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Spring Cleaning – Start now!

Our mothers were always frantic when it came time for spring-cleaning. Would they be able to get all the work done in the house during the first months of spring so that they could enjoy and relax a little more during those summer months?  Every house from one end of town to the other would have large piles of ‘stuff’ out for the garbage during those first weeks in April as spring cleaning was getting well underway. 

But because we are even more limited in our time than our mothers were, we can all start cleaning – during those mid winter months and feel great about being ‘done’ by the time spring actually gets here!

What really is spring-cleaning?

Spring-cleaning is when you wash down the walls, change the curtains, flip the beds, throw out stuff you don’t use, and when some of us get our carpets shampooed.  These are the largest housecleaning tasks that you don’t do during other times of the year because you should only have to do them once a year and still keep the spiders away!

What are three tricks to getting your whole house spring-cleaning done before April?

Getting started early is a key, not only early in the spring, but also early in the day!  Getting out of bed you often feel groggy and don’t feel like doing much at all, but if you get out of bed, get dressed in your ‘cleaning’ clothes right away, you can drink your coffee while you get busy.  You are going to add two to three hours to your day right there! 

You might be just taking down the curtains and stripping the beds, but you are one step closer to marking something off your spring-cleaning list.  Getting up earlier in the day and starting earlier in the spring will mean that you can be done spring-cleaning before April!

Another little trick in spring cleaning these days, is to make a list of what really needs to be done and then tackle just one thing every day or even once a week so that you are continually working on getting that spring cleaning done.  Even though you haven’t cleaned out the china cabinet for two years, another weeks isn’t going to hurt it while you are working on cleaning the walls in the bathroom.

Your listing of what really needs done in your home is just going to be a reminder of how much you have gotten done on your spring cleaning already and how far you have to go yet.  But once you are down to just three things on your list, you are most likely going to say “Wow” that went fast!

Still yet, another little trick you can use to get your spring-cleaning done is to get your family involved in the cleaning.  Or, if you have a few days, take the time off of work, and when no one is home to ‘bother’ you, you can get lots done!  Or, hire a company to come in and get what you feel it too overwhelming done.  You can have your wall washed, your painting done or anything you want when you find a company that will do all this and more!

What should be important during spring-cleaning?

While we are all going to have our own thoughts about what should really be ‘done’ in the house during spring-cleaning, here are the favorites (should I really say favorites) or maybe these are the generally accomplished tasks in my household!

The walls do get wiped down.  They really might not seem too dirty but if you don’t wipe down the walls you could have a build up of dirt and grease after a few years, which really changes the colors of your walls.

The lights, the hanging lights and all the fans get wiped down good.  I generally don’t do this on a weekly basis, once every few months but definitely during spring housecleaning.

The carpets get scrubbed and shampooed every spring season.  I always have to wait until the last of spring to do this because of the mud that can get tracked in the house, but I always get these carpets done.  Most often I make it a choice to have them scotch guarded as well, because with so many small children around I have a tough time keeping up on all the cleaning.

It is important to clean out the freezer if you haven’t done this all year long, and cleaning behind the fridge is a yearly task that I tackle because of all the pets.

The stove is a self cleaning oven, but I make sure that I give it a good cleaning inside, out and behind it so that it is in working top condition for the rest of the year. If the dials are looking a little rough, I will replace these with new ones every year.

The inside and outside of my washer and dryer also get a good cleaning. I move them out, sweep behind them and under them so there are no stray things around that could cause a fire. This is a good time to vacuum out the dryer vent as well, to keep the lint to a minimum!

I check the batteries in the fire alarms, double check where my extinguishers are and if my children’s windows are all in good working condition.

While I do wipe down the woodwork in my home occasionally, I do wipe down all the doors, trim, windowsills and the bed frames during spring-cleaning to make sure that they are not dry rotting because of the heat or the sun.  Basically a good lemon oil or wood cleaner that protects at the same time will do the job.

Well, this turned out to be a short listing because you have cleaning out all the closets, scrubbing the floors on your hands and knees, washing down the inside and outsides of the windows, washing all the area rugs, and so much more, but the point is make your list – stick to it and get that house clean in a fashion that won’t drive you crazy!