Before the warm weather hits, set aside a day or two to refresh and revitalize your home.
There’s more to spring-cleaning than just hauling out the mop and bucket. Take the opportunity to clean, edit, and organize your home.
Giving one’s home the yearly once over is a big job, so enlist all the members of the household to roll up their sleeves and pitch in. Set aside a day or a weekend and make a list of all the chores that need to be done ahead of time. Things will run a lot more smoothly if everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing.
Edit and Organize Your Belongings
- Before the actual cleaning gets underway, edit, edit, edit! Extra clutter makes things seem chaotic and becomes a trap for dust.
- Take stock of all the things that are no longer used or enjoyed by members of the household and get rid of them. Donate unwanted items to charity and make someone else’s day.
- Try on clothes and get rid of any that don’t fit or get worn. Again, the things that take up space in the closet can be donated to those in need. Once that’s done, pack up winter clothes and put them away for the season.
- Outdated magazines take up a ton of space. Tear out any valuable pages and organize them in a binder or box. Recycle whatever’s left over.
- Do any repairs that have been put off. Fix that leaky faucet, repair the rickety cabinet door, replace the broken screen. Anything that requires a more extensive repair should be sent in to get fixed. Don’t put these things off any longer! Things that can’t be fixed should get tossed.
Clean Your Home
- Before starting, look for environmentally friendly cleaning products. Not only are they better for the environment, they’re better for all the members of the household who will be breathing in the fumes.
- Clean one room at a time. It’s easy to get distracted and leave a task partway through to start another, but this is a surefire way to run out of steam before finishing. Even if it goes slower than expected, having at least one room completed will give you a sense of accomplishment.
- Work from the top down so that dust doesn’t get tossed around and settle on an already cleaned area.
- When tackling the kitchen remember to scrub the insides of appliances (fridge, stove, etc.).
- Rotate mattresses.
- Clean the inside and outside of windows, and wash draperies.
- Dust ceiling lights and lampshades. It’s amazing how much dust can settle on these inconspicuous surfaces.
- Wipe down walls, light switches, and doorknobs. With all the hands that are frequently touching these surfaces, they can be a hotbed of germs. Wipe down light switches and doorknobs with a disinfectant.
- Steam clean carpets and dust baseboards.
When it comes to spring-cleaning, the amount of work that needs to be done can seem overwhelming, but getting them done will ensure your home is clean and organized for the summer season. With these tasks completed, breathe easy and get out there and enjoy the warm weather.
The copyright of the article Spring Cleaning Tips and Advice in Seasonal Home Maintenance is owned by Lauren Flanagan. Permission to republish Spring Cleaning Tips and Advice in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
