With spring already here, everyone is getting restless. As the weather begins to warm up, most people feel an urge to throw open the windows and air out the stuffiness that comes with sealing up homes to keep them warm in the winter. This energetic thrill and desire to spruce up the home during the spring season is something people have been experiencing for centuries, creating the tradition most of us know as “Spring Cleaning”. It’s time to recycle the air, wash everything, and polish surfaces, even if that means moving furniture, climbing to clean upper cabinets, and throwing out boxes of old stuff you just don’t need anymore.
Of course, spring cleaning is a big task for any household so it’s no surprise if you find yourself looking at the task ahead and wondering if there’s an easier way. There is! Today we’re here to share 8 tricks we’ve learned over the years that make spring cleaning go by faster with more satisfying results every year.
1) Open With a Distraction
The first trick is not to think about it too hard. Rather than worrying about how much there is to do, start by distracting yourself. Put on a TV show you like but don’t have to look at to follow, a fun podcast, or your favorite dance music to bring up the energy and distract the part of your mind that gets bored. This way, your body can boogie through the cleaning while your mind enjoys some of your favorite media.
2) The Right Supplies
If there’s one thing that makes spring cleaning difficult, is going at it with the wrong equipment. Make sure you have strong selection of cleaning supplies to tackle any task you will need to take care of along the way. While you know your favorite cleaning supplies, here’s a quick suggested list:
- Multi-Surface / Glass Cleaner
- Bleach
- Vinegar
- Dish Soap
- Sponges
- Paper Towels
- Nail Brush
- Broom and Dustpan
- Vacuum
- Mop and Bucket
- Mop ‘n Glow
3) Start with the Laundry
When you’re ready to get started, we highly suggest you begin with the laundry. Strip your bed, family beds, pet beds, and throw pillow covers and toss them into the wash. Don’t forget coverlets and throw blankets that may be loose in the house. In other words, collect every scrap of fabric in the house, including curtains and things you don’t normally wash, and pile them in the laundry room. Keep the machines rolling while you clean so that you’ll have nice fresh fabrics when everything else is wiped and polished.
4) Work from Top to Bottom
There’s nothing more frustrating than finding out a spot you’ve already cleaned has gotten dirty again. To prevent this, try cleaning from top to bottom. Start with the ladder work for upper kitchen cabinets and light fixtures, then move down to normal-level cabinets, then counters and tables, then lower cabinets and seating furniture, then the carpets and floors. This ensures that the dust and debris you knock off higher objects will get cleaned in a lower wave without having to re-clean anything.
5) MWSO: Move, Wipe, Sort, Organize
Working with cluttered or packed areas? Closets, cabinets, and messy desks or dressers are often the hardest to tackle because you don’t know what to do with all the things or how to make them tidy. The right answer is MWSO: Move Wipe Sort and Organize. First, remove everything from the surface or cabinet and wipe down the storage area itself. The hold each item in your hand, wipe the dust off, and sort it into ‘keep here’, ‘put somewhere else’ or ‘get rid of’ piles. Then organize what’s left in the ‘keep here’ pile into a tidier arrangement.
6) Set Aside a Donation Box
Speaking of sorting cluttered items, spring cleaning almost always results in finding things you don’t actually need to keep. You realize you haven’t worn some of your clothes in years, that you’re never going to use that old bread machine, or that your child outgrew those toys ages ago. This is where the donation box comes in handy. Keep one ready to hold all the things that will be leaving your house soon. And as an added bonus, you’ll know that your old items won’t be taking up space in a landfill, but going to someone who needs them.
7) Run Vinegar Through Everything
One gift you can give yourself instead of trying to scrub the water deposits and slightly sour smell out of all your water-running appliances is to use vinegar instead. A simple hot-water round with vinegar can work wonders on drains, dishwashers, and washing machines. Pour vinegar followed by boiling water down your drains to clear up any pre-clog masses down there. Run your dishwasher with a cup of vinegar upright in the top rack and run the washing machine once on hot with vinegar instead of detergent in the dispenser. This will break up old scunge and do some of the cleaning for you.
8) Enlist Help, Pay in Food and Appreciation
Finally, there’s no need to do all your spring cleaning alone. Especially if you plan to move and clean under furniture, don’t be shy about recruiting family members or friends to help you out. You can essentially treat this with the same etiquette as asking people to help you move. Only ask people you want to spend the weekend with, then pay them in pizza or takeout and many thanks as you sit exhausted and happy in your very clean house.
Has all this spring cleaning made you realize that it may be time for a new space? Or maybe it’s just time to refinance and upgrade? Don’t hesitate to give us a call at (877) 706-5856 or click here to get a quote now!