Five Tips to Make Spring Cleaning Easier This Year

Photo by Daniel Hughes Via Flickr

Spring cleaning can seem like a daunting task, but if you do it right, it can actually be refreshing and relatively easy. Here are five tips to get you going.

1.     Clear out the Clutter

Look at the items you have around your house and ask yourself a few simple questions. Do I need it? Do I use it? Is it in good condition? Use these questions create three categories:

Things to Throw Away/Recycle

Maybe you’ve been hanging on to piles of old magazines and newspapers that you never read or you can’t bring yourself to part with your ratty old college sweatshirt that really just needs to be thrown out? Now is the time. If it is something that can be recycled, please be responsible. If not, throw it away.

Things to Donate

Maybe you bought those pants 5 years ago with great hopes, but it is time to be honest with yourself, whether it is a pair of pants or a kitchen appliance. If you never use it, find it a new home and free up some space for the things you actually need.

Things to Put in Storage

Once in a while, you may have something you really need and use, but only very rarely. If you live in a wide open area with larger homes and garages, this might not be a problem, but if you live in a crowded area like New York or Toronto, public storage may be a good option for you.

2.     Be Efficient

You’ve probably been told to clean your house from top to bottom. This is really just common sense. It would be silly to vacuum before dusting. Be efficient while cleaning. Wash your counters before you sweep your floors, and consider getting microfiber cloths instead of paper towels so you can absorb more and reuse your supplies.

3.     Wash Your Windows on a Cloudy Day

This may seem counterintuitive, but if you wash your windows when it is nice and sunny outside, your cleaning solution will dry too fast and leave streaks. Another way to make washing your windows easier is to use a vertical motion on one side and a horizontal motion on the other side. This way it will be easier to tell if you missed a spot or left a streak.

4.     Vacuum in Natural Light

Those streams of sunlight that show all the dust floating in the air can be a useful tool. Vacuum your carpets when there is as much natural light as possible, and you will be less likely to miss an area, or not vacuum it thoroughly enough.

5.     Pace Yourself

If you try to clean your whole house at once you will get overwhelmed quickly. Instead, break it up by task, or go one room at a time. Wash all the windows one Saturday morning and then be done for the day. Come back the next weekend to tackle your kitchen, or bathroom. Working on one room at a time ensures you will be able to finish what you start. The last thing you want is to start cleaning and instead of finishing, find yourself in the middle of a chaotic disaster bigger than when you started your work.

A clean home is a happy home. Follow these five tips to make spring cleaning easy this year.

Author Byline