Spring cleaning tips…

March 9, 2012
Its that time again!  SPRING CLEANING.  I shared these tips last year with my readers. So I just updated it a little to share with those who have not yet seen it.  When do you start your spring cleaning?  Are you a “get it all done in a day” type of girl or do you take your time?  I like to spread it over a week. See my spring cleaning routine below.

 

 

How I prepare for my “spring cleaning”…

 

1.  I make sure I am all stocked up on my cleaners. For my spring cleaning, I typically use Basic H which is an all purpose cleaner, window cleaner, and degreaser in one, Scour off, Nature Bright & Basic G.  I only use non-toxic cleaners in my home.  (Cleaning with toxic cleaners does more harm than good).  I place everything in my caddy (shown below), along with the trash bags & rags.

 

 

2.  Stock up on trash bags, paper towels or rags, and candles (I have to have a candle burning while I clean).

 

3.  Make the week of dinners ahead of time (5 dinners, 1 hour is a great place to find weekly menus), because you will not have the time or the energy to cook when you are spring cleaning.

 

4. Make a cleaning schedule (type or write and put on a clipboard), matching days to tasks. I try to have my spring cleaning complete in one week. It takes an additional week to clean the outside of my home (power-washing, wash window screens, weeding, preparing the garden, cleaning out the garage, cleaning out the car, etc.)

 

 

My spring cleaning checklist

Day 1:
  • Clean all baseboards, banisters, walls, windows & mirrors (spraying everything with Basic H eliminates the need for a bucket of water & cleaner)
  • Clean all glass surfaces
  • Wipe down electronics
Day 2:
  • Wash all curtains (including shower curtains)
  • Wash all bedding (including quilts & pillows)
  • Flip mattresses
  • Empty all trash cans, clean and sanitize them.
Day 3:
  • Clean the kitchen:
  • Clear the entire counter top and sanitize
  • Wipe out & organize all cabinets. Throw out old food and dishes you no longer use.
  • Wipe off the top of fridge
  • Dust fridge coils
  • Clean out fridge and freezer
  • Clean out oven (including vents)
  • Clean microwave
  • Sanitize the sink and garbage disposer
  • Wipe down all appliances.
Day 4:
  • Change all filters (furnace, water filtration)
  • Add salt to water softener
  • Polish all furniture in house (and wax if needed)
  • Clean toilets, sinks, medicine cabinets and showers
Day 5:
  • Vacuum out couches & chairs
  • Wash couch cushions
  • Vacuum and mop all floors
  • Wash rugs
Day 6:
  • Shampoo all carpets
  • Replace all smoke detector batteries
  • Replace burnt out lightbulbs
Day 7:
  • Rest because tomorrow its time to head outside!!

 

*Some extra things that may need done this week are: switching winter wardrobe to spring, oil change in car (fill fluids)& clean out car, clean out vacuum cleaner, clean out dog kennel, reseal grout lines, clean out email box.
If you have any spring cleaning tips, please share them with us!!

 

29 comments on “Spring cleaning tips…

  1. Melissa says:

    Thanks for all the tips. I will be doing this soon.

    Melissa
    http://t-g-life.blogspot.com/

  2. Miss Sophie says:

    nicely coincides with my spring break. thank you for the tips.
    sophie
    princesrhyme.blogspot.com

  3. This is a great list! I am in the middle of Spring Cleaning myself. There is nothing like a nice clean home!

  4. Susan says:

    Thank you for sharing your tips, they will be so helpful. I always like to burn a new candle after I have done my Spring cleaning, but not until the end of the day, I have to earn it. I know, its crazy! 🙂

  5. Thanks for sharing this is a great list. Going to print it out and have it ready to start my spring cleaning next week.

    Shirley

    http://motivatedmommyoftwo.blogspot.com/

  6. Lianne says:

    A fantastic reminder list. I tend to spring clean twice or thrice a year. Normally before summer and before Xmas as theyre the times were most likely to decorate or buy new things which need storage places to be found. I work from upstairs to downstairs and from one side of the house to the other taking all the rubbish with me as I go, finally taking it outside to the bins without walking it through the clean rooms.

  7. carl can says:

    Thanks for an excellent article! I appreciate your insights and agree with what you wrote. reflect scientific

  8. sarahmaeh says:

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’ll bookmark this and I’ll share it to my friends.

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  9. ErikaV says:

    This is what I need to do. I always try to knock everything out in a weekend. Now that we have double the house, I doubt that will happen anymore! 😀 Thanks for sharing!

    Have a great week!
    Erika @ Southern Belle as an Army Wife

  10. Clean4you says:

    When you think cleaning is not fun then you are definitely wrong because even though cleaning is considered a serious task eventually you’ll have fun doing it along the way…

    http://www.clean4you.co.uk

  11. Really, it;s a very good work. Keep writing this type of excellent articles. Thanks….
    House cleaning services Toronto

  12. ruzzel01 says:

    Speed with accuracy. I prefer it that way.
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  13. john william says:

    This is a great list of cleaning tips . Thanks for this information . Phoenix Maids provide such a great service for house cleaning .

  14. Hello! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I really
    enjoy reading your blog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums
    that cover the same subjects? Thanks!

  15. Shirley says:

    Do you shampoo your own carpeting? If so what do you us?
    Thank you.

  16. Lindsay says:

    During your daily cleaning when do you dust the living room, bedroom, dining rooms, clean windows? Dust fan baldes?

  17. Lyndsey says:

    Hi, great post! I was wondering what your outside list consists of as well?

  18. Dave W says:

    This is a great list! I will definitely keep in mind as I start my spring cleaning this weekend! Thanks for sharing!

  19. Caleb says:

    I’m more than happy to uncover this page. I want to to thank you for ones time just for this fantastic read!! I definitely enjoyed every bit of it and i also have you bookmarked to look at new stuff in your blog.

  20. Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve visited your blog before but after looking at some of the posts I realized it’s new to me.
    Anyhow, I’m definitely happy I stumbled upon it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back frequently!

  21. Kate says:

    Great idea to deal with a week’s worth of meals ahead of time, and set that time aside for Spring cleaning!!!! Thanks for that idea. Also love replacing smoke detector batteries when doing Spring cleaning too! Really great! Thanks!

  22. Mini Clean says:

    Great checklist. Creating detailed tasks for each day is more manageable especially for people who are working. Thanks!

  23. What a great list for spring cleaning. I think it’s about time to get this list ready. I definitely can see that my own home is getting a little on the messy side.

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