Make a Plan
Whether your home is tiny or huge, spring cleaning can be overwhelming. Spring cleaning is all about going further than normal dusting, moping, or vacuuming. If you have never done a spring cleaning you may not know where to start. Start with a plan!
Make a list of all the rooms in your house and don't forget places like the laundry room or closets. Think about the tasks you need to complete in each room like cleaning the walls, baseboards and window treatments. You can always walk through each room to get an idea of what needs to be done and make the list.
If you feel like making your own list is a bit to much look online to find a pre-made list that may help you get started.
Get Ready
Make sure you have all of the cleaning supplies you need before you start. It can be very annoying to have to stop multiple times during a project and look for specific supplies such as window cleaner or a green scrubby.
Don't forget about specialized cleaners, like oven cleaner, silver polish or wood oil, because you probably don't use those things nearly as much as floor cleaner or glass cleaners. Your tools are just as important: Inspect everything from brooms to mops, and replace them if they're in bad shape.
Declutter First
Declutter your home before you start spring cleaning. You don't want to end up just moving the pile of clutter from place to place as it takes extra time and you'll be happier with the end result.
Try setting up three bins, one to keep, one to toss out and one to donate or sell. Ask yourself why you are keeping a particular item, does it make you happy, is it useful or is it just taking up space?
Once you have everything sorted make time to deal with your donate/sell bin as it tends to just sit around if you don't. When you go to organize all your keep items think about how you can better organize/use each item.
10 Creative Ways to Declutter Your Home:
https://www.becomingminimalist.com/creative-ways-to-declutter
Take Your Time
All to often you'll get started on your spring cleaning and start moving to fast and skipping things. Do you want to do it fast or do it right?
Don't give up, divide and conquer!
Go back to your list and break it up into manageable pieces. For example if your working on the bathroom and cleaning the counter, maybe you can take the time to clean and organize under the sink as well.
High-traffic Areas & Shortcuts
The places in your home that get the most traffic such as Kitchens, Dining rooms and living rooms will need spring cleaning the most. Spend more time on these high traffic areas and less time in areas such as guest rooms that don't get used nearly as often.
Try using a hand-held steamer on curtains instead of taking them down to wash. This will help you save time.
Expired Items? Toss them!
While cleaning your pantry and cupboards, don't just pull everything out and put it all back in. Take some extra time and check all the expiration dates on jars, cans & boxes. If it is expired throw it out!
If it's close to being expired put it in the front so you use it first!
The medicine cabinet and your other bathroom storage areas also need to be purged of old stuff. Expired medicine can be dangerous at worst or at very least, ineffective.
Cosmetics don't have expiration dates, but liquid-based ones especially can harbor bacteria and should go in three to six months. If it looks or smells bad, toss it!
Don't Forget the Exterior
Spring cleaning isn't limited to the inside of our home as there are always maintenance type things that need to be done. Such as cleaning the gutters from fall leaves or loose siding.
In the summer you'll likely be spending more time on your deck or patio so you may want to inspect it for wear and get it whipped into shape before then!
Don't worry if you don't have a perfectly clean and organized house by the time spring gets here. There is always something left to do but it's good to have set goals and lists to help you get further and further.
