Spring has always been my favorite season. I love seeing everything come back to life again after the winter months and the “new feeling” in the air. It motivates me to clean and refresh our home. To help keep me on track, I have created a spring checklist so I don’t forget to clean any area in our home.
History of Spring Cleaning
Back in the old days, spring cleaning was a necessity because they heated their homes with fireplaces, wood burning stoves, and coal stoves. These heating sources left soot on the walls and furniture which needed cleaning off. Also, before the vacuum was invented, spring was the perfect time to open the windows and dust the house because the weather was finally warm enough to do so.
Process of Spring Cleaning
Like the Amish, I deep clean from top-to-bottom. It just makes sense to start at the top of the room, so any dirt or dust you knock off can be cleaned up at the end. Over the years, I have found that focusing on one room at a time helps me not to feel overwhelmed and to stay motivated to finish the job.
Kitchen
Our kitchen is the most used room in the house, so it definitely needs a deep clean at least once a year. Start with wiping off your fans and light fixtures. I place some Ginger Lily Farms Botanicals Plant-Based Liquid Dish Soap in a small bucket and fill with hot water, I put a rag in the bucket, wring it out, and use it to wipe off the inside and outside of light fixtures and fan blades. Wring out your rag in the soapy water bucket as needed.
Wash windows and vacuum off blinds with a brush attachment. Throw any curtains in the washing machine. Then move on to washing walls and baseboards. My new favorite tool for washing walls is the O-Cedar EasyWring Microfiber Spin Mop & Bucket Floor Cleaning System. In the mop bucket, I put a few drops of plant-based dish soap, one cup of white vinegar, and hot water. I like using this mop, because you can easily wring it out and get the dust and dirt off. Also, the pole is retractable, so you can reach a long way up.
Thoroughly clean all your appliances. I recommend cleaning the inside of your oven at this time. Also, move it out from the wall to vacuum and mop underneath. Then clean all the floors in the kitchen and call it a day.
The next day, empty out your fridge and wipe down the inside. Also, empty all your kitchen cabinets and pantry and wipe them down. Take this opportunity to purge and organize all your kitchen stuff. Then put everything back inside your kitchen cabinets and pantry.
Dining Room and Living Areas
Again, start from the top and work your way down. Clean off the fan blades and light fixtures. Then clean the windows, vacuum the blinds, and throw the curtains in the washing machine. Next, move on to the walls and baseboards and wipe them off with your spin mop. Empty out whatever cabinets or bookshelves are in these areas. Wipe out the inside of the cabinets, dust the bookshelves, and put your things back.
Take this opportunity to clean the floors underneath your couches and chairs. Remove the couch cushions and vacuum the inside of your couch. Also, I recommend cleaning your couch at least once a year. You wouldn’t believe how dirty the water is when I clean my couch! I use the Bissell Little Green Max Pet SmartMix Portable Carpet and Upholstery Deep Cleaner for cleaning our couches and recliner. Twice a year, I also clean my rug. If you have rugs or carpet, I highly recommend purchasing an upright carpet cleaner. I use the Bissell TurboClean PowerBrush Pet Carpet Cleaner, and it does a great job!
Bathrooms
Start by wiping off the light fixtures. Then clean off any vents and wash all walls and baseboards. If you have any windows in your bathroom, clean those next. Then, vacuum the dust off the blinds.
After that, empty out any cabinets and closets and wipe down the insides. Take a good look at your belongings, purge what you don’t need, organize the rest, and put it back. After all this, scrub the toilet, and clean the sink and shower with this cleaner. Throw the shower curtain in the washing machine. End with vacuuming and mopping the floors.
Bedrooms
Clean off the fan blades and light fixtures first so all the dust will fall to the floor to be cleaned up later. After that, take down curtains and throw them in the washing machine. Then clean windows and vacuum blinds. Next step is to wipe down the walls and baseboards. Move all furniture out of the way. Take this opportunity to vacuum and mop the floors under furniture that haven’t been cleaned in a while. Then clean the rest of the floor.
The next day, dust and empty out your dressers, nightstands, and bookshelves. Go through all your things, throw away or donate what you don’t need, organize the rest, and put them away. It is totally fine to take a few days to thoroughly clean your bedroom. One day I will deep clean, and the next day I’ll empty out the dresser, nightstand, and bookshelf to purge and organize.
Free Spring Cleaning Checklist Printable
To help with your spring cleaning, I created this free PDF, Spring Cleaning Checklist. Click the image below to download. My home desperately needs a deep cleaning and refresh, so I am excited to get started! Hope this post inspired you to deep clean your home. Happy Spring Cleaning!
