Originally, spring cleaning was a grueling ritual made necessary by long winters of heating with wood, kerosene and candles that left a layer or soot and grime throughout the home. Today, spring cleaning is much less an onerous chore and more an opportunity to throw open the windows, let some fresh air in, and make our homes clean, happy and efficient spaces.
I *LOVE* spring cleaning. And this year, I'm cleaning for all it's worth, partly because I'm a crazy hormonal pregnant woman and partly because I anticipate that once these twins are born I won't have time to clean for approximately 18 years!
I couldn't find any spring cleaning checklists that embodied my enthusiasm for the ritual, so I've created my own and I'm sharing it with all of you.
Click Here for my very thorough spring cleaning checklist. ( Even if you aren't an insanely hormonal pregnant woman with an insatiable desire to scrub everything!)
Before you begin, Here are some extra spring cleaning tips:
- Set aside at least a week for a thorough spring cleaning. Work from one end of your house to the other.
- Plan some easy meals for the days you will spend cleaning. Consider using your slow cooker. A crockpot full of stew at the end of a day of intense cleaning is a beautiful thing!
- As you clean, keep a list of any jobs you notice that need to be done around the house: little paint touch-ups or a pillow that needs to be mended. Don't get distracted by these chores during your cleaning, save them for when you are done. (Or else you may never be done!)
- Keep another list of things you notice you need. Especially when you clean out your fridge and pantry, you will probably become aware of some supplies you are out of or running low on.
- Take an empty laundry basket and pile in it anything you need your hubby to sort through (miscellaneous receipts you're not sure you need to keep, random bolts and screws you've found in his pocket a year ago but you're afraid to get rid of because if you do he's sure to come to you tomorrow asking if you've seen that little bolt that is vital for something or other, that singing Christmas tie you're really hoping he'll finally part with... you get the point!) Ask him to sort through the basket when he has a chance.
I'd love to know if you do use my check list, and also if you think of something I've forgotten!
Happy Cleaning!
Congrats for the twins. I am curious have you thought about names? And the tips you shared are very useful. I will use a lot of them for the pre tenancy cleaning London
ReplyDeletehaha.. wow. i just looked at the checklist and that is some serious stuff! i'm sure nesting helps with the desire to do all those things! i started my spring cleaning by organizing my storage container closet. i feel like that was pretty good :)
ReplyDeleteMelody! It really just seems so overwhelming because it's divided by room and that means some tasks are listed several times. For example, wiping down your switch plates throughout the whole house only adds up to a few minutes, but because I've separated things by room, it takes up several points on the list. Go ahead and try a massive clean...it is SOOOO worth the effort! :)
ReplyDeletei sooooo need to do a MAJOR spring clean up. thanks for making my mind think this way!
ReplyDeleteand many thanks for linking up to the SPRING FLING!
kellie
Hi Kelly
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I need to do some MAJOR cleaning. I'm currently working on the kitchen and will link up with Christin at Joyful Mothering for her Homemakers Challenge on Thursday. That ought to motivate me!
I also wanted to tell you that I've passed on an award to your blog. You can see the details here: http://shinebrightlyforjesus.blogspot.com/2011/03/one-lovely-blog-award.html (my links aren't working.. sorry!)
Love & blessings!
These are great tips to get me going. I love point number 5 - get a laundrey basket for husbands 'stuff'!!!! My hubby is a horder and so this is really a good idea of where to put things that, to me, need throwing away, but to him, need to be kept for a rainey day (which never seems to come)!!! I'm the opposit - read it, file it or bin it, etc, so I don't have much lying around really. But thanks for this post - it's an inspiration! Bless you.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the long list of things to do--but some of them I have never done in my entire life! For example, when you say 'wash the walls' do you mean wash every inch of every wall or spot clean? Do you use soap and water and a sponge or something different? Does the paint not come off? I've had some difficulty wiping stains (pen marks etc) off doors, what do you use to clean yours?
ReplyDeleteAnd do you move your refrigerator, washer/dryer when you clean each year to clean underneath/behind them? Sorry for the silly questions! Last one..... how often do you swap out your broom and mop? or do you just clean the one you have in some sort of cleaning solution?
Your website is my new favorite! ThankS!!
magic eraser!
DeleteHi Anonymous! I wish you weren't anonymous so i could email you some answers to your questions :)
ReplyDeleteFor some rooms I wash all the walls,as high as i can reach. For other rooms i just spot cleans. It depends on how dirty the walls are! I use some vinegar in water for this. It doesn't ruin my paint.
In the past i've used mr.clean magic erasers to get crayon and pen off doors and walls. It worked well.
I move my fridge and stove to clean under them several times a year.It's one of my favorite jobs. I love seeing all that dust get sucked up by the vacuum. Maybe your house is cleaner than mine and doesn't need it that often...but we're a very track-the-yard-in-on-our-boots sort of family and dirt always seems to float under things and hide!
