Spring cleaning isn’t your typical cleaning time. It is the time to get all the gunk out from the past year that the small cleanings didn’t take care of. Spring cleaning is a preparation for the year ahead of you. Forbes recently did a study that showed that a clean home can increase sense of order, control, familiarity, consistency, released endorphins, improved focus, and regulated emotions. There are so many benefits to living in a clean home, who knew!? The more the sun starts to shine the more dust becomes visible, below are a few tips and tricks to make sure you get the most out of your spring cleaning this year! 

Make a List and Block Out the Time

As said before, Spring cleaning isn’t your usual kind of cleaning. It takes a bit more time than just taking out the trash and sweeping the floors. Depending on what your home needs, there are a whole variety of tasks to complete. We suggest making a list of all the things you want done before you start cleaning. If you don’t feel like making a list or don’t know where to start we created a quick starter list below. Feel free to print it out to use as a sort of checklist! That way, as your cleaning, you don’t feel overwhelmed when you notice new spots that need attention. Instead of hopping over to that new spot immediately without finishing what you’re doing, you can add it to the list and nothing will get forgotten. 

Spring Cleaning Checklist

• Sweep, Vacuum, and Mop All Floors
• Vacuum Couches/Chairs
• Dust Shelves, Entertainment Centers, Lamps, Picture Frames, Window Sills, and Blinds
• Clean and Put Away Dishes
• Wash Counters and Stove Top
• Wash Tables and Wipe Down Chairs
• Wipe Down Door/Cabinet Handles and Microwave
• Clean Sinks, Faucets, Toilets, and Showers/Tubs
• Use Window Cleaner on All Windows
• Use Damp Cloth and Wipe Down Walls and Cabinets
• Pick Up Any Blankets, Towels, Apparel, or Toys on the Ground and Put in Designated Area
• Go Through Junk Drawers
• Look Through Closet and Donate Unused Apparel and Toys
• Go Through Kitchen Cabinets and Get Rid of Expired Food
• Water All Plants (If Applicable)
• Light a Fresh Smelling Candle and Put Your Feet Up Because You’re Done!

 

All of this might feel like a lot, but if done once a year, it should come together pretty easily. As Marie Kondo always says, only keep the items that spark joy. If the item no longer sparks joy, thank it, and donate it to live another life with someone else. 

The most important things to start with when doing spring cleaning is a positive attitude, a full belly, great music, a fun drink to help the time go by, and a block of time that is long enough to complete your spring cleaning list. If you only block out an hour, you won’t be able to complete everything you want to, and it will be harder to get back into it. If you have all the cleaning supplies out, it is a great idea to block out a day and just get it done with! Pick a day where there is nothing else fun going on, that way you won’t be hating the cleaning because it didn’t prevent you from doing something else you really wanted to do!

The cleaning isn’t going anywhere, and unless you have guests or an event that you want to clean for, it won’t matter if you do it on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. It is even okay to move the day that you clean if something comes up. Just don’t get into a cycle where you move it multiple times, because then it just might never happen! 

Get Some Help

We all have those people, either friends or family, that we can just talk to for hours. Instead of talking over a coffee at a coffee shop, invite them over for a little Spring cleaning! You can pay them back by going over to their house and doing some Spring cleaning as well. Some other great helpers are children (if you have children). Having kids clean is a great skill for them to learn. If you make it fun, they might even ask to do it in the future!

While you want your house to be clean, it doesn’t have to be a serious task. Take breaks and have a few dance parties, or stop to bake some delicious cookies. Just remember that a small child might need a bit more supervision, especially if there are chemicals for cleaning out. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that young children that have chores and help with cleaning have benefits that include:

• Learning time management skills
• Developing organizational skills
• Accepting responsibility in the family
• Providing an opportunity for success (especially for a child struggling in other ways)
• Learning to balance work and play from a young age
• Setting a good foundation for functioning independently

However, since Spring cleaning is a bigger task than normal chores, make sure to let the child work on their timeline. If you are looking for a perfect helper, we recommend someone a bit older who has already shown solid work ethic. No matter who you choose, we certainly suggest finding someone to help as it will make the time go by faster and make the task no one wants to do just a little bit more fun. If you have no one that can come over to help, be sure to put on a little music or a podcast/book on tape! These methods also help time move faster and are always available. 

Have the Tools You Need

Cleaning is really difficult if you don’t have the correct tools to properly scrub, wipe, and dust your home. It is important to get these tools before you begin cleaning as having something like needed to get tools can turn into a huge distraction. Once you start cleaning your house it is important that you don’t need to step out or you might never pick up the broom again. It is just like running. Running is hard, but stopping running and starting again is even harder! Below is a list of tools we recommend so you don’t have to put a pause on a clean house.

• Sponges
• Paper Towels
• Dish Soap
• Antibacterial Kitchen Spray
• Antibacterial Bathroom Spray
• Dusting Wands
• Vacuum
• Broom
• Mop
• Garbage bags
• Window Cleaner 
• Organizing Labels

 

If you have all of these tools then you should be set to have a very productive cleaning day.

Use Labels to Organize During Spring Cleaning!

Were a label company, so of course we are going to talk about how useful our labels can be when it comes to spring cleaning! We have so many different labels that there is no telling how many ways they could be used when it comes to keeping your house organized. Here are a few of our favorite organizing tips.

Organize Your Spices

If you like to cook, odds are you have a ton of different spices in your spice cabinet. Unless you have some fantastic way of organizing them, some of them are going to be hard to see! We recommend using our dissolvable tape to write what kind of spice it is on the upper portion of the spice jar. The higher up the better so you can see all of the names more easily. Another option is to put them all in a drawer with the name of the spice on the top.

While you are going through labeling the spices you can also go through the ones you use the most and put them up at the front. Or, of you really like, put them in alphabetical order! It always makes them that much easier to find. With the dissolvable tape, you can remove the label without leaving any residue. This method keeps your spice jars much cleaner and bacteria free.

Organize Your Kids Bookshelf

Organizing your kids bookshelf with color coded labels is a really great way to make it go from messy to neat! Plus, when you tell your kids to put the books back, you can tell them to put them back next to their corresponding colors. That makes for a great motor skills activity for kids up to a certain age. For all the other ones, it just makes it easier for them to organize! You can use these labeling skills to organize the toy bins as well! Write what you want on the label in a permanent marker or pen and set up an easy spot for your kids to sort their toys. 

Use Labels In Your Planner To Mark Important Information

You can use all sorts of labels to help mark important information in your calendar. It all depends on how you want to make the key! You can make certain colors certain activities or certain levels of priority. You can even color code each of your kids so you know exactly what activity is happening for each kid. Keeping your planner organized is an important part of Spring cleaning. After all, how else are you supposed to block out your day for Spring cleaning if you don’t write it down on the calendar!

Overall, Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be some big feat. Especially if you keep up with it every year! Organize a little bit, scrub a little bit, and you’re done! Don’t put too much stress on Spring cleaning because the odds are the house won’t stay pristine! And that’s okay, because if you have the tools in place to easily organize it another time, it will feel much easier to keep up in the end.