Spring Cleaning Checklist
In a home, cleanliness is a life aspect that every human being should warmly embrace. Besides making your life comfortable, a clean environment has some significant benefits on your overall health and your family. All the parts of your house should be cleaned regularly to prevent contamination. The world has evolved, and today if you lack time to tidy up your abode, you can always hire cleaning experts to do it for you.
As the temperatures rise and flowers bloom during the spring season, your household may require thorough scrubbing to keep it clean. However, some homeowners do not understand the cleaning process. Therefore, this article will give such individuals a household spring cleaning checklist to make the work easier.
Astounding Benefits of Spring Cleaning
There are apparent reasons why spring cleaning is so essential, both to you and your home. The majority of people have not heard of these benefits before, so it is important to look at them keenly. Some of the advantages associated with spring cleaning, and generally all types of cleaning, include:
- It is healthy: This is most especially important for people who get allergic reactions from time to time. Giving your home a thorough scrubbing helps keep away all allergens, including dust, pollens, pet dander, mold, and mildew. Some experts say that the air inside your home may be more polluted than the outside air.
- Reduces stress: Cleaning may seem to be a recurrent and boring task, but it could be all that your mind needs to refresh. According to some experts, your brain may be turned off for a short while during the cleaning process, which gives your mind some time to relax.
- Increased productivity: How cluttered your immediate environment determines how your ability to focus. However, when the environment is more welcoming and less cluttered, your mind becomes more focused on different tasks.
- Improved mood: The majority of people dread the cleaning process. However, in most cases, the process’s outcome evokes some satisfaction and happiness that may end up cheering them up.
- Promotes a healthy lifestyle: When you make it a habit of living in a clean home, you will surprisingly be motivated to ‘clean’ other aspects of your life. Such aspects include your sleeping pattern, exercise routines, and dietary habits. The time spent de-cluttering, organizing, and cleaning your home helps you focus more on your general health and well-being. For instance, a study conducted in 2013 showed that people put in clean environments had better and healthier food choices than those in cluttered places.
With such and more benefits, you should, therefore, take time to go through this household spring cleaning checklist to understand precisely how to spring clean your home.
Start in the Kitchen
It comes as no surprise that the kitchen is the first item on our household spring cleaning checklist. It is the place where you make food for your family. Therefore, if it looks disgusting, the immediate result is that your food, too, will not be clean or healthy. You don’t even have to be reminded that the kitchen is one of, if not the most, essential rooms in your house. Your kitchen countertops, pantry, drawers, and cabinets need thorough scrubbing and de-cluttering to achieve their maximum cleanliness.
After cleaning the shelf, ensure you find fresh and clean shelf paper to replace the old ones. Your kitchen may be untidy, courtesy of the useless utensils, cookware, and kitchenware that may be lying around in some cases. You can decide to donate them to someone in need to create more space in your kitchen for such items.
Some other actions to take on this household spring cleaning checklist item are to clean your refrigerator and freezer and throw out expired products. Additionally, you should consider kitchen appliance repair to ensure everything operates smoothly.
The Bathrooms
Your bathroom’s vulnerability to dirt is higher than that of any other room in your home. That is because the bathroom is the only place used by everyone living under your roof and those who visit your home. A dirty, cluttered, and disorganized bathroom is not good, and it could be a recipe for ridicule when your visitors see it.
Therefore, take it upon yourself to ensure this particular room is always in order. Although the bathroom needs regular cleaning, spring-cleaning your bathroom includes getting rid of old and expired items and clearing any clutter.
Your medicine cabinet in the bathroom may contain some old, useless, and expired prescriptions. It is time to properly dispose of them. Moreover, if your mats, shower curtains, and liners are dirty, consider washing and drying them for a cleaner bathroom.
If they are torn and worn out, it is time to replace them. If your toilet is in the same room, spring cleaning is the best time to give it a thorough scrub and leave it sparkling clean. Focus more on the toilet’s seat and bowl by washing them using eco-friendly detergents from Amazon. This will help you eliminate any dirt and micro-organisms that may have accumulated in the bathroom with time.
The Bedrooms
Next on our household spring cleaning checklist are your slumber lands. As a human being, getting a good night’s sleep is essential for having a balanced diet. However, do you think you can get a peaceful slumber in a stuffy, dirty, and messy bedroom? If your answer is no, then this is the time to pick up your cleaning equipment and get to work. You might be among those individuals whose mattresses stay in the same position for long periods.
If you fall into that category, it is time to flip, rotate, and vacuum your mattresses for thorough cleaning. If you have decorative pillowcases and curtains, you should consider removing and washing them. For blankets and comforters, you can clean them or take them to a laundry service provider.
Think of your floors and indulge in carpet cleaning to keep your bedrooms comfortable and convenient for sound sleep. Organize and clean your closet while cleaning out your dresser. The floors need to be vacuumed and do not forget to wash under your bed thoroughly.
