Everyone loves a clean house but most of us don’t enjoy the process it takes to get there. Spring cleaning can sometimes be discouraging and overwhelming. How about a few cleaning tips? And have you ever wondered where spring cleaning came from? Today we are talking about where to start with spring cleaning!
I love a clean house and have found it easier to break it down into rooms and different days that I work on things. Some people like to get it all out of the way at once and spend an entire day cleaning their house. I occasionally do that but most of the time I have a rotation schedule for cleaning. Week 1 is the first floor of our home. Each day I have an assigned room that I clean. Week 2 is upstairs. I have found that this works for me. It also helps to make spring cleaning easier because almost everything is clean for the most part!
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Where Does Spring Cleaning Come From?
Turns out that the concept of spring cleaning has been around forever! Modern-day spring cleaning is in the “springtime” because that is when we are emerging from the cold dreary dead winter months. Everything is coming back to life, and we are opening the windows to let fresh air in. It is the best time, and you will be most likely to be motivated to do some deep cleaning!
Spring cleaning is thought of as a time of renewal and has been around for centuries. It goes back to biblical times, during Passover the Israelites are told to leave no traces of leaven in the house. In springtime in Thailand, they celebrate a festival of purification called Songkran. It’s a time when people scour their homes from top to bottom. The Japanese celebrate Golden Week which people clean their homes to welcome the deities of the new year. In Persia, they celebrate the new year in March with “khaneh tekani”, which means “shaking the house”. Everything gets cleaned, and the dust of the old year is swept away.
Where To Start
I think we can all agree on all our typical spring cleaning. But I have a few tips that will hopefully help you get started. I know once I get started, I get the motivation to keep going! If you need help decluttering then you might want to check out our blog post, 10 Everyday Things to Declutter from Your Home. You can read that here.
1. Walls & Baseboards
I don’t know many people that clean their walls and baseboards as part of their regular cleaning schedule. Well unless they get unusually dirty or are in a high-traffic area. I have two ideas to help keep you off your hands and knees while doing it!
If you don’t have a spin mop and bucket, then you need to grab one! These work amazingly for cleaning baseboards and walls. When we moved into our Florida house, we purchased one and used it to clean all our walls, baseboards, and even our doors! Most of the mop heads are washable too.
A second way is using a Clorox toilet wand brush. It already has the cleaner on it, just grab a bucket of clean water and a towel and get to cleaning! I would not recommend this method if your baseboards were not white. I also do not recommend this for walls, only baseboards.
2. Pantry
In a perfect world, we would stay on top of our pantry items. But it can easily get out of control. Things expire, we misplace items, and before you know it you have multiple items you didn’t realize that you had. When we moved, I was really surprised by how many items we had that had expired.
If you are organized, it will help your process go more smoothly. I love using baskets to group similar items together, can organizers, and containers for flour/sugar.
I also learned something new over the past year about dry goods/baking supplies. Things like flour do expire and go bad! Flour goes bad in about 8 months – 1 year and if it’s gluten-free even sooner! Using flour past its best-by date can cause issues like food poisoning. Typically, the flour will have an off odor and discoloration to it. Always store it in an airtight container to help prevent it from going bad. You can also freeze flour!
So, I recommend going through your items and checking the expiration dates, regrouping items, and placing the items that will be expiring sooner towards the front.
3. Carpets & Area Rugs
Spring cleaning is a great time to clean your carpets. You can either do it yourself or have someone else come in and do it for you. We do it ourselves. We bought a carpet cleaner a few years ago. They really aren’t that expensive and pay for themselves. I don’t like the idea of renting a carpet cleaner. And there is something therapeutic about cleaning carpets! Lol! Most carpet cleaners have attachments that can be used to clean your upholstered furniture also.
Don’t forget about your area rugs, front doormat, and any other rugs you have laying around.
4. Trash Cans
Our trash cans have a habit of getting neglected. We often wipe down the outside of them while cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms but forget or choose not to clean the inside of them. They can get pretty dirty! If you use a recycling bin you will also want to give that a good cleaning too!
If your garbage can has an inner can liner remove that and either take it outside to clean it or you can clean it in your bathtub. I recommend either using an all-purpose cleaner that is also a disinfectant or Dawn Powerwash. If you missed my blog post on Dawn Powerwash you might want to check that out here. Fill the can up with some water and cleaner and use a scrub brush. Clean the inside and outside of the can.
You don’t want to forget to clean the inside of your garbage cans. While you are waiting for the inner can to dry this would be a good time to clean the inside and outside of the can.
If your cans are extra dirty let them soak for a little while. If you have a sunny day, it’s always a good idea to let them dry in the sun. This also naturally helps to kill any remaining germs and bacteria. You can always sprinkle a little baking soda in the bottom of the garbage can. This is a natural deodorizer and helps to absorb spills. Just in case!
5. Return/Air Vents & Fan Covers
These are easy to forget! I don’t know where yours are in the house but ours are high or on the ceiling. So, it is not easy to get to without a ladder. They aren’t something that regularly gets cleaned in our house.
It is recommended that you remove the covers and soak them in hot, soapy water. After they soak for a bit, use a soft microfiber towel to wash them off. Rinse with water and gently dry with a clean dry microfiber towel. Make sure you dry them well, so they won’t rust.
If you can reach your vents, about once a month try to dust them with a duster. This will help to maintain them until you are able to give them a good cleaning. You can also use your vacuum with an attachment if they are within reach. It is also recommended that you turn off your AC system when removing the covers.
Spring Cleaning Tips
- Clean lamp shades with a lint roller
- Start from the top and work your way down
- Use a pillowcase to clean fan blades
- Good time to check the hangers in your closet. (If you don’t know what that is, read more here.)
- Wash your shower liner in the washing machine. Yes, that’s right just put a towel in with it.
- Keep all your cleaning supplies together so it is easy to grab, and you aren’t running around looking for them all.
Do you participate in spring cleaning or do you just keep with your regular cleaning cycle? I know a lot of people build in a lot of these things into their routines so there really isn’t a “need” for a spring cleaning ritual. If you have any tips or hacks that you would like to share please share them below in the comments!
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