Le Pulizie di Primavera - Talking Spring Cleaning in Italian

| Fri, 05/24/2019 - 02:30
Le Pulizie di Primavera - Talking Spring Cleaning in Italian

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gettare alimenti scaduti - throw away out of date food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!