8 Helpful Tips for Spring Cleaning Success
Winter hibernation is finally over and we are well into spring. Soooo….have you tackled your yearly “spring cleaning” obligation yet or have you been avoiding it? With many of us spending more time in our homes more than usual (living that work from home life!), it might have added to more clutter in the home than normal. And the excessive clutter might seem overwhelming. But not to worry! We have 8 helpful tips for spring cleaning that will help take you out of that cleaning overwhelm and into cleaning success!
1. Plan it out
The first thing on our list of tips for spring cleaning is to plan it out. Spring cleaning can seem overwhelming, especially if things have been untidy for a while. And likely, it’s that overwhelming feeling that has made you keep putting it off. One of the best ways to deal with this feeling of overwhelm is to make an actionable list of things that need to get done and create a schedule. Once you’ve organized the task, your mind will be able to recognize a beginning and an end to the project and it will all seem more possible.
Make a cleaning schedule that suits you best. Some people clean best by diving in and going at it all at once in one day. But that might be too exhausting or daunting to others. If so, consider other methods such as tackling a small section of your list per day over a week. Or you can consider breaking your time up into 30-minute or 1hr time increments where you get as much done as you can within that time and then take a break. Schedule as many of these time increments throughout your day as is manageable. You’d be surprised at the motivation you’ll get by making even just a little progress daily!
2. Declutter and tidy up before cleaning
Next on our tips for spring cleaning success is to start the process by decluttering, tidying, and organizing your “stuff” before actually cleaning. There are many different approaches you can take to decluttering your space.
One of the most popular methods that has gained popularity recently is the Konmari Method. This method of decluttering and tidying your home was created by Marie Kondo, a Japanese tidying expert. Her method of tidying your entire home by category and keeping only the things that “spark joy” first became widespread about a decade ago with her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.* It recently became even more mainstream when Netflix created a popular streaming series about her methods titled Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.
(*Writer’s note: this “magical” method of tidying up did, in fact, change my life!)
3. Clean one room at a time
After making a plan and decluttering your home, now it’s time to start cleaning. So next on our tips for spring cleaning is to be tactical with how you approach the process. Most people swear by approaching the cleaning process one room at a time. This approach is especially useful if you have a lot of kiddos or pets running around. You can make much more uninhibited progress if you focus on cleaning one room at a time. You can more easily make sure the chaos of the little ones and day-to-day life is sectioned off elsewhere and not undoing the cleaning you’ve already done.
4. Work from top to bottom
One of the most helpful tips for spring cleaning that you might not think about is to work your way in a room from top to bottom. While you might want to have the instant satisfaction of vacuuming or sweeping/mopping your floors, you might end up creating more work for yourself if you don’t start at the top.
For instance, if you need to dust your ceiling fan, some of the dust will inevitably end up on the floor and on other surfaces. So if you’ve already dusted your shelves and cleaned your floor, you’ll have to revisit those items from the extra dust circulated by cleaning the fan. Start from top to bottom, cleaning your fan, then dusting and cleaning other surfaces, and end up saving the floor for last.
5. Tackle non-routine and seasonal chores
In your regular cleaning routine throughout the year, there are several deep-cleaning chores and tasks that can only be completed seasonally that need to be added to your spring cleaning list.
Some tasks that are important, yet best completed when the warmer weather comes around might include:
- Cleaning the grill
- Cleaning the patio
- Wiping down patio furniture
- Wiping down the outside of the windows
- Cleaning out the gutters
- Store your winter clothing, bedding, decor, and other items; bring out your warmer weather items!
Some deep-cleaning areas that often go unheeded during routine cleaning might include:
- Cabinets
- Bedding (including pillows and comforters/blankets)
- Mattress
- Refrigerator (outside and inside!)
- Area rugs
- Dishwasher
- Closet
One of the most important tips for spring cleaning is to make sure these chores that you normally leave out get some attention!
6. Don’t forget walls and doors!
Another one of the tips for spring cleaning that you might not think about is not to forget to clean your walls and doors every once in a while! This is especially important if you have allergy issues, as not all dust only ends up on the furniture and floors. Give your walls and doors a thorough wipe-down with either a simple light solution of warm water and soap or your favorite natural multi-surface cleaner.
7. Use minimal cleaning products
There are tons of cleaning products out there, and lots of them are marketed towards specific surfaces or items. And if you get them all, your storage shelves will be overrun with marginally used cleaning products. But truthfully, most things can be cleaned with a simple multi-surface cleaner either purchased or made yourself chemical-free with natural products. One of the most simple but effective tips for spring cleaning is to eliminate the clutter of numerous unnecessary cleaning products and stick to one or a couple of multipurpose products.
8. Ask for help!
Last but definitely not least on our tips for spring cleaning is not to feel like you need to do it all yourself. Get the family involved! Make it fun by blasting some upbeat music and create a reward system for finishing tasks along the way. And maybe have a pizza party after you’re all done (because who wants to have to clean up dishes after all that cleaning!?)!
Alternatively, once you’ve de-cluttered your home, if it’s in your budget it can be a good idea to hire a professional cleaning service to deep-clean your home at least once a year. And what better time to kick back and leave it to the professionals than spring cleaning time!
