Spring Cleaning

They say, “April showers brings May flowers”. Isn’t that the truth! Not only do the Springtime showers keep us indoors a little more than normal, so does the “Safer-At-Home” order! Regardless, we are inside and at home more than we might like to be. Well, let’s at least make the best of it and be productive with our extra time at home! You know what that means! Spring Cleaning! Woo!! I’m sure the ideas of Spring Cleaning get you and your family just SO excited, am I right?! Probably not. But at least using these tips we can get the whole family involved, and really work as a team to accomplish a nice, fresh, Spring cleaned home 🙂

P.S. I even made you a fancy checklist! (I’m a sucker for checklists)

TIP #1

DELIGATE!

This is so helpful! Especially if you have a family that is all willing (or unwillingly) helping! Depending on the ages of children they can help with things such as cleaning out their toy chest, bookshelf or even closet. Mom can focus on the kitchen/pantry, Dad and start on the basement or garage! These of course are just suggestions- refer to the checklist and delegate based on what each person is best at!

TIP #2

Start with bedrooms. This is the most logical place to start! First go through the closet- gather clothes, shoes, scarfs, jewelry, toys etc. and get ready to donate them so they can find a new home 🙂 A few places to consider donating- Women’s/Men’s Shelters, Consignment Stores (make a little $$) or, if you have the time, sites like Poshmark are great ways to rehome items! Next thing we tackle in the bedrooms are mattresses! Strip off sheets, mattress protector and clean and rotate the mattress. Here is the way we clean our mattress: https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-a-Mattress

The last thing to do in all rooms is cleaning the baseboards of the room and the windows and windowsills. When you’re all done- hopefully, it is a nice day out, leave the windows open to get some fresh Spring air circulating!

TIP #3

Closets and Storage areas. We all have those few boxes that are just full of “things”. The box of cords we might need one day, or the box of old textbooks from college! Might need those one day, right? WRONG! Chances are if you haven’t used those cords or textbooks in the last year, you probably will never use them. Now we are going to go through each storage closet in the house, and get really honest with yourself- do we really need this? No? Donate! Same rules go for the garage, basement, attic etc. When organizing your new storage areas, consider investing in clear bins for storage- that way you know what bin the Christmas decorations are in without rummaging through all the boxes you have.

TIP #4

Kitchen. Cleaning the kitchen is obviously an everyday task. Think of the kitchen Spring cleaning as more of an organizing. On the check list you’ll see things like cleaning the oven, emptying out the refrigerator and wiping down the surfaces and bins- the obvious things that aren’t everyday tasks. But how about the pantry, cupboards and don’t you dare forget about the Tupperware! Starting in the pantry- go shelf by shelf looking at dates on food, look at canned food you may not ever eat (consider donating to a local food bank). Next, empty out every cupboard of dishes and food, vacuum out crumbs and wipe down surface before replacing contents. And lastly, the Tupperware drawer! Match every container with a lid. If one doesn’t have a match- get rid of it. Check out this link for Tupperware organizers! https://www.amazon.com/slp/tupperware-organizer-for-cabinet/m7naw69acfag87w

TIP #5

Bathrooms. When cleaning the bathroom- do all the normal cleaning- countertops, toilet, shower/bath. After we’re done with our normal cleaning, we’re going to get into the nitty gritty corners that tend to get neglected on a normal day. Does your shower have a sliding door? Check out the track that it slides on. How about cleaning the shower head? Super easy to do, and so important (especially if you live in an area with hard water). The next area we want to focus on is under the sink and the cabinets in the bathroom. Simply removing everything from the areas, wiping them down, and then replacing those products back where they belong. Want to add a nice touch to your bathroom? Try hanging eucalyptus from the shower head- smells amazing, looks pretty and is so refreshing when taking a nice warm shower!

TIP #6

Laundry Room. The laundry room is typically the easiest room to clean. Most washing machines have a small vent/filter that is supposed to be cleaned out regularly. This is typically on the front bottom of the washer. YouTube is a great resource to see exactly how to clean out your model of washer. Next, you’ll want to clean the washer itself. This can be done purchasing a product made to clean a washer or you can use baking soda and vinegar for a more natural option. https://www.bhg.com/homekeeping/laundry-linens/tips-checklists/how-to-clean-washing-machine/

TIP #7

MAKE IT FUN! This is the best part. Especially if you have kids- have an awesome prize at the end to celebrate all your hard work! Whether that be movie night, family game night or a trip to the zoo! Or how about those shoes you’ve been eyeing? You earned this! Make sure to reward yourself and your family for working together and accomplishing this goal!

As promised, here is a checklist you can follow as you’re cleaning away!

I’ve also linked up a great site that has great cleaning tips for different areas of the house:

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/g3345/spring-cleaning-tips/?slide=1