Spring Cleaning and Organizing Your Home

If you have been at home more often than usual over the past year, you are not alone. For many people, spending so much time in their house or apartment has made spring cleaning more important than ever before.

 Now that winter has come to an end, you may be on the lookout for effective approaches to thoroughly clean and declutter your home. Below, we will discuss some useful ways to start spring cleaning and organizing.

Remove Items and Furniture Before Cleaning a Space

Effectively cleaning a space in your home requires some forethought. Before you jump in and begin dusting and vacuuming, remove as many objects from the space as possible.

Moving furniture will allow you to access the places that you might miss when you are cleaning on a regular basis. Moving items around will also help you to identify clutter or junk that you do not need to keep. Decluttering is an important part of a thorough cleaning.

Get the Right Cleaning Products

Once you have moved furniture and disposed of items that you do not plan to keep, it is time to clean! As you’re cleaning, it is important to have the right products on hand.

Consider the type of cleaning you will be doing and then collect any of the following items that you need:

• White vinegar
• Baking soda
• Dish soap
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Rubbing alcohol
• Lemon
• Salt
• Empty spray bottle

Each of these ingredients can be a versatile cleaning product. Rather than spending lots of money on specific synthetic chemical cleaners, consider using these less abrasive cleaning products.

Order of Operations

When you want to do some spring cleaning, having a plan is essential. Some people will begin to clean at random, attacking whichever cleaning task catches their eye. Don’t fall into this trap!

Some cleaning tasks should be done in order to save on effort and time. You do not want to put in hours of work, only to discover that you have made more cleaning jobs to do!

For example, be sure to dust before you vacuum. When you wipe dust from surfaces, some pieces will float into the air and settle on the floor. You do not want dust to settle on a carpet that you have already spent time vacuuming.

Before you begin to clean carpets and wood floors, ensure that all the elevated surfaces have been cleaned. This will include things like shelves, counters, tables, windows, and ceiling fans.   

HELPFUL TIP: Clean from the top down. Also decide to either clean clockwise or counterclockwise from the entrance door. This helps in not cleaning places twice, and/or, forgetting to clean some places.

Prepare for Summer

Get ready for that sunny weather! Use this opportunity to pull out any furniture or equipment that you will be using during the summer months.

 Some examples include:

• A grill
• A lawnmower and other yard equipment
• Outdoor furniture
• Warm-weather sports equipment

To use the space in your home efficiently, you should also put cold-weather items and equipment into storage.

These items include:

• Cold-weather boots and jackets
• Snowblowers
• Snow shovels

Another important part of preparing for summer is switching out your seasonal clothing. Store any heavy coats, jackets, and gloves. Bring shorts, sandals, and other summer items out of storage for the season.

When you approach your spring cleaning with these useful tips, you can start the season with a sparkling clean and clutter-free home.