MYK's Spring Cleaning Basics: The Bedroom Edition

Spring has arrived, and you know what that means: time to emerge from under your enormous pile of blankets and pillows, clean the house, and pretend that you never let it get dirty in the first place.  The first step of every journey is the hardest, and your blankets are oh so tempting, so starting in the bedroom is the best way to minimize the amount of time you have to spend outside of your bed.

Bedding

Mattress and pillows – Your mattresses and pillows may look fabulous, but they’re hiding a dark secret: allergens!  Your poor pillows and mattresses have been cooped up for a long time, and they need a little space.  Give them the gift of a staycation: air your pillows and mattress out in the morning sun for a few hours to give them that liberated feeling.  If you don’t have the space to air them out, treat your mattress and pillows to a home detox spa experience: sprinkle baking powder evenly on your bare mattress and let it sit for 30 minutes with the windows open, then give it a gentle vacuuming.  A massage and gentle music are optional, but will definitely make your mattress feel special.

Pillowcases – Now that your mattress has had its stress washed away, it’s time to look at the pillow cases.  These things get more facetime than a long-distance relationship, and retain a lot of bacteria, fungi, dust mites, and other fantastical beasts.  In fact, if you value your skin, you need to be sleeping on a freshly washed pillow case at least every other day – these guys are used like towels, and you wouldn’t go weeks without changing your towel, after all! If you’ve only got one set of pillow cases, it’s a good idea to invest in a few more so that you only have to do one load of laundry a week – of course we’ll recommend our silk pillowcases (Hypoallergenic and resistant to dust mites and mold!), but the important thing is you don’t sleep on an unwashed pillow case for more than a couple nights in a row, even if you do have to purchase pillow cases made of less amazing fabrics than MYK silk.

Room & Furniture

Walls, Ceilings, & Surfaces – Unless you happen to be one of our beloved polar bear customers, you probably aren’t leaving your windows open during the winter. It may have gotten a bit stuffy, and your room’s surfaces might need a bit of extra care.  A vigorous dusting is in order, starting from the top of your room to the bottom. And we don’t mean a normal dusting, skip the gym for a good reason for once and use some serious power! Make sure you get every part of the furniture, especially the parts you usually “forget” to dust: in between the books you keep meaning to read, in the corners you forgot existed, behind your shelves, and so on.    

Windows – Draperies and curtains do a lot for us: they hang there, day and night, letting in just the right amount of sunlight, and never complain when you ignore them to clean your 4 sets of pillow cases (you have those, right?). Be nice and treat them to a bath every spring.  Most of them love a good machine washing, but it’s best to check the label to make sure they don’t have expensive tastes: some of them need to be dry cleaned.

Possessions

Books ­– Now, I know you regularly read the books on your bookshelf, but maybe you have a “friend” who hasn’t touched her bookcase in the past three years but is definitely going to start reading all those books the first free weekend she gets.  The thing is, if you…I mean, if your friend leaves those books on the shelf without cleaning them, they can harbor a lot of dust and allergens. We would recommend wiping down or dusting the covers of all your books at least once a year. Make sure to let the covers dry before replacing them on the bookshelf!

Computer – To ensure your computer is working at 100% cute animal picture viewing/meme reading/Netflix watching viewing efficiency, make sure to use a cotton swab to wipe between the keys, and follow up by giving your TV and computer screens a good wipedown with regular old soapy water. A microfiber cloth (glasses cloth) works best on the computer screen, but cotton flannel or other cotton cloth (not a t-shirt!) will do in a pinch.

Wardrobe – Before you bid a teary, fond farewell to your favorite jackets and unceremoniously toss them in a bin for the Summer, be sure to dry clean them and store them in a sealable garment bag.  They’ll thank you in the Fall.

Donate items you have grown out of to your local Salvation Army or Goodwill.

It is time for a new start. Let us know how your spring cleaning project is going.

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*Cover picture of cherry blossoms from MOM. Be sure to read their interesting article on the "why" of spring cleaning!