Spring Cleaning

Tips For Cleaning and Organizing Your Home This Season

With recent events, home and the maintenance of keeping your home through Spring Cleaning seems more important than it has in the past. Take advantage of any extra free time and create an environment in your home that makes you feel more organized, less stressed, and ready for the  season. Below are some tips to make this all a bit easier.

Thing to Keep in Mind

Plan it out

First scope out the rooms. Take note of which areas are the most out of control and in need of help. Think about what spot you generally skip over or rush through when cleaning up? Wherever you decide to make your start point, just have a plan for each room. Create a wish/checklist of all the tasks you want to accomplish.

Pace yourself and try to break cleaning down into 10-minute chunks to avoid getting discouraged or overly fatigued. Make things easier on yourself by prepping ahead of time by getting all your supplies out in one spot and having them easily accessible and on hand.

Declutter

Decluttering everything will make you more efficient and keep you organized but it is also good for your mental wellbeing. Studies have shown that being disorganized at home can increase your stress levels.

Always work from top to bottom

When cleaning your home, always start from the top and work your way down. It is important to begin from the ceiling, because this will cause any debris to fall down and keep you from having to re-dust or vacuum after already having cleaned them. Start with removing cobwebs from high ceilings or fans. Then wipe any resulting dust off of the furniture. Finish off by cleaning the floors.

Cleaning the Indoors

Furniture

Begin by pulling any furniture away from the walls and vacuuming behind and underneath them. Then switch to the upholstery tool on most vacuums to go over both sides of cushions. The crevice tool can help get those tougher areas along the trim and stitching

Windows

People are usually best about cleaning their floors and furniture surfaces but will often overlook walls and windows. Not all dust settles on the floor. It is best to clean the windows on an overcast day and even better to start on the shady side of your home. Direct sunlight can lead to streaks. Clean any blinds with a microfiber cloth or small towel working side to side on each blade, going from the top to the bottom.

Closets

Closets are one of the top things to tackle. Go through clothes and shoes from Winter and Fall and remove anything that is dirty or worn out and either dispose of or clean these items. Then switch out your previous season wardrobe with your upcoming Spring one. Now is also good time to look through your Spring clothes to see if there is anything you might want to part with before putting them in the closet. If you’re unsure try things on.

Cleaning up the Kitchen

Fridge

Take out the shelving on the fridge’s doors and bins, and wash those in warm, soapy water to reduce food bacteria and spillage. Organize the fridge after its been sanitized, putting highly perishable food front and center so they are hard to overlook and forget about. Then sort everything else by food category.

Oven

If your appliance has a self-cleaning function- utilize this to remove any stubborn or caked on gunk. If your oven doesn’t have this, place a hot wet cloth atop of the burned or dirty spot to soften any grime. Then proceed to scrub these areas with a heavy-duty pad and then wipe dry.

Pantry

Make the most of any pantry space you have by using shelving organizers. Sort the newer products to the back while bringing items that are closer to expiration date to the front. While doing this, take note of the dates and dispose of anything that is past expiration.

Cleaning the Rest

Junk Drawer

The junk drawer can seem overwhelming at first, after-all it’s a drawer specifically for junk. The first thing to do is toss out anything you no longer need and relocate anything that doesn’t need to be in there. Then everything else that’s miscellaneous can go back inside the drawer but in an organized manner. Repurpose bowls and small boxes to put cords, tacks, clips and any other odds and ends in. A non-slip liner can help keep everything in place.

Bathroom

Cleaning the bathroom isn’t as scary as you might think. One simple thing you could do is change the shower curtain. If you have one that is reusable, wash it. Yes, your vinyl or plastic shower curtains can be washed in a washing machine. They should be done on a gentle cycle with detergent and a couple bath towels. Then it just needs to be hung to dry.

Outdoors

Now that’s the inside is squeaky clean, there is the outside to consider. First sweep the patio andwalkways. If you have doormats, rinse them with the hose and allow to air dry.

Before you bring that patio furniture out of storage, give it a quick wash with dish detergent diluted with warm water. Wipe any upholstered chairs or tables down with a damp cloth. Then just give it a spritz with the garden hose.