Spring cleaning is one of the best cleaning tasks you will do in your home. It is a thorough cleaning of your entire home, room by room, from top to bottom. This includes areas that are not cleaned regularly like underneath rugs and furnishings, the tops of bookshelves, etc. To spring clean your home means to clean dirt from your ceiling down to the floor. Spring cleaning is a broad definition for wiping, dusting every surface and furnishing unit, decluttering, and throwing away items you no longer need.
Spring cleaning signifies the change of the season from winter into spring, which is an exciting time for most people. Here we’ll tell you why spring cleaning is important, what should be part of your spring cleaning checklist, how often to spring clean your home, and how long it usually takes.
Why Is Spring Cleaning Important?
Spring cleaning is a chance to renew everything in your home. It’s a chance to catch up on all the cleaning tasks that have been neglected throughout winter. Spring cleaning is the nudge you need to get things done. Like deep cleaning, spring cleaning once a year can help to get rid of bigger issues, like mould taking over the tile grout. This is your chance to clear dust and grime from areas that are barely ever vacuumed. And by the time you’re done spring cleaning, your home will feel fresh and clean, which serves your body and mind well.
Spring cleaning is an opportunity to make sure that specific spring maintenance chores that only need to be completed a couple of times a year, are checked off your list. When certain tasks are dedicated to spring cleaning, it’s more likely that you will remember them.
When Should You Start Spring Cleaning?
Spring cleaning is best done when you begin to feel the new start of spring breaking through in the warm afternoon breeze. When you feel like you want to leave your windows and doors open for longer, and you wonder how your patio, garden and pool are looking, you can tell spring is just around the corner. Cleaning during this time will help you clean with purpose and momentum.
You can begin your spring clean when you have a clear day or two in your schedule to commit to the task. This may be on the weekend or any day when you have the time to give your home the love and care it deserves. Although it is tempting to spring clean in a spread-out period, keeping tasks more concentrated means that your efforts are more focused and pay off with a squeaky-clean home.
How Do You Start Spring Cleaning?
Spring cleaning your home will not happen until you make the first step – that step from thinking about it to doing it is the main step to overcome. Once you’ve decided you are going to spring clean your home, it’s a good idea to tell someone in your home so that you are accountable. Publicising your commitment will help you to stick to it. Next, you can come up with a plan. You don’t have to go into too much detail, but outline more or less what you’ll do in each room. You can create a checklist of all the rooms and things you want to clean. Check out the list below to help you out.
Spring Cleaning Checklist
To get the most out of your spring cleaning, you may want to use a checklist like the one below. Tackle each room in your house, including the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, and living room.
1. For Every Room
A quick spring cleaning checklist for every room:
- Wash the baseboards, ceilings, window sills, doors and walls.
- Vacuum and wash the vents if you have any in your home.
- Wash the windows inside and out, and wash the treatments such as the curtains and drapes.
- Dust overhead light fixtures, not forgetting to replace the burnt-out bulbs.
2. The Kitchen
The kitchen spring cleaning checklist includes:
- Cleaning out and organising the pantry, washing kitchen cabinets, and deep cleaning the oven.
- Move the fridge from its usual place; vacuum and mop the floor behind it.
- Vacuum the coils on the fridge, and clean both the inside and outside of the fridge.
3. Living Room
For spring cleaning your living room:
- Dust and wash all mirrors, frames and decorations on the walls. Vacuum your upholstery and lamp shades, dust furniture and fixtures, and wash pillows and blankets, either in the washing machine or with a steam cleaner.
- Dust and polish furniture items, vacuum and shampoo your carpets, and mop and wax your floors if they need cleaning.
4. Bedroom
- Remove and wash all bedding and pillows – they can be washed in the washing machine.
- Clean your mattress, and if you have a spring mattress, flip it over to the other side.
- Throw away or donate anything stored under the bed or anything that you don’t want to keep anymore.
5. Bathroom
For spring cleaning your bathroom:
- Clean and disinfect your bathtub and shower, including the shower doors, surrounding shower glass, and shower head.
- Wash the bathmats.
- Dust and replace decorative items.
- Wash and replace shower liners and curtains if necessary.
6. Spring cleaning the rest of your home
To spring clean the rest of your home:
- Check all electronics, untangle cords, and make sure that everything is plugged into a surge protector.
- Sweep the entrance by the front door and the patio, and store away all winter items.
- Don’t forget to disinfect laptop or computer keyboards and mice with compressed air to remove crumbs, dust, and other debris.
- Wipe down the keys with a microfiber cloth, then with a dry microfiber cloth, dry any remaining moisture. You can use disinfectant wipes as well.
7. Other things to clean or clear away when spring cleaning in your home
- Discard old or expired makeup and clean makeup holders.
- Dry clean any necessary winter items and clothing, then store them away for the following year.
- Donate unused items and clothing you no longer wear or use
How To Spring Clean Your Home In A Day
Cleaning your entire home in one day is possible, use this checklist to stay on track:
1. Morning
Strip your bedding from all the beds, including duvet covers and pillowcases. Gather all the bedding and launder the sheets, blankets and pillowcases. Clean and refresh your mattress while there’s no bedding on it, then flip it. Empty your garbage and recycling bins, hose them down outside, and leave them in the sun to dry.
Place bags of vinegar over the shower heads and wash the interior of your oven with baking soda. Clean and scrub your shower, remove the vinegar from the shower heads, and clean the bathtub, sinks, and the rest of the bathroom.
2. Afternoon
Spot clean your upholstery like the couches and rugs. Dust all the areas that need it starting from top to bottom, and dust the ceiling, tops of bookcases, tops of cabinets, light fixtures, doors and picture frames. Polish your wooden furniture, wipe down cabinet doors, and don’t forget to clean the doors with a damp microfiber cloth. Continue to change washing loads for your bedding, and once they’re down, stick your curtains in the wash.
Clean your windows and screens, as well as the rest of the glass in your home.
3. Evening
Replace your bedding, rehang the curtains and put the garbage can back into their designated places. Vacuum underneath furniture and rugs, clean and vacuum the floors throughout your entire home, and clean your phone too. Don’t forget to choose a small area to declutter. Make a list of tasks that you still need to do on another day during a general clean.
And then you can enjoy your freshly spring-cleaned house.
How Long Does Spring Cleaning Take?
The average amount of days to spring clean your home is six days. If you don’t want to spend an entire weekend spring cleaning your home, use these strategies for spring cleaning effectively by going in with a plan.
Conclusion
When cleaning, it’s important to use the proper cleaning solutions, but be careful of some chemicals and combinations as they can become hazardous to your health. Even the cleanest of people can end up with a smelly home. Air fresheners and candles can do a good job of masking the smell temporarily, yet it’s still important to treat the smell from the source. For these reasons, you may want to consider getting a helping hand when spring cleaning. At SweepSouth, all your spring cleaning can be handled professionally by a SweepStar. Or head over to our cleaning services page to find a variety of cleaning services of all kinds.
