Do you struggle with getting motivated to clean the house? We all do! Some of us never want to do it (and rarely bother) and some of us just find ourselves unmotivated when it comes to more daunting tasks like spring cleaning! (Insert: blood curdling scream.) Now that it’s officially springtime, though, let’s all face our fears about it and just dive in with these tips about how to spring clean your entire home and fast!
What is “spring cleaning,” anyway? And what’s the difference between “spring cleaning” and “regular cleaning”?
Spring is when nature renews itself after hibernating for the winter, so it feels like a good time to refresh our homes, too, as we get ready for the lazier days of summer. While we’re feeling inspired to renew our environments along with Mother Nature, we make a bigger effort to clean in the crooks and crevices and all the spaces we don’t bother with during regular cleanings.
Think of spring cleaning as a top to bottom cleaning event for giving your living spaces at least one refresh every year. It can be a multi-day, deep cleaning, floor-scrubbing, window-washing event or it can be an opportunity to zhush up your place over a couple of hours instead of the 15 minutes it gets most weeks. Let’s go!
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Make a list of all the cleaning tasks you want to complete during your spring cleaning. Prioritize them by importance. (It’s super rewarding to cross them off as you complete them!)
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Gather all of the cleaning supplies you’ll need so you won’t lose momentum once you get started. Keep them all together in a bucket or caddy.
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Pick up clutter and make sure things are in the rooms where they belong. Toys, mail, dishes, and other odds and ends tend to appear on surfaces all over the house. Returning things to their proper locations will give you a HUGE sense of accomplishment right from the get-go. Use a basket to gather as much as possible and make fewer trips.
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Tackle tasks rather than rooms and work from top to bottom. For example: use a duster at high levels; move to a cloth and dusting spray for surfaces within your reach. Use glass cleaner on windows, mirrors, and photo frames. Wash kitchen and bath counters and then vacuum carpeted floors/dust wood floors/mop tile floors.
And you’re done! Take a rest on the porch with a tall, iced tea and enjoy the cool springtime air.
