Spring Cleaning Tips
Plan
With a job as big as spring cleaning, it’s best not to jump in blind. Although it may be tempting to just begin with the first dirty thing you see, it’s really in your best interest to first take a walk around the inside and outside of your home while writing down each task you’d like to complete. Then, make yourself a cup of coffee and set down a plan for cleaning your home from top to bottom (literally). Always plan to start with the higher surfaces of your home - i.e., dust the top of your refrigerator first, that dust will fall to the countertops, which you’ll clean next, which will then fall to the floor which you’ll clean last.
Now is also a great to make a checklist that you can check off as you go to feel the success of each completed task!
Make it a Multi-Day Affair
Who said spring cleaning all must happen in one day, or even one weekend? Give yourself the permission to get your annual whole house clean done over the month. There are a few perks to this method.
You don’t become the nutty cleaning person your family is afraid of
Cleaning your entire home becomes a lot less overwhelming when it’s broken down into daily tasks of 15 minutes
By the time you’re finished, you will already be in the habit of cleaning for 15 min a day and it becomes much easier to keep the cleaning streak going!
The 4 Step Solution
“Donate, Repair, Store, Put Away” - Make it your new mantra. Have boxes for each and bring them to each room as you move through the house. Donate what you no longer use or what doesn’t bring you joy. Place things that are in need of being repaired in the respective box and come back to it later - don’t stop to make the repair while in the middle of another task. Put your winter clothes and decorations into storage and pull out your spring and summer items. The “Put Away” box is also designed to keep you on track. If you come across your child’s toy while cleaning the kitchen, simply put it in the box and continue cleaning. Taking it to the play room before you’re finished will likely get you onto a new task - like organizing the toy closet - while leaving your kitchen in disarray.
Declutter
Look around your home, what are the most cluttered spaces? It’s time to tackle the mail pile, throw away expired medicine from your bathroom, let some light in to the abys that is your pantry shelves, get rid of used up office items, go through your closet, and recycle or donate Tupperware that has lost its other half.
Get organized
=Take this opportunity to organize your most cluttered spaces. There are amazing organization tips all over TikTok, blogs, and home improvement/ housekeeping sites. Find one that feels like it will fit your space and make it happen. Make your pantry make sense, create an organizational system for your bathroom drawers and cabinets, hang hooks, label boxes and containers, create a filing system, find homes for the little things. Taking the time now to create organizational systems that fit your home and family will keep your home clean long into the future.
Dust first, then vacuum
We already touched on this, but it’s so important that we are going to say it again: “DUST FIRST, THEN VACCUM.” Vacuuming first really just creates extra work for yourself because then your dust and declutter all over your nice clean floor. When you finish you have to vacuum all over again. Save yourself the effort and vacuum when you’ve completed each task for the room. Think of vacuuming like the cherry on top.
Get those forgotten places
If there are areas of your home that you have cleaned recently, don’t worry about redoing them, instead focus on the spaces that are often neglected. Light switches, doors and doorknobs, ceiling fans, and lampshades are just a few of the places that are likely in need of a clean. You should also clean your drawers and cabinets while you’re decluttering and organizing. Another often forgotten task is cleaning your appliances - inside and out. Bigger things like your washing machine, oven, and dishwasher, and smaller ones like microwaves and toasters, should all be cleaned not only for health, but also to maintain optimal functioning.
Don’t forget about Outside
You may want call it quits once the inside of your home is sparkling and shiny but keep at it for a bit longer! Your home has been sheltering you from the elements all winter long - it deserves some TLC. Power wash the walls to refresh your paint, clean your windows with a 3:1 mixture of water and white vinegar, clean out your gutters, and get your patio ready for enjoying those spring and summer days - after all, that’s what spring cleaning is all about!
