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Hey y’all!

Guess what?! The weather is warming up, the flowers are abloom, the pools are opening, and everyone is excited for a carefree summer!

OK, maybe it won’t be a totally carefree summer for me because I never quite got caught up on my spring cleaning. Do you feel the same? Yes? Good, at least I’m not alone 😉

In thinking about this minor cleaning hiccup I decided it would be a good idea to write up a spring cleaning guide for the spring cleaning procrastinator. If you did procrastinate, that means spring is on it’s way out and summer is in, and you likely don’t want to commit huge chunks of time to getting your spring cleaning done, eh?

Sooooo……

I’ve arranged this guide by room type so you can do it in chunks over time. In other words, you can do all the bedrooms today and do the kitchen next week if you want. One thing though: I’ve assumed that you are already relatively decluttered. If you need help decluttering, I recommend first participating in my FREE Organization Boot Camp challenge. This challenge will jump start your organization and help you make lasting changes so you stay organized for good!

With that said, let’s get started!

Day 1: Bedrooms

Generally when I clean I like to start with the easier spaces to help build the motivation for the more challenging spaces. Since bedrooms don’t normally require a lot of scrubbing, they seemed like the most logical place to start. So, my fellow spring cleaning procrastinator, here’s the bedroom list of tasks for you:

• Tidy up
• Dust light fixtures and furniture
• Wash sheets and make beds
• Vacuum

Optional: dust window frames, door frames, and baseboards; clean windows; touch up paint, shampoo carpeting

Day 2: Living areas

The living areas tend to be a fairly easy space to get clean and have a major impact on how clean your home feels. I like to do the living areas early on since that’s where most people see and hang out when they visit. Here’s the to-do list for the living areas:

• Tidy up
• Dust light fixtures and shelving
• Wipe down tables
• Wash blankets and pillow covers
• Vacuum couches (get under those cushions)
• Vacuum floors
• Mop

Optional: wash slipcovers (if you have them), dust crown molding and baseboards, polish wood tables/surfaces, shampoo carpets, clean air conditioning vents, scrub stains off walls and touch up paint.

Day 3: Bathrooms

Image source: Pixabay

OK, now that you are warmed up it’s time to get into the nitty gritty! Bathrooms can get pretty grimy, so you may need to set aside a larger chunk of time for the bathrooms compared to the bedrooms or living spaces. You can do it!

• Tidy up
• Dust shelving
• Scrub toilets, showers, and sinks
• Wipe down faucets
• Clean mirrors
• Sweep or vacuum
• Mop

Optional: go through cabinets and get rid of old toiletries, stock up on toilet paper, clean shower heads, clean fan vents, wipe down cabinet fronts, scrub grout lines, clean out trash cans

Day 4: Kitchen

Today’s the day to get the heart of the home clean! This cleaning day could go quickly or slowly  depending on how well you keep up with your kitchen, but I promise it will be totally worth it in the end!

• Tidy up counters
• Clean out fridge and freezer
• Catch up on dishes (and clean dish rack, clean/sanitize dishwasher)
• Sweep/vacuum (pull out appliances)
• Mop
• Scrub sink
• Wipe down cabinet faces and knobs

Optional: polish any copper or silver you own, re-seal stone countertops, scrub grout lines in backsplash, scrub grease stains off walls, clean stove top, clean inside microwave, clean oven, clean out trash/recycle cans

Other:

The checklist above should help you get the majority of your house cleaned, but if you want to go all out here are some other spaces you may want to work on:

Laundry room

Make sure all your laundry is caught up so that the laundry room doesn’t have any clutter, then tackle these duties:

• clean washer
• clean dryer vent
• discard old/unused laundry supplies
• dust all surfaces (including any mouldings and baseboards)
• wipe down any shelving
• sweep or vacuum
• mop

Optional: re-seal stone counters, wipe goop off of detergent bottles, stock up on needed laundry supplies, clean out trash cans, take excess hangers to local dry cleaners

Dining room

If you have a formal dining room that you barely use then it may only need a good dusting. But if you use your dining room frequently it will likely need a little elbow grease. Here are some of the cleaning duties you may want to consider:

• Dust all furniture
• Polish all wood
• Vacuum
• Mop

Optional: clean food stains off unwanted surfaces, wash or replace seat cushions

Basement/Attic

If your basement and/or attic are finished you may want to clean these as living areas. Otherwise just some basic tasks may be in order:

• Declutter
• Tidy up

Optional: properly dispose of hazardous wastes

Pantry

Pantries have a way of collecting food. If you have the time and motivation, going through your pantry can help you establish order in your kitchen again!

• Go through and donate/throw away all expired food
• Tidy up

Optional: Take out everything and scrub shelves, vacuum and mop floors

One last task before you wrap up your spring cleaning…chuck any cleaning supplies that you didn’t use. If you didn’t use them in your spring cleaning, chances are you’ll never use them. After all, there’s no point in them taking up space if you don’t need them!

And now you have a spring-cleaned home you can enjoy your summer!

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