I replace my mop head every spring (for spring cleaning)and every fall(for pre-holiday cleaning). I replace my broom every time I break the handle trying to beat the dust out of a rug. Which has happened twice because I didn't learn the first time. :)
I like to spring clean one room a month. It makes it not so overwhelming as trying to do the whole house in a week.
ReplyDeleteI like that you separated your list by rooms because i get really scrambled hopping from room to room trying to do things i always end up forgetting something that way!
ReplyDeleteI thought My list was extensive until I found this one lol! But I love it! One thing I would add, for pet owners, every spring my mom would replace our cat's litter box and scooper. They were cleaned several times a year, but she replaced them once a year too.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we have a dishwasher so I run our lamp covers through a hot cycle to clean them good. Our new washer and dryer also has a sterilize mode, so I run all the bedding and curtains and rugs though that.
Also, here's an idea I learned from my mom...Whenever she paints a room, she uses clean glass jars (she saves these all year from jelly, pizza sauce, pickles, etc) and pours any leftover paint in them for easy storage. The lids seal up tight and you don't have to worry about a bent up lid and leaking paint can! I use blank labels and write where I bought the paint, the mixing info on the back of the paint swatch, the name of the color, and what room I used it in. This way, if I ever have to buy more of a certain color, I have all the information accessable. And if I don't have enought leftover paint to save, I use a paint stir stick, paint a thick coat of the color i've used onto it, and write on the other side with a sharpie and store it with my paints. Most paint places can match up colors so saving it this way makes buying more a snap!
I know that i am quite a few months late reading this post and my reply could go unnoticed, but i found the best tip for remembering paint colors and i thought i must share. Write the paint color and brand on the back of your switch plate in that particular room and you will always have a record of it. The switch plate will be off to paint the room anyway. That way, you don't have to dig through the attic in the dark trying to figure out which paint color goes in which room! Genius!
Deletevery through list. thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteI stumbled across this site and I am so pleased that I did! Tips and ideas are fabulous and I can't wait ti implement them!! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great list and I love your whole site (I found it through pinterest.) I have an off cleaning topic question. Haha. Is that a picture of your bathroom? What is that paint color called? It's beautiful against the white mirror!
ReplyDeleteIt's Benjamin Moore's "Blue Grass"
Deletehttp://www.gorillaofficesupplies.com/ offers great prices on everything you could possible need and WANT for easy spring cleaning! They have extremely fast and FREE SHIPPING! Check out their awesome deals and supplies at http://www.gorillaofficesupplies.com/cleaning-supplies.aspx?frm=leftBanner
ReplyDeleteMy (gonna be)mother-in-law and sister-in-law are coming to stay with us this summer for a bit and this list is going to be AMAZING when I'm going crazy cleaning the house before they arrive. THANK YOU!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteNothing in there for office, sewing areas or craft rooms. I need help with those!!! Thanks for the great tips, I am a list person and this is great.
ReplyDeletewhat do you do to clean the inside of your washing machine? mine is disgusting and cannot seem to get the gunk off! I never remember my mom's looking like this and my last one didn't either.
ReplyDeletePamela Deitsch (FB name)
I just fill the washer with warm water and vinegar, but mine doesn't have any actual gunk in it,so i'm not sure of the best way to get rid of the gunk! Sorry!
DeleteMr. Clean Magic Eraser again....I use it on stainless and most recently on ceiling tiles at work...I can't stand the discoloration that happens on a kitchen ceiling. If you have a front loader there are cleaners made especially for them that you runm through.
DeleteYou can just purchase washer cleaner, my washer came with a sample packet.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a print friendly button somewhere? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMaybe add fireplace cleaning....chimney sweep.....hearth tiles, etc. Very thorough list...exhausted from just reading all. Hahaaa
ReplyDeleteI currently find myself a hormonal pregnant woman in need of scrubbing everything, I know you wrote this blog entry a few years ago but I thought that was funny. I hope the twins (and the rest of your family are doing well)! :D After going through several lists I love your's the most and am planning to add several things of my own. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, as you are finding that twins do take up twice the time. Mine are 46 and I was organized before they and their brother (one year older) came along! It has been several USAF moves, and years of teaching full time...am trying to downsize, clean out and get organized again...Best of luck to you.
ReplyDeleteFamily does help, but not forever...
I love your idea of putting your husband's miscellaneous, random items in a laundry basket for him to sort through later. I don't know why I never thought of putting them all in one place for easy sorting. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYour list has made it all the way to Denmark, and I cannot explain how much of a difference it makes! I can do a much better job in just half the time with the list and guide you made. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThe list is good and I will take this down to apply it when I am doing a clean for my home. Sometimes I got exhausted when I'm not organized with the things that I am doing. This blog can help a lot. Nice Share.
ReplyDelete