Ultimate Home Spring Cleaning Tips

Ultimate Home Spring Cleaning Tips

It is that time of year again. Each new season brings a list of items to be completed. As the seasons shift and the days grow longer, there's no better time than spring to refresh your living space and embark on a thorough cleaning journey. Whether you're gearing up for a deep clean or just looking to tidy up and declutter, these ultimate home spring cleaning tips will help you transform your entire home into a haven of cleanliness and serenity. After a long winter, the entire house can benefit from a thorough cleaning. I do look forward to spring cleaning time because it means the warmer weather will be here soon. The goal is always a sparkling clean home. I do not always achieve that goal, however, it will look better than when I got started! 

Develop a Plan

Before diving into your spring cleaning extravaganza, take some time to map out a spring cleaning plan. Create a checklist of tasks organized by room or area of the house to ensure you don't overlook anything important. Just as important as developing a plan is gathering cleaning supplies.

Declutter

This is a great opportunity to keep your home in tip-top shape. Start your spring cleaning by decluttering your living space. Go through each room and ruthlessly purge items that you no longer need or use.

Donate gently used items to charity, recycle what you can, and toss out anything that's beyond repair. I try to have containers with me when I declutter to allow me place something in the right container immediately.

I do keep an additional container for garage sale items. We have an annual garage sale every Summer and we typically earn a few hundred dollars. The grandkids set up their own table and sale their unwanted toys.

Clean from top to bottom

When it's time to start cleaning, work from the top down to ensure that dust and debris don't settle on freshly cleaned surfaces. Start by dusting ceiling fans, light fixtures, and shelves, then move on to cleaning windows and walls. I am always surprised by the amount of dirt and dust that can accumulate.

Clean walls are important and often neglected. I like to move furniture away from the walls to get behind furniture. If your furniture is too heavy, don't worry about it. Sometimes we can't perfectly clean a space. Cleaning some is better than not doing anything. Clean the furniture before finally tackling the floors.

Don't Forget the Forgotten Spaces

It's easy to overlook certain areas of your home during regular cleaning routines. This is a great way to pay extra attention to often neglected spaces like baseboards, door frames, and behind appliances. I do not always remember to clean baseboards as I should. A damp microfiber cloth and some all-purpose cleaner will work wonders in these areas.

I often use the plant-based cleaner I wrote about in a previous post Spring Cleaning with Thieves. It is easy to use and lasts a long time. Another alternative is to easily make your own glass cleaner with warm water and white vinegar. Don't let the strong smell of vinegar deter you. The smell goes away very quickly. This easy glass cleaner leaves my glass streak-free.

Freshen up Fabrics

Spring is the perfect time to freshen up your fabrics, including curtains, shower curtains, upholstery, and bed linens. Wash or dry clean curtains and linens, vacuum upholstered furniture, and spot clean any stains to revitalize your home's soft furnishings.

We do not have any carpeted floors but vacuum cleaners work wonders on upholstery nooks and crannies. Area rugs can be laundered or spot-cleaned.

Tackle the Kitchens and Bathrooms

The kitchen and bathrooms are typically the most heavily used areas of any home and may require special attention during deep cleaning. One easy way to clean is with baking soda. Baking soda added to water to make a paste can help with stubborn stains on the tub and kitchen sink.

If you have mineral deposits on your sinks, tubs, and toilets, scrubbing with a baking soda paste can help remove some or all of the discoloration. This may take more than one application, but it can be effective on stubborn stains.

Tackling the kitchen and bathrooms can be a dirty job, even if you clean them on a regular basis.  Scrub countertops, sinks, and fixtures, sanitize high-touch surfaces, and deep clean appliances like the oven, refrigerator, and dishwasher.

Organize and Rearrange

Once every room of the house is sparkling clean, you can then take the opportunity to reorganize and rearrange your belongings for a fresh new look. Changing out throws or pillows with season helps refresh a room without spending extra money.

Invest in storage solutions like bins, baskets, and drawer organizers to keep clutter at bay and make it easier to maintain your newly cleaned space. I do buy storage containers, but I also re-use containers that I already have. For instance, the other day I was finished with a large metal tin. It was sturdy and I knew I could cover the label with 5 X 7 white self-adhesive labels and re-purpose the container.

My granddaughter came along as I was finishing it up. She looked it over and said " I know what I can put in that container, can I have it"? She promptly went to work with her art supplies and decorated the white label with some original art. Later, I saw she had used it to store some of her Barbie clothing and accessories.

The goal is not for us to just store items, but to keep and store items we really use and enjoy. In the past I have very carefully organized an area and put things in containers in the closet or some other out of the way location. The problem for me is I may not remember where I stored the item. I need to keep my items in a container and the container needs to be accessible.

Don't Forget the Outdoors

Spring cleaning isn't just limited to the indoors – don't forget to spruce up your outdoor spaces as well. Warmer weather means we will be spending more time outside. Sweep patios and decks, clean outdoor furniture, and tidy up garden beds to get your backyard ready for spring and summer entertaining.

Final Thoughts

With these ultimate home spring cleaning tips in hand, you'll be well-equipped to tackle even the most daunting spring cleaning tasks with ease. We spend so much of our time in our home. Everyone will enjoy time at home more if it the space is tidy.

By investing a little time and effort into refreshing your living space (and possibly outdoor areas) with a spring cleaning schedule, you can create a clean, organized, and inviting environment to enjoy all season long. If your family is anything like mine, once warm weather arrives you will want to be outside, not inside cleaning.  Happy cleaning!