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It’s spring cleaning time again…or at least time to start thinking about a spring cleaning checklist. The days are getting longer, the weather is starting to warm up a bit and there’s no better time to start organizing yourself to tackle the dust bunnies, wipe down your dirty walls and organize the closet. It’s time to let the light in, reduce the clutter and get control of your house again.
The key to a good spring cleaning is to not overwhelm yourself so much that you put the entire project off for another day. Instead, try to organize the cleaning so that you tackle different sections of the house at once or different types of cleaning at the same time. When you have the duster out to clean the ceiling fans and knick-knacks it’s a good time to hit the plants and bookshelves.
Here’s a list of just a few of the basic tasks to get you started. You can find some printable checklists below.
In the Kitchen
- Empty out the refrigerator and the freezer.
- Vacuum under the fridge around the coils behind the grill.
- Wipe the top of the fridge off.
- Wipe down all of the seals around the doors.
- Clean the inside of the microwave. Hint ~ Heat up a cup of water for a couple of minutes to build up some steam first…it makes cleaning much easier.
In the Bedroom
- Clean out those closets. Don’t hold back…if you haven’t worn it in a few years, you probably aren’t going to start now. Get everything out of the closet and thoroughly vacuum the far corners.
- Flip over and turn your mattress. While you’re at it, move the bed frame out of the way and vacuum or dust under it. You might even find that old, missing sock you lost last year.
- Take the comforter or bedspread to the cleaners.
- Throw out all those old toys your kids haven’t played with in years.
- Get blocks of cedar to help keep the moths away and things smelling fresh.
Elsewhere
- Dust and wipe down all of the ceiling fans in house.
- Take your screens down, hose them off outside and wipe them down with warm soap and water.
- Dust your lampshades.
- Remove all of the cushions and pillows from your couch and chairs and vacuum this out. You might even find some money here!
- Clean your windows inside and out.
- Wipe down the tops of all door frames.
- Test all of your fire alarms and change the batteries if needed.
- Change the filters on your air conditioner.
- Get new entry mats at every entrance.
- Use a magic eraser to get those pesky scuff marks off of walls.
For the Hardcore
- Remove and clean all the faucet aerators.
- Change the pollen filter in your car.
- Change the shelf liners in your drawers
Remember
- Donate anything you don’t want or can’t use.
- If you find something you haven’t seen in years or forgot you had…chances are you don’t need it.
- Start from the top and work your way down. Vacuum the dust that has settled from your marathon dusting session.
- Remember that a clean home makes for a healthy one. You can literally breath easier once your house is clean.
More
Check out some earlier articles on spring cleaning:
Printable Spring Cleaning Checklists
Paper and clutter–as busy parents we are flooded with more each day. One of last year’s resolutions was to learn how to organize my family’s schedule using a paperless system. I am getting there and I am going to share some of my tips with you!
First I encourage you to de clutter your email. If you have a hotmail account, aol, or just a local ISP. Merge them all into ONE. My only recommendation is GMAIL. Gmail is one of Googles MANY tools to get you organized. Besides, if you have multiple email accounts you can check them all via Gmail as well as send and receive emails from a POP account.
In addition, it’s easy to organize your family life with the use of different Google applications such as Google Calender, Google Black Berry Sync, Google Contacts, Google Documents, Google Mail, and Google Voice.
Google is quick to point out to business; the value of time saved using Google to manage their business. Busy Moms rejoice because these same tools can save you time and sanity for both your busy family and yourself as well!
So how do I manage my family’s schedule with Google ?
The first step is to register for a Gmail account for each of your family members old enough to have an email account (old enough to learn how to use one.
I do not suggest creating a ‘family account’. Each user needs to have their own individual Google Account. Google will allow you to share what you want with each user.
Once you’re signed up with Gmail you can begin to coordinate the different accounts and start organizing you family life from wherever you might be whether it’s at home or on the road.
You can head over to the Google Calendar section and begin filling out your own calendar that you can then share with everyone, other individuals or specific groups of people. You can limit some events to private settings while sharing other information with a different level of access. You can even sync your calendar with other popular applications like Outlook or you Iphone or Blackberry.
The local playground has bloomed with a carpet of white tiny daisies and the sun was shining all day yesterday. Which leads me to thoughts of spring cleaning and none too soon since I see that a few of the corners of my house have some small spider webs when the sun shines through the window just right!
I can’t help but wonder why we all feel a need to spring clean, so I spent a few minutes looking up spring cleaning online to discover that spring cleaning is defined as “Spring cleaning is the period in spring time set aside for cleaning a house, normally applied in climates with a cold winter.”
This makes sense since those of us up North are limited by cold wet weather during the winter months. I can’t easily run outside with a rug to beat it with a broom. OK I wouldn’t actually ever do that. I have included some free printable spring cleaning checklists below for everyone though!
For me spring cleaning is about purging. It’s when I go through the kids clothing for summer, pack up winter items and while I am at it give the closets and rooms a good vacuum and wipe down.
ListPlan It offers a great Spring Cleaning Checklist for those of you looking for a checklist to help you get through the spring cleaning on a task by task basis.
Most of my check lists come from ListPlan it, it’s a affordable solution and definitely saves me more then enough time to justify the small membership fee.
I have three major Spring Cleaning items that have to get done in my home each spring. 1) the kitchen top to bottom. 2) My mini van – this year I am taking it in to be shampooed 3) The ceilings , light fixtures, and fans.
Here’s a list of Free Printable Spring Cleaning Checklists:
List Planit: Get Organized for Spring
Our Busy Family Life: print spring cleaning checklist
Clean and Shiny: print spring cleaning checklist
Martha Stewart: spring cleaning list
Yesterday my copy of The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life arrived in the mail ! Over the next few weeks I will be sharing some of my thoughts as I work through the book and better YET – YOU could win a copy over the next few weeks!
My excitement was evident and my son was quickly caught up in it as we opened the parcel. Upon opening the parcel, he was a bit disappointed to learn that the book was “about cleaning his room”. He perked up when I asked him to be my model though.
So just how do you win a copy of Lorie Marrero’s book The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life?
The contest starts Saturday February 28th and runs through to March 14th 2009. (Hopefully this will be enough time for me to get through the book and share my favourite sections with you.)
During this time you can earn one entry for each of the following (be sure to comment and tell me which you have done and provide your email address in your comment):
1) Tweet this contest out to your followers for one entry (you can do this each week for two entries).
2) Simply leave a comment telling me why you need this book
3) Mention the contest on your blog for two entries.
UPDATE: Contest is now over.
On March 14th one winner will be selected using Random.org and notified by email. The winner has four days to reply at which time a second winner will be selected. This contest is open to residents of the USA, Canada, UK, and Austrailia.
Good Luck !
The Almost Always Organized Mom
I was surprised this morning with a wonderful free Holiday Planning Guide! The plan covers Thanksgiving, Christmas, and touches on other cultural holidays as well.
A few things you will find in the Free Holiday Planning Guide:
- Christmas decorating ideas
- Christmas games for children and families
- Holiday meal planning
- Gift ideas
- Creating Holiday Traditions for your family
- and some wonderful recipes.
This Almost Always Organized Mom gives the Holiday Planning guide by the Indie Biz Chicks (who have some great free business guides as well for women running their own business) two thumbs up.
Get yours today for free at their website. Click for a Free Holiday Planning Guide.
