Diwali Special- You Need Only Two Weeks To Clean Your House

India with its innumerable customs and traditions is filled with a kind of energy that is unmistakable in all the festivals that are celebrated throughout the year. Come September and October, it is time for lights and colours, crackers and decorations for it is Diwali time.

Diwali the festival of lights is a time to celebrate goodwill and prosperity. There are many legends surrounding this intriguing Indian festival and it is interesting to see how people get busy with arrangements for the beautiful event. This is a time when people clean their houses and also give away stuff that is not required. With just a couple of weeks to go here are some tips on cleaning the house for Diwali.

# First Week

- The Hall and the Bedrooms


Usually every house has a loft or attic on top or below the bed. Diwali is the time when one has to recheck these areas. This is like the cache in a computer which if not deleted would slow down the computer called your house. So begin with cleaning the old clothes, broken handbags, all the projects and hobbies of your children that you have stashed away in the past year and so on. Throw what you do not need and keep what you need in a proper manner.

- Follow the six-month rule

The rule of the game is to keep what you have used in the past six months. What you have not touched in the last quarter just goes out of the window. You could use them for donation, give it away to the needy or with the kind of sell on sites sell them online. Keep the winter clothes, the formal outfits, old sarees, shoes etc in a proper place in a proper manner

- Stow or store

This is one of the tips on cleaning the house for Diwali which would never fail. Take a stock of what you need and what you do not. Throw away those t-shirts which you felt you would wear but never did, the scarves which you felt you would require on a holiday but never used, and stow the unused items behind. Make a special drawer for those never ending accessories.

# Second Week

-The Kitchen

Now on to the second week and enter the hub of Indian cuisine - the kitchen! One of the best tips on cleaning the house for Diwali is to learn to throw things out of the kitchen. Your culinary delights make the kitchen very greasy and oily so break the kitchen cleaning into a smaller and easily manageable task of cleaning the areas in an efficient manner.

- Appliances

Appliances need a lot of maintenance and attention so this Diwali check your appliances and replace the old ones with new. If you need to repair them do it. If they are not useful donate it. Clean the chimneys and the filters, and clean the fridge of all unwanted items. Exhaust fans are a storehouse of dust and grime. Clean them with care. Similarly service the mixies, toasters, and juicers and microwave ovens and keep a spick and span appliance corner in your kitchen.

- Cabinets in the Kitchen

The kitchen is a hub of activity and the grocery in the kitchen is a perennial guest. Take stock of the grocery in the kitchen and throw away the expired items. Line the drawers with newspapers and clean the doors with a good warm soap solution.

- Floors

Use detergent and an antiseptic lotion for swabbing the floor. Brush them with a good brush with soap and water and scrub them scrupulously clean.

Some unique tips for cleaning the house for Diwali:
* Use white vine vinegar while cleaning stuff.

* Use hand gloves before you start cleaning.

* Use half a lemon dipped in vinegar to clean the fridge.

* Use newspapers to clean the glass surfaces and mirrors.

* Change all the bedclothes, curtains, rugs in the house.