Clever Spring Cleaning Hacks That Will Make You Feel Super Smug

Don't you just love those 14 minutes a week when your house is squeaky clean and your kids are fresh out of the bath? Nothing makes me feel more capable and virtuous than those moments. Except when it comes to Spring Cleaning. I take it so seriously I feel it deserves capitals. Let me stress that I let most things slide week to week (except for those 14 minutes) but the Big Household Clean once or twice a year is everything. I'm talking boiling dirty toys, cleaning behind the wardrobes and throwing out anything that hasn't been used in the last 6 months (Xmas toys get a reprieve) Here are some of our less extreme hacks to help you keep on top of the home (feel free to print it off for your partner too) Remove caked-on food from your microwave Microwave looking a bit grim? Squeeze a fresh lemon into a small bowl of water and zap it for seven minutes or until it starts to steam. Carefully remove the bowl of water (be careful, it’ll be hot) and the previously stuck-on food spillages should wipe right out with a damp cloth. Get rid of any nasty smells When cleaning spots that are difficult to throw in the washing machine (like stubborn rugs) sprinkle a little baking soda on top of it and allow it to sit for 30 minutes before you vacuum it up. It will take away any odours and come up just like new! Speaking of – have YOU entered into our amazing competition yet to win a state of the art Miele vacuum cleaner worth Over €300?! Soak up a nail polish disaster You’ve got to be quick to use this hack but if you get there in time it works a treat: to soak up spilt nail polish, pour sugar over the spill before it dries. The sugar makes the polish clump so it can be swept away. Genius.   De-germify children’s toys From the grubby hands of the child next door with the runny nose, to the dog’s mouth and everywhere in between, children’s toys find themselves in the dodgiest of places. Pop the plastic ones in the dishwasher with two cups of vinegar to wash, dry and, er, disinfect them once a week. Get full instructions here. Sometimes it's the little things. All I need now is to find a 'fleetingly spotless house' account on Instagram. Send in your best cleaning hacks! Now a brand new Power has arrived! Introducing the new Blizzard CX1, the first bagless vacuum cleaner from Miele. Miele Vortex Technology ensures extremely powerful cleaning performance: with an airflow exceeding 100km/h, coarse soiling and fine dust are captured and separated into a container;  the fine dust is kept under control when the container is emptied thanks to fine dust filter. Check it out here