Spring cleaning your house can actually be soothing as it allows your space to breathe and be filled with fresh air. If you have small children, it may be easier to take a day off from work and clean on your own, but if that’s not an option, consider the tips below.
Chunk Up the Project
Tackle one room a day for a week. If you have a child old enough to read, put them in charge of the checklist. Enter each room with a microfiber cloth, some basic cleaning spray, a cleaning rag, a box, and a couple of trash bags.
From the door, travel around the room clockwise and start sorting things into
trash
things to donate or sell
things to keep but relocate
It can be very tempting to declutter as you clean, but if you’re emptying out closets, don’t combine this process; closet cleaning takes a lot of decision power. Just clean for now.
Work Around the Room Twice
Once you’ve been around the room once, things should be at least tidied up. Now you can start cleaning. Brush down ceiling fans after protecting the bed or carpet with an old blanket or flannel sheet. If your floor is a solid surface, you may want to let the dust drop and vacuum it all up at the end. Just make sure nobody is walking through it.
Using your microfiber dust cloth, wipe down shelves from the top down. Use your cleanser and a cleaning towel to wipe down painted baseboards, doors, and walls that show a little grime or fingerprints.
Dust blinds and windowsills with microfiber cloths and clean the glass with glass cleaner. If you have a source for old cloth diapers, these make an excellent cleaning rag for any reflective surface as they are lint-free.
Now you can clean the floor. Hire a professional carpet cleaning service to come in and deep clean your carpeting. By the time you leave the room, the space should be tidy, dust-free, and freshened. However, you’re not finished yet. Take the items in the trash bag to the dumpster, seal up the donation bag, put it out of sight so nobody has time to reconsider, and post photos of items that you want to sell.
Carefully review the things that need to be put away. Are they often out of place, and if so, why? If your older children seem to have a lot of dishes in their room, you may soon be dealing with pests. If younger children have toys all over the house, it may be time to start a “put away before bedtime” routine.