Spring arrives tomorrow!

You know what that means, warmer weather, sunnier days, and of course the race to start some spring cleaning…

In this post, I offer a few handy tips to help you take an organized approach towards your spring cleaning.

Actually, any of these tips can be applied to regular household cleaning, no matter the season.

Distinguish whether you are cleaning or decluttering a space.

There’s a difference between cleaning and decluttering.

Cleaning usually involves any of the following tasks: vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, wiping down, dusting, polishing and so on.

Decluttering, on the other hand, means you are getting rid of or disposing items you no longer use or need.

It’s much easier to work on one task at time versus jumping and back between tasks, if not physically easier, than mentally so!

Always choose which type of task you are going to work on first to make the process go smoother.

Of course, if certain areas in your home have a lot of clutter, you might want to declutter these spaces first to make it easier to clean your home.

Choose a set of chores to complete.

What type of spring cleaning chores do you need to take care of in your home? You probably have a general idea as to what items need cleaning items. Take a moment to brainstorm a list of chores to complete. Below is a short list of chores to help you get started.

General Chores

• Clean windows
• Dust furniture
• Vacuum heating/air ducts
• Vacuum/sweep floor, wall, moldings
• Clean/shampoo area rugs and wall-to-wall carpeting

More Specific Chores

• Wash curtains and other drapery
• Wash comforters and blankets
• Clean out/defrost refrigerator
• Clean oven and range
• Polish wood surfaces, silver, etc.

Clean your home from top to bottom.

There’s nothing worse than cleaning a space and having it get dirtied or muddied up not long after you begin. Prevent unnecessary tracking in your home by beginning your cleaning efforts on the top most level of your home, working your way down to ground or basement level.

Live in an apartment or condominium? The same idea applies here, only in this case you want to work from the outermost rooms first, and then to those rooms closest to your hallway or front door.

Clean on a sunny day.

It may sound counterintuitive to stay at home and clean house on a gorgeous day, but there’s two good reasons for this.

First, a sunny day makes it easier to spot dirt and grime as you’re cleaning (there’s nothing like cleaning a window in natural light), second, a sunny day uplifts your spirits and you get to fully appreciate your newly cleaned home in sunlight.

Of course, the final choice is up to you, but it’s worth cleaning your house on a gorgeous day at least once.

Consider spacing out your cleaning into different sessions or days.

There’s no law saying you must complete your spring cleaning in one weekend or week. Thoroughly cleaning an entire house is a lot of hard work!

Start first by identifying the chores you’d like to complete, then organize them by floor, and finally by room. Assign certain days and times to complete your spring cleaning. You can still clean a house thoroughly when you do so, little by little.

How about you? What spring cleaning tasks are you going to tackle this year? Join in the conversation and leave a comment below!