Spring Cleaning in 5 Steps

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The sun is shining today and you know you are thinking about spring cleaning. Have you tried spring cleaning in 5 steps? You started reading this because 5 steps seems impossible. Well, I can tell you this is how I do it every year and it does work!

But your right, five steps isn’t enough to get it all done. There is actually a step before you can start step one. I guarantee you it is the easiest one. Plan. You have to write a plan. If you don’t it is hard to stick to it and get it all done. Good news though because all you need to do is make yourself a cup of coffee (or tea) and sit down with a pen and paper. I usually start with dividing my house by upstairs and downstairs. Then I write down the days I have available to clean. For me I like to take one step a day so I am done in a week. With kids, life, cooking and everything else, I give myself around 2 hours a day.

Don’t stress!! It’s going to be okay take a sip of your coffee and relax. Write down the areas in each room that really need some attention and make sure they are on a separate line. There is something so rewarding about checking off what you have done. As for my kitchen, there is the junk drawer, dry goods pantry and the windows that always get overlooked. For my living room I see the floors, windows, mirrors and picture frames need extra care. My stairs and hallway just need a thorough vacuuming. My 2 bathrooms need a top to bottom scrub and the bedrooms need to be vacuumed with reorganizing the closets and dressers. With my list complete I can finally move on to step one.

Step One: De-clutter Kitchen and Bathrooms

Every room has clutter that mysteriously appears. Starting in my kitchen I collect and organize all the little piles of stuff. Find a big basket or tote that can hold everything that should make it to other rooms. I have one basket for items that should be upstairs and another for the basement.This step could take the longest. It is also so rewarding because sometimes there are just “hot spots” in our house that collect miscellaneous items.

My Kitchen gets a good cleaning. From the stove top and microwave to moving the refrigerator out. Reorganize the kitchen cupboard that doesn’t close, the junk drawer, the dry goods pantry and anything else that needs some attention. I like this step since it immediately changes how things look. Stack your cans goods in an orderly way and while your moving them – double check your expiration dates!

My bathrooms get a good scrubbing and I make sure my cabinet and cupboards are all in order.I like to add liners to my shelves and hang new hand towels. I also throw my rugs in the washer and change my shower liners. Then I clean my tile floors and mirrors. Check off the bathrooms on your list because they are done and look spotless!

Step Two: Reorganize Closets

Now that your kitchen and bathrooms are perfect you can move on to the hall closet. Don’t forget this is a process and each step is important! Even though the door closes and no one sees the mess, it is still there. Donate items you don’t use and label any baskets or boxes. Don’t forget the ottoman that opens, the TV cupboards and medicine cabinet. Check these off on your list – it is so fun to see things get crossed off.

Step Three: Bedrooms

The kids bedrooms is where I enlist their help! We spend an hour or so sorting through toys and clothes. Donating what they don’t play with and making sure they’re clothes are too small. Since a spring cleaned bedroom for me starts with clean sheets, I help change their beds and check their closet. I also look at which summer clothes will still fit and what items they will need.

Next,I change my bed and add it to a pile for laundry. I double-check my dresser drawers and make sure my clothes are organized. Then I head to my walk in closet and fold/stack any lopsided piles and re-hang any clothes that aren’t in the right place. I check under the bed to make sure nothing found its way there and any laundry I find goes in the pile. Check bedrooms off and we are halfway done!

Step Four: Floors, Dust and Windows

Make sure you pick a nice day outside for this step. I open up all my windows and grab my duster and make my way around the house dusting everything!

Once the dusting is done, I clean windows. My patio door, screen door and bay window let the spring sun shine in once they’ve been cleaned on the inside and out. Upstairs each bedroom window get cleaned only on the inside. Let’s face it I am not going to risk my life and rent a scaffolding to clean second story windows!

My floors get a detailed vacuuming and all the furniture gets moved – even the tv stand. I have hardwood floors in the living room so after I vacuum I get the steam mop out and take my time really cleaning the corners and baseboards. Then I head up stairs to run the vacuum under and around the beds, in the hallway,up the walls and on the stairs.No need for a cardio work out today because my arms feel the burn after an hour of vacuuming everything from dusty corners to the cobwebs near the skylights.

Step Five: Laundry and Finishing touches!

You are almost done! Now it’s time to get your washer running and add some finishing touches. I start a load and if I missed anything now is the time to fix it. I switch loads, fold and put away all the clothes and linens. Now that the dressers and closets are organized there is a spot for everything!

With my list completely crossed off – I have a clean house. All good housework starts and ends with a cup of coffee! So I make another cup and sit down and enjoy the next ten minutes when I know my whole house is clean.