Cool Tools to Make Spring Cleaning Fun

Make your spring cleaning a painless experience with our expert approved gadgets.

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Time for that annual spring ritual: house-cleaning. To make it a breeze, Laura Dellutri of The Healthy Housekeeper suggests trying some of her favorite gadgets:

Backpack Vacuum
Most vacuum cleaners are clunky and heavy to carry. Dellutri uses the ProTeam VX2000 (above), a nine-pound backpack model with a 35-foot power cord, rug/floor tool and microfilter. "Best part is it's easy to take upstairs," Dellutri adds (proteamvacs.com; $499).

Flexible Duster
Get to hard-to-reach zones atop refrigerators and between cabinets with the Total-Reach Duster (ungerglobal.com; $9.95). The flexible paddle is 31 1/2" long and 5 1/4" wide, so it can fit into tight spaces.

Swivel Mop
The Vileda Ultra Max flat mop has thin replaceable pads and rotates 360° to get under kitchen cabinets and around table legs. Its bucket has a built-in wringer so your hands never get wet or touch detergents. "I've even used it to clean paneled walls," Dellutri says (rollomatic.com, $21.99).

Flushable Toilet Brush
Fresh Brush has biodegradable pads that you can flush after use (scrubbingbubbles.com; $4.99).

From Reader's Digest - March 2005

 

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“ Cheer up a drab room with fresh flowers. Place bud vases in high traffic home areas�with even just a few flowers. Any decorative glass from the kitchen will do. ”

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My friend's mother is a proper Southern lady and a passionate gardener who spends hours outside with her plants. In her neighborhood, where she has lived most of her life, no one has fences and every yard is open to the next. Recently one of her longtime neighbors, an elderly man, moved away. "Are you going to miss him?" my friend asked. "Actually I'm relieved," her mother replied. "Now I can bend over."

-- Renee Walker Pritzker