A Guide to Spring Cleaning – Making Sure Your Efficient While Having Fun!

This is it! The time to finally try out all those cleaning hacks you’ve been pinning all year. Longer days, sunshine, and blossoming flowers mean only one thing: it’s time to bust out the cleaning supplies!

Though no doubt rewarding, the annual sweep and purge is a daunting task. Where do you even start when you have a closet in need of organizing and piles of clothes need sorting, plus a whole host of other things on your to-do list? So, let’s crack those windows, let the sunshine in and air out our homes. 

First, spring cleaning is something I really must sit down and plan. Now when I say plan, I don’t mean to just write a short list. OH-NO, I mean create a to-do list and take one task at a time, instead of trying to accomplish the whole house at once. With my help, I promise that this task won’t seem as monstrous, but remember, you want to customize your spring-cleaning checklist to fit your specific home and cleaning goals. This is no small feat though, countless of us get overwhelmed during our attempt to declutter our homes. So, don’t let this year get to you like all the others! With a little help, we can all successfully make our homes sparkle, while having fun. This time we are even including the kids!  

To begin, we start with a to-do list. We want to make the process attainable, by listing out all the chores. This way you can make sure you tackle all those forgotten nooks and crannies, without feeling overwhelmed. If you’re just looking for a list – skip down to the bottom!

One of the things I find very helpful is a cleaning caddy. These are easy to make and great for all ages!! Grab a bucket, or anything you can find that will hold cleaning supplies, and this can be used as your caddy. Listed below are some of the basic items that could be used to get started for your cleaning caddy. (This list also includes items for little ones who are helping.) There are some items I didn’t include on this list, as these items will most likely already be in the room you’re cleaning, like a toilet brush in your bathroom etc.  

After the to-do list is done and you have all your supplies ready, we want to go through the house and pre-clean. Yes, I said pre-clean!! The purpose is simply to clear surfaces of clutter and misplaced items. Tip: Grab a box or basket for each member of the household, toss misplaced items into appropriate boxes and give to each person to put their own items away.

Crank up the music – it’s time to start cleaning! If this is your first attempt at getting the whole family involved or you have little ones who are joining in for the first time, try teaming up. While mom wields the toilet bowl cleaner and the tile brush, their helper can scrub the sink, polish fixtures, empty the trash, etc. This helps you model the behavior you want to see from your children and it’s a great way to sneak in some quality conversations. The age of your helpers will determine which task they get, but there is always a way to make it fun. Here are a few ideas that I’ve found to get everyone cleaning.   

Flash Cards

One way is to make “cleaning flash cards” for everyone in your family. They are fun and simple to make. You can make them as detailed as you would like, however, I try to keep them simple with the main task that needs to be done. When you’re attempting to make these for younger ones, keep in mind their age.

Here's some great examples of cleaning flash cards from Tips From a Typical Mom Blog. 

Chore Chart

Chore charts are a simple and easy way to keep track of everything that needs to be done at home, along with keeping track of who has done what. I like this idea because it shows the progress each person has made. You can then provide rewards for completed tasks! Keep in mind when making these chore charts what areas you want to focus on. Make sure to include the places in your home that get forgotten about the most, like vacuuming under furniture, dusting the fan, and cleaning out that scary closet everyone seems to throw things in. The Trip Clip has some great example of kids chore charts.

Make it a Game  

If there is a lack of motivation in the air, what better way to get the fun rolling than making it into a game? This will ensure time goes by faster as you clean and have fun.

Game idea #1: Dusting for Treasure  

• Go around the room and hide the treasure on surfaces that need dusting, keep the hiding spots where they are likely to see them without having to climb on anything. 
• If they are older, you can hide the treasure underneath things, too. After all, knickknacks need to be picked up and dusted too…this is spring cleaning after all. 
• If you want to make it more challenging, set a time and turn them loose. 

Game idea #2: Kids Spring Cleaning Bingo - Get all the cards at Honey Bear Lane's Blog.  

Donate, Reuse, Recycle

As you start to deep clean, you’re going to come across more and more items you’ve “forgotten” about. I like to say that if you haven’t used it or thought about it in the last six months donate it, or if it’s broken recycle it. Moreover, I strongly believe in paying it forward! So please, if you’re able to, consider donating your unwanted items to a place like Goodwill. They will make sure it finds a second home.  

Spring Cleaning Chore List

You may be one of those people that just needs a list and wants to check off all the boxes. If so, I Dream of Clean has the ULTIMATE Spring Cleaning Check list with all-inclusive lists for every room in your house. To start here's her list of Overall Spring Cleaning Chores:

• dust crown molding and baseboards
• dust ceiling corners
• dust baseboards and clean scuff marks
• dust/wash light fixtures and lamps
• dust ceiling fans
• wash doors (look for scuff marks)
• wash walls
• touch up paint
• vacuum or wash window curtains
• wash window blinds
• clean windows
• dust bookcases
• polish wood furniture
• wipe down and vacuum furniture (clean the base and under cushions)
• condition leather furniture
• remove stains from upholstered furniture
• vacuum and wash lampshades
• deep clean hardwood, tile, linoleum, and carpet flooring
• shampoo carpet (DIY or schedule a professional)
• remove rugs to shake out, then vacuum, then clean under them
• vacuum all flooring, including corners and edges
• clean air vents
• dust around mirrors, picture frames, and wall hangings
• replace light bulbs
• change air/furnace filter
• replace batteries in smoke detector
• replace batteries in carbon monoxide detector
• schedule chimney sweep
• schedule termite or pest control maintenance

For the full list by room visit I Dream of Clean’s Blog.

Happy Spring Cleaning!

Jess Dukhnitskiy
Retail Customer Service | Erin Baker's