Common Spaces in the Home
These spaces are called common because they are exposed and very vulnerable to dirt and micro-organisms, which may adversely affect your health if left to accumulate. When most people indulge in cleaning their homes, these spaces are mostly forgotten. This means that the home is not thoroughly cleaned.
As a way of checking your household spring cleaning checklist, it is inevitable to look at these areas and give them a harsh scrub or conduct necessary repairs and maintenance. Some of the common spaces around your home include light bulbs, HVAC systems, smoke alarms, and door handles.
During the spring cleaning process, it is advisable to conduct checkups, especially mechanical equipment, such as HVAC systems and air filters. If you lack knowledge of handling such cases, you can contact a professional to help you check them out.
For instance, you might need to procure air conditioner repair services to ensure the air in your home is breathable and safe for its residents. Some other spaces, such as light switches and door handles, need to be sanitized to keep them free of germs and viruses.
The Basement
This is one of the most forgotten spaces in most homes, especially when it comes to cleaning and organizing it. Some homeowners even transform their basement into a messy storage facilities, which should not be the case.
The basement is as important as any other part of the house, giving it a chance on the household spring cleaning checklist. The spring season rays offer you a convenient platform to work on your basement after remaining indoors due to the winter colds and winds.
The best place to start with spring cleaning your basement is by organizing the items you need and throwing out those you don’t need. Since this is a tough undertaking for a single person, you must delegate some tasks to the rest of your family to make work easier.
However, ensure you distribute the tasks over a certain period, say the weekend, to avoid hurting your family’s working spirits. After properly organizing the room and remaining with the items you intend to keep, it is time for a thorough clean. Keep in mind the items that need wiping without touching them with water or detergents. Such could include books, magazines, and photo albums.
Get Organized
This household spring cleaning checklist’s primary objective is to guide you on being more organized in your home. The first step to being organized is collecting clutter from all the rooms before beginning the actual cleaning procedure.
In most instances, picking up this clutter may be overwhelming for you. Therefore, you are advised to have a flexible schedule that allows you some resting sessions to recover your energy. Not everything you collect as clutter should be tossed away in a trash can.
As you de-clutter, it is advisable to separate the items into three categories: the ones to go for the garage sale, the ones you can donate, and the ones thrown away. If you have old but functional inkjet printer parts, you may decide to donate or sell them at a throw-away price.
Besides de-cluttering, you can also schedule some needed appointments, such as a preventative auto maintenance appointment to ensure all mechanical parts are operating smoothly, or dental check-ups for your children. Getting organized involves everyone in the home and can involve needed errands outside the home.
Your Home’s Exterior
The first indication of an unorganized and clumsy home is a messy exterior! Dirty walls, unclean and worn-out roofs, unkempt lawns, and unwashed driveways are all indicators that some thorough action needs to be taken. If your front porch and back deck are dusty and covered with leaves, ensure you give them a good sweep.
Additionally, mowing your lawn is a contribution to an outstanding exterior. Conduct a gutter and roof inspection to ensure they are in good condition. If there is dirt on the roof or blockages on the gutters, you can clean them off or contact professionals in that field. Clean and repair the chairs, tables, and other furniture on your porch, deck, or patio.
Your Backyard
The backyard, too, falls on this household spring cleaning checklist because it has to be checked out. Appropriate cleaning might be needed. Some people have a wrong assumption that just because the backyard is not very visible to the public, it requires less care and cleaning.
If you have a garden in your backyard, ensure it is well-groomed through weeding, tilling, and other gardening etiquettes. Today, many homes have a swimming pool, but not all know how to take care of such an amenity. Your pool will be instrumental during summer. Therefore, keeping it clean and safe is mandatory. One of the best ways to do that is utilizing pool cleaners.
Your Vehicles
Your vehicles have been at your service for some time. For instance, your family’s RV or camper was very useful when you spent time at private campgrounds. It is your time to give back to these machines by giving them a thorough scrub and conducting maintenance and repair procedures on them.
Car cleaning is a simple procedure, and you can delegate such a task to your children. However, when it comes to repairs and maintenance, you need to be equipped with technical knowledge. Otherwise, you are advised to procure the services of a qualified mechanic.
If you yearn to live healthily, you must embrace cleanliness in your home. Some homeowners find it convenient and easier to hire cleaning companies, but the best way is to clean your home by yourself. This is because you understand all its corners and what kind of cleaning they require. Spring cleaning has become common, especially since the spring season comes after winter.
During winter, people are forced to remain indoors, and it is not a good time to give your home a thorough wash. However, when spring comes, you must take on the cleaning task to de-clutter your home and make it habitable. The above household spring cleaning checklist carries enough information to guide you through the whole process.