Spring Cleaning Advice
Given the current climate, many of us are finding that we have more time than usual to dedicate to keeping our homes or apartments clean. However, where do we even start?
Many of us have let the clutter take over everything, which leaves us with a big mess to clean up.
Spring cleaning is the perfect time to get things organized and on track for the year ahead, and, now more than ever, you have all the time in the world to do so!
So, in the interest of helping you get started, here are six pieces of spring cleaning advice to help you de-clutter your living space and get yourself on the right track!
- Touch Those Hard to Reach Places
There are so many hard-to-reach places in living spaces that go untouched throughout the year, which means they are simply building up dirt and other, unwanted entities.
For some, this means dusting/cleaning the baseboards. For others, this means wiping down in between the tiles in the bathroom or kitchen. Whatever this means for you, this is the time to get into those hard-to-reach places and ensure that every nook and cranny is spotless.
- Clean Up the Glass
While you likely wipe down bathroom mirrors all year long, most individuals don’t clean sliding glass doors, or glass shower doors all that often, which means they can build up mildew and other bacteria.
Make sure you take this time to clean up all glass with glass cleaner, ensuring every piece of glass in and around your home is spotless. Especially when you’re cleaning outside, you’ll find that the winter takes a toll on your glass, and it’s in your best interest to get ahead of it before the summer hits, making all summer cleaning much easier for you.
- Prepare for Warmer Weather
In addition to cleaning the glass, you should also take this time to clean any of your outdoor spaces that haven’t been touched all winter long. If you allow dust to build up in any outdoor storage or on patio furniture, you’ll find that, come summer, these places will be taken over by insects of various kinds.
Take the time to use bug sprays to keep away unwanted predators, and wipe down all outdoor furniture so that it’s ready for use as soon as the weather is nice enough to use it. Basically, cleaning outside is just as important as cleaning inside, so make sure you aren’t letting that fall to the wayside!
- Do the Basics
On top of all the places that you don’t typically touch and/or clean, make sure you are also doing your basic cleaning rituals or routines. You should be vacuuming the floors, dusting and wiping down frequently touched surfaces, and ultimately going through the motions of your usual cleaning routines.
You should also step this routine up a bit and pick up some more dust and grime than you usually would (for instance, you could use the edge tool on your vacuum to pick up dust that you would typically miss.).
- Put Everything in its Place
Everything has a place, and everything should be in the proper place. For most, this is a routine that is broken about halfway through the year, resulting in a big mess come time for spring cleaning.
For this reason, make sure you clearly designate an area for everything and make sure you also put everything in the proper place as you’re cleaning. By letting things sit out, or creating piles on your kitchen counter, you are delaying the inevitable. Take the time to go through those piles, throw away what you don’t need and properly file away everything that you do. This will put you in a great place for the rest of the year!
- Develop a System
As mentioned above, everything needs a place. While you may need to invent some new storage methods, you should certainly be developing a new place for anything that needs it.
Conversely, anything that you don’t need, needs to go. You can either donate items or simply throw them away, but you shouldn’t be holding onto anything that you don’t need.
The general rule of thumb is that, if you haven’t used an item in over a year, you likely don’t need it. Only you can judge what’s needed and what isn’t, but don’t be afraid to get rid of the clutter!
Spring cleaning is important every year, but this year more than most, it feels essential. Whether you’re planning on simply tidying up or going into a full-fledged, deep-clean, the above six tips are a great starting point.
Everyone’s living space is going to be in a different state than someone else’s, so make sure you are cleaning in a way that’s right for you, leaving no stone unturned!
So happy cleaning everyone, and remembers to take care of yourselves and stay healthy!
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