The longer days, shorter nights and warmer weather are all signs that spring is finally in the air.
And for many homes it’s time again for a yearly deep clean to dust off the winter cobwebs and freshen up the home in time for summer. For some people the spring clean welcomes the changing of the seasons but, for many of us, it is a struggle just to get started.
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To help, we’ve gone to the cleaning experts and gathered their advice on how to best to manage your spring clean.
Take things slowly
A lot of people make the mistake of trying to get everything done in one long session, only to end up exhausted and quitting before the job is finished. Instead, spread the job over a week or a couple of weekends. Look at your schedule and figure out when you can devote time to this project. Breaking things up into small chunks of time will make it much more manageable. If you can, hire a babysitter to get the kids out of the house for an afternoon, so you’ll be more productive.
Prioritize Tasks
When it comes to spring cleaning, everyone’s priorities are different. Some people want to clean every inch of their house while, for others, organization takes top priority. Many people want to give the bathrooms a good scrubbing, clean the fixtures and put up a new shower curtain, while others may prefer to tackle the laundry room or start organizing shelves.
To make sure you get all the jobs done, here are some common deep cleaning tasks that you should put at the top of your checklist:
Check your supplies
Now that you know what needs to be done, make sure you have the right tools. Go through your to-do list and your cleaning products and see if you have everything you’ll need. Do you need a new vacuum, duster or toilet bowl brush? How is your supply of sponges? Make a trip to store to replenish expired or almost empty products. Having all your supplies gathered beforehand will save on both time and frustration.
Create a room-by-room list
Go around the entire house and make a list of jobs for each room. Once the list is made, mark each item with a 1, 2 or 3, with 1 being the most urgent. That way you know what to conquer first when you enter the room. Tasks you do regularly, like straightening up and doing the laundry, shouldn’t be your focus. Think about the more intense jobs that you usually avoid or only do once a year (or before your in-laws comes to visit) — those are the things that should be given a 1 on your list.
Declutter
In additional to actual cleaning, spring cleaning is the perfect time to sort through toys, DVDs, clothing, household items and sporting goods. If you haven’t used it in the past year, do you really need to keep it? Box up products you no longer use and donate them to local charity shops.
Realistic expectations
Even though you’ve created a list, don’t expect to finish everything. Focus on getting the 1s on your list checked off. Then move on to 2s and 3s when you have time. Post the list on the fridge so it’s harder to ignore.
Hire some help
Is your list more than you think you can handle? Do you have a busy schedule or finicky baby that makes finding time to clean difficult? Instead of putting off your spring cleaning, hire some help. It’s okay to admit you can’t do it alone.
Find a housekeeper through a site like Care.com. Mention you’re looking for someone to help out for a few hours (or days, depending on your list) with spring cleaning chores.
While spring cleaning can sound daunting, if you go about it with a step-by-step plan, your home will soon be squeaky clean in no time and you’ll be outside enjoying the spring weather.
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