5 Steps to Kick off Your Spring Cleaning

Sure, there’s still time for the winter doldrums, but the season of fresh air and budding blossoms is on its way. Although along with that clean breeze comes a dirty activity: spring cleaning.

Yes, the time of the year where every nook and cranny of your home gets sanitized and scrubbed free of grime. Some people enjoy taking on the challenge, but others don’t know where to begin. Have no fear!

We’re here to guide you through the spring cleaning process one step at a time.

1. Make a Room-by-Room Checklist

Before you even pick up a single paper towel, it’s important to go room to room and take in what needs to happen.

When doing so, write down what needs cleaning in that room. For example, if your bedroom has hardwood floors, mopping should go on the list. When was the last time you cleaned the windows? Is the ceiling riddled with cobwebs?

If it needs cleaning, add it to your list, and then do so for every room in the house.

2. Gather All Cleaning Materials

Now that you know what needs cleaning, it’s time to hunt down the items needed to get the job done. Getting this out of the way before starting helps keep interruptions to a minimum.

You may think you have everything you need, but after taking inventory, it might be worth a trip to the store to stock up.

3. Throw Things Out

Before the deep cleaning can begin, it’s important to throw out all the junk.

The definition of junk depends on the last time you used it, its relevance in your life, etc. Consider:

• If it’s wasting space, it needs to disappear for good.
• If it can be donated, place it in a designated area of your home along with similar items.
• If you need it in your life, but it doesn’t have a home, place it in a box with similar items and put them aside until you’re done with the next step.

4. Clean Everything!

Now comes the time to clean. With your checklist in hand, go room by room and tackle every bullet point on your list.

The key to success is staying in the room until the room is completely clean. If you hop around the house, you’re more likely to become discouraged and abandon your Spring Cleaning project.

Stay tough and stay focused; you’re almost done!

5. Organize

Remember that box of miscellaneous items you couldn’t live without? For the final step, it’s time to find places for them to live.

Organizing should be the last step in your spring cleaning process because it allows you to get in all the hard-to-reach places without clutter blocking the way.

Once you’re done with this step, that’s it. Congratulations on a job well done!