It is most certainly spring time in Italy.
The temperature is mild, the flowers are in bloom and there’s lots of fresh fruit and vegetables at the markets. It’s a wonderful time to visit Italy’s cities, countrysides and coasts. But before that, let’s do a little spring cleaning! Now is the time to dust off the cobwebs and do some pulizie di primavera (spring cleaning). In this language lesson we’re going to look at the different expressions for cleaning and tidying the house.
Le pulizie di primavera or le pulizie primaverili (spring cleaning) is also known in Italy as le pulizie di pasqua (Easter cleaning). Let’s start off with some useful verbs:
pulire - to clean
lavare - to wash
mettere in ordine / riordinare - to tidy
passare l’aspirapolvere - to hoover or vacuum
spolverare - to dust
scopare / spazzare - to sweep
Now let’s go room by room and look at some key cleaning expressions.
La cucina - the kitchen
pulire il frigo e il freezer - clean the fridge and freezer
pulire il forno e i fornelli - clean the oven and the hob
svuotare i cassetti, gli armadietti e la dispensa - empty the drawers, cabinets and larder
gettare alimenti scaduti - throw away out of date food
pulire e riordinare i cassetti, gli armadietti e la dispensa - clean and tidy the drawers, cabinets and larder
lavare il lavabo - clean the sink
Il soggiorno - the living room / the sitting room
svuotare le mensole e le librerie - empty the shelves and bookcases
spolverare le mensole e le librerie - dust the shelves and bookcases
spolverare il mobile della tivù - dust the tv stand
pulire i divani - clean the sofas
Il bagno - the bathroom
pulire il lavabo, la vasca da bagno, la doccia e i sanitari - clean the sink, bath, shower and toilet
pulire le piastrelle - clean the tiles
Le camere da letto - the bedrooms
pulire il materasso - clean the mattress
aerare il materasso - air the mattress
riordinare gli armadi - tidy the wardrobes
fare il cambio di stagione / fare il cambio dell’armadio - change clothes in your wardrobe to match the spring / summer season
In ogni stanza - in every room
lavare le tende e le finestre - wash the curtains and the windows
spolverare i mobili e i soprammobili - dust the furniture and ornaments
spolverare i lampadari e i quadri - dust lampshades and pictures
pulire gli specchi - clean the mirrors
pulire i caloriferi / i termosifoni - clean the radiators
passare l’aspirapolvere - hoover
lavare i pavimenti - clean the floors
Fuori - outside
spazzolare e lavare il pavimento - sweep and wash the floor
Prodotti - products
il detersivo / il detergente - cleaning product / detergent
il lavavetri - window cleaning product
la scopa - broom
il cencio / lo straccio - cloth
il secchio - bucket
il mocio - mop
l’aspirapolvere - hoover / vacuum
i guanti di gomma - rubber gloves
la spugna - sponge
I hope this lesson has been useful, and has given you all the right vocabulary to talk about spring cleaning in Italian. Now it’s up to you whether you decide to give the house a good spring clean or instead get outside and enjoy the fresh springtime air!
