to do this. A clean house makes you smile and makes you feel good.
• Clean as you go. Don’t leave one dish in the sink. If you leave one dish in the sink, another one follows. Next thing you know, you have a sink full of dishes!

 

What are some great ways to reuse, reduce and recycle for Springtime? 

• Do your part. I got myself a water filter. I would see white stuff boil up when I boiled the tap water and I didn’t like it. I also stopped buying water bottles because water is free.
• I don’t use plastic bottles anymore. The landfills are full of them.
• Candles should only burn for one hour. Wicks can cause allergies, 
• Stop being lazy! Get regular towels and wring them out to reuse them. During the pandemic stores ran out of paper towels and tissue so we had to rethink, didn’t we?

 

What are great ways to get kids involved in cleaning projects around the house?

Make them think that they chose what to do! Make a list of the chores that need to be done, and have them choose which ones they would like to do. They will think it’s easy but it won’t matter, because they’re picking something you’ve put on the list. I did this all the time with my boys, who are grown now. But kids need to think it’s their decision.

 

8 Springtime Spruce-ups From Evelyn To Cheaply Clean & Freshen Your Home

1. Streak-free Windows – use newspaper instead of paper towels. Somehow, the newspaper gets windows much cleaner than standard paper towels.
2. Dust Mites – put down charcoal used in aquariums. You can purchase in sachets at Walmart, or buy from pet supply stores. Put some in a pan somewhere in your home, and it rids the home of dust and pet dander.
3. Pet Hair – use rubber gloves and rub your hand across your furniture, then simply place gloves in water to clean.
4. Light Sconces – remove the glass globes from your fixtures, and place in the top dishwasher rack, then, run through a standard cleaning cycle.
5. Stove Eyes/Burner & Pans – These can be removed from the stove, and cleaned by placing in the dishwasher as well.
6. Safe Home Deodorizer Spray – get a mist bottle and place white vinegar in it (dilute with water if it’s too strong, but keep in mind, the scent will disappear). Mist everything, including your mattress, furniture, and carpet, and all other areas where scents are held.
7. Coffee Pots – use denture tablets to clean the inside pot. Just drop a tablet in some water inside the pot and let it sit overnight to remove coffee stains.
8. Refrigerator Freshness – Be sure to place a small box of Baking Soda in the refrigerator to remove odors. 

 

Hopefully, Evelyn inspired you as much as she did me! Here’s to a clutter-free and fresh-smelling home for the Spring!