Spring Clean with Me

There is something about the big seasonal changes that makes most of us want to cleanse our bodies and our environment. For those of us living in cold climates, we have spent the last few months indoors. The more time we spend at home, the dirtier our homes become. As the temperatures warm up, we know we are going to spend more time outside, and wouldn't it be great if our homes were nice and clean before our focus moves to maintaining our yards and enjoying summer fun?

Clean With Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQIaCWbagHU

Do You Spring Clean?

When I was a kid, Spring Cleaning was something we did every year, no questions. The windows would be open, and all the out-of-the-way spaces would get cleaned. I actually remember coming home from school as a little kid and smelling the cleaners and feeling the fresh air in the house. As I got older, I was expected to help out. And as an adult, Spring Cleaning has always simply been part of my household management. It feels natural to do. As the weather warms up a little, I want to throw open the windows and get to work removing the winter grime. (FTR, I also feel this way in the early Autumn, when I realize how little housework I did all Summer long).

But not everyone feels this urge to Spring Clean. If you are not someone who does this, I offer you two options:

1. Just skip this blog post and find one of my others to read.

2. Read through and consider Spring Cleaning to see if you like having a fresh, clean home before the Summer season gets underway. If you don't like it, you never have to do it again.

Scheduling

Some people do all their Spring Cleaning in one exhausting weekend. Others skip it altogether without a second thought. I think the key is to find something in between those two options.

I have a very loose schedule for cleaning my home that just happens to simplify Spring cleaning. I divided my house into 8 sections. For me, these sections are 1) Kitchen and side entry, 2) Living, Dining, Foyer, 3) Library, 4) Bathrooms, 5) Office, 6) Main Bedroom, 7) Guest Bedrooms, upstairs hall, and 8) Basement, Garage, or Porch.

In addition to my daily cleaning and general weekly chores, I rotate through these spaces every 8 weeks year-round. When each space is on deck for the week, I do a little more thorough cleaning. So every 2 months, I'm looking around the space to see what deep cleaning could be done. Now, don't give me too much credit here. I'm not deep cleaning top to bottom every time, but I am doing just a little extra. This might mean sweeping and dust-mopping under the bed, wiping down bathroom closet shelves, or dusting that high shelf I usually ignore. Doing this means that if I didn't do a big Spring cleaning, my house would still be clean and tidy. Nothing gets too out of hand.

That is, of course, assuming that I'm diligent about year-round. And I try...but sometimes I just forget or look around and think, "good enough". BUT there are 2 times a year when I pay attention and do the extra... because it just makes sense. These times are late Fall, right before the holidays, and again in Spring.

I created my schedule because I prefer to spread my deep cleaning over several weeks and never feel the need to spend hours or days cleaning. But really, no matter how good I am about keeping to the schedule, when Fall or Spring come along, I want the whole house cleaned at once.

So, as I typically do, despite my best efforts to create a cleaning schedule that would allow this to happen over 2 months, I'm jumping in and doing some deep cleaning, which will take just a few days. Because it's Spring, deep cleaning involves washing windows and removing some of the winter dust that has settled in.

Decluttering

For me, Spring cleaning is not about decluttering. My focus is just getting the house cleaned up. Later, I will likely come back through and declutter seasonal items that didn't get used over the winter, but not right now.

Something to note: the more decluttered your home is, the easier (and therefore faster) Spring Cleaning is.

Spring Cleaning Steps

Exactly what you clean will look a little different for everyone, and each room might have its own specific requirements. But this is my basic Spring Cleaning strategy.

The very first thing I do before I start is to be sure I have a donation box and a garbage bag handy. As I said, I'm not actively looking to declutter, but I'm likely to come across some things as I work. Might as well get rid of them now! I also check my cleaning supplies to make sure I have everything I need before I get started. My go-to cleaning supplies:

• Swiffer duster (for window blinds).

• Microfiber or cotton clothes.

• Window cloth.

• Sal Suds (natural multi-purpose cleaner) in a spray bottle.

• And I mop with a basic Swiffer mop and washable covers.

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1) Take a quick pass through the room for a quick declutter. I'm looking for easy trash and easy donations, trying to clear anything sitting out on the flat spaces and anything on the floor or out of place. A laundry basket is handy here for items that belong elsewhere in the house. You can just place items to be rehomed into the basket to deal with later, or hand them off to another family member to handle.

This is not a major declutter session. I am not decluttering cabinets or closets. I'm only decluttering the surfaces. If you have substantial clutter in your home, you might not be able to do this completely because there is no space in the closets and cupboards to put everything. In that case, remove what you easily can, and work around the rest. Schedule some deeper decluttering sessions for after your spring cleaning is done. That decluttering will make next year's Spring Cleaning so much easier!

2) If you have curtains in the room, take them down and launder them, fluff them in the dryer, or simply vacuum them a bit. If you have anything else in the room to be laundered, get it started now. This could be throw blankets, bedding, throw rugs, etc.

3) Dust the entire room, left to right and top to bottom, around the outside of the room, and then any furniture in the center. I don't have curtains; I have window blinds, so these are thoroughly dusted as I move around the room. Be sure to get into the corners of the rooms to get any cobwebs or [gasp] spider nests. I find that a damp cloth is the best way to remove dust from furniture, and a swifter works best for blinds.

4) If you have a ceiling light fixture in this room, clean that thoroughly.

5) Clean the windows. If you have the kind that tips in for easy cleaning, do both the interior and the exterior. If you don't have this type of window, do the inside of the windows now and make a plan to do the exterior at another time. If the weather allows, leave the windows open for fresh air.

If the room has mirrors, clean those too.

6) Depending on the room, there may be other deep cleaning you wish to do. For example, in the kitchen, you might choose to clean out the refrigerator or the inside of your oven. If you choose to do this as part of your spring cleaning, do it before moving on to the floor!

7) Sweep the entire floor. The best tools for this depend on your flooring. Obviously, if you have carpet, a vacuum with attachments will be required. If the floors are not carpeted, I find that a combination of a broom, a swifter, and a vacuum is required to get everything. Move furniture if needed.

8) If you have non-carpeted floors, mop them using a cleaner appropriate for the surface. Whether you use a mop or simply a wet cloth is up to you. Use what you prefer. If you have carpet or rugs, consider renting a carpet cleaner or having them professionally cleaned.

9) Finish up the laundry, replace any cloth items that you removed at the beginning. Close the windows and enjoy the fresh, clean room!

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