After the long Canadian winter, there’s something about this time of year that inspires us to throw open our windows and let the fresh breeze in. Spring is an ideal time to de-clutter and infuse renewed energy into our living space.
A complete spring cleaning overhaul can take days of course, so plan accordingly and set a realistic schedule. The following tips will soon have your home dust-free:
• Before you begin cleaning, categorize the list of jobs required (e.g. cleaning baseboards, organizing cupboards, washing curtains). Although it seems easier to tackle all the vacuuming at once, completing one room at a time will give you the satisfaction to continue.
• Begin with dusting and vacuuming surfaces—from ceiling to baseboards—as well as chandeliers, light bulbs and light fixtures. Spring cleaning does require a little old fashioned elbow grease. Scrub floors with a scrubbing brush and cleaning solution, clean the grout on tiled floors. If you don’t already own one, rent a steam cleaner for carpets. More tips on carpet cleaning can be found online.
• Take down window treatments and wash or dry clean. Wipe wooden blinds with a gentle wood cleaner, wash aluminum blinds outdoors where they can dry. Clean the inside of windows.
• As a rule, work from the top down, so areas don’t get dirty again. However, when it comes to washing walls, it is easier to start from the bottom using a sponge mop. This way, you can more easily clean up any drips.
• In the kitchen, thoroughly clean the tops of cabinets, fridges and stove vent. Be ruthless with the contents of your fridge and throw out anything old, or furry. Defrost your freezer, empty the contents and wipe the inside with a mix of a litre of hot water with 2 tablespoons of baking soda.
• In the bedroom, flip your mattress and edit your wardrobe. Store away winter garments until the next season and get rid of clothes you haven’t worn for more than a year; don’t save them for “someday”.
• Organize bookshelves and storage cabinets. Spring cleaning is a good time to donate unused or unwanted items. One place you can donate is to a ReStore of homebuilding organization, Habitat for Humanity. It accepts everything from furniture, household products, to even the kitchen sink. And ReStores provide a tax receipt for the value of your donation. You can find one in your community at www.habitat.ca/restore.
• Spring cleaning is also an ideal time to safely dispose of expired medications and replace batteries in your smoke detector.
• Take down window treatments and wash or dry clean. Wipe wooden blinds with a gentle wood cleaner, wash aluminum blinds outdoors where they can dry. Clean the inside of windows. If windows are out of date or broken, it could be a good time to have All Professional Remodeling replace them for you.
Once the work is done, open the windows wide and let that fresh spring air in.
This is a syndicated post, reprinted with permission from News Canada.
I need to start my spring cleaning, but totally don’t want to. This list will help me make sure I get it all done.
This is an excellent resource. Spring cleaning is a great way to get the house really deep clean, but knowing where to start and what to do can be difficult.
I love this list. ALWAYS work from the top down. If you work from the bottom up, everything you’ve cleaned just gets dirty as you work your way up.
I will be honest, cleaning is overwhelming tome!!! Thank you!!
I NEED to do this! My house is a disaster and it is driving me crazy. I love how you broke it down, it helps to make cleaning not so overwhelming!
This is a great spring cleaning checklist. I am planning on starting the big cleanup this weekend.
Great resource and guide. Spring cleaning is for sure not my favorite but it needs to get done.
These are great tips! It’s that time of year, we have a couple sections to clear out.
Ugh! Don’t remind me it’s that time of year again. I am not looking forward to it one bit, but at least your tips should help me prepare.
The window treatments are always forgotten! We do them twice a year and it makes huge DIFFERENCE every time we do!
Is it that time of year again already? 😉 I dread and love spring cleaning at the same time. You have some great tips to help keep the cleaning on track and done efficiently.It’s nice to have resources to keep things as painless as possible!
I need this list! I think putting the jobs into categories is a solid tip. It makes it much easier to get things done that way.
I do need to buy some new batteries for my smoke detectors. Thank you for the reminder!
I like this spring leaning checklist. It is a wonderful way to help people get everything doen that needs to be done.