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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.
Another busy mom shares her tips for keeping her family’s schedule and home together . Today’s featured busy mom is Isabel Isidro Mom of three balancing parenting and co running a business.
How do you keep your children’s schedules together ?
My kids are 7, 5 and 2 — and they all go to school. The two youngest are home by lunchtime while the eldest spends the full day in school.
We have a strict schedule in the house, and the kids know it. The younger boys take a nap in the afternoon. They play or relax in the afternoon after school, and one of their favorite activities is playing Wii with their father. The kids then eat dinner, and take a bath. Then from 7:00-8:30 pm, it’s their study and reading time.
I give them the materials they need to work on and practice with, and they choose the books they want to read. By 8:30 pm, they’re on bed and ready to sleep. They’re early risers, and wake up anywhere from 5:30-6:30 am – even on weekends! None in the family are late sleepers.
To the extent possible, we don’t do any extracurricular activities during the weekdays, only weekends. School is tough already for the kids, and we’d like them to have time to rest, have fun, play with each other and just be kids.
Saturdays, though, are when things go crazy with their schedules. They have various lessons, and by lunchtime, I am tired from driving around the area going from one lesson to the next. However, in the afternoon, we always make it a point to go to the library to pick up the books that they’ll read for the week.
Do you use a particular day planner ?
No. I used various dayplanners – from the cheapest to the most expensive leather bound planners. I even attended a daylong seminar by one of the big businesses in dayplanning business on how to organize and plan your day using their dayplanning system.
But none really worked for me. I will be “good” and use the planner judiciously for a few weeks, or even a month. And then nada — blank pages after that.
For one, I need something that I can carry with me all the time, not some bulky planner that sits nicely on a desk but impractical to be carried in my purse around. My purse is heavy enough as it is with all the kids’ stuff, and having a bulky planner does not work.
Do you own a blackberry?
Not a Blackberry, but I use an iPhone with an app for my to-do lists for the day. It’s been very effective for me. I carry my phone all the time, and having my things to do and scheduler on the same small device allowed me to keep track of what I need to do for the day. I just love it!
What is you most used ‘time saving tip’ when it comes to running your house?
You need to be a goddess of multi tasking and organization. Find the best strategy that works for you and your family.
For me, I need to spend a little time the night before thinking what the family needs to do for the day – e.g. making sure the kids have put their assignments in their bags. Otherwise, I’d forget it! I spend a little time putting my list in my iPhone’s to-do app. Read More→
Guest Post by Lisa Gessert
This is a great time to get yourself organized.
This time of year everyone is switching closets from summer to winter and getting ready for the holidays that always seem to come too quickly…here are some Helpful Hints and Tips and a few Misconceptions to Keep You Organized.
Myth #1
My home HAS to be clean to be organized:
There are many days my home could use a cleaning, dusting, vacuuming but I am still organized. People think if their home is dirty or messy that it isn’t organized.
Myth#2
Once I organize my closet, draw, or room it should stay that way:
Your closets and draws need attention a few times a year. the more you use that space the more attention it needs. Clothes closets need to be weeded out twice a year, when you change your wardrobe from summer to winter and then winter to summer.
This is a great time to get rid of the clothes you aren’t wearing.
Draws you use more frequently need to be weeded out more often.
Myth #3
I can do my bills anywhere.
Create a spot where you can have some quiet time.
Make sure you have stamps, letter opener, envelopes, pens etc.
Keep a simple file draw or a file carry case and keep bills for only 1 year and tax papers for 6 years.
A simple file system is all you need to keep your bills under control.
Time management and space management is important to live a stress free life. Remember once you have set up a new system to keep organized, give yourself at least 6 weeks to get accustomed to the new routine.
Lisa Gessert is a professional organizer at Administrative Solutions.
Start to Declutter and organize your home today with Clutter Diet
Dawn and her daughters
Today’s busy mom tips come from Organized Familie’s Featured Busy mom ‘Dawn Hall’.
Dawn’s tip of colour coding the kids when scheduling is one of my favourite family time management tools as well!
How do you keep your children’s schedules together ?
Each child is only allowed to participate in one (team sport, music or
church) activity per season, taking into consideration that some sporting events will overlap each other. On our family calendar each person is color coded, meaning each person has their own color. Family events are one color.
Example:
Mom: Red
Ashley: Purple
Whitney: Blue
Family: Green
(Daddy passed away from residual effects of brain cancer complications after a 61/2 year battle) in 2001 when our daughters were 13 and 14 years old.)
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Do you use a particular day planner?
I use a weekly planner book, that has a folder in the front to hold
paperwork that fits into my purse.
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Do you own a blackberry?
Yes, and I love it! I would like to learn how to use it more efficiently!
It is so very worth the extra monthly cost to be able to do quick e-mail replies, facebook and Twitter from it!
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What is you most used ‘time saving tip’ when it comes to running your house?
Everybody knowing each other’s consistent weekly scheduled commitments/appointments, and then being able to text each other.
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Do you have a favorite quick meal for your family?
Most always I have fresh lettuces already cleaned and prepared in the refrigerator that is ready to be adorned with healthy ingredients I keep stocked such as: lean deli turkey breast, assorted fat-free salad dressings, assorted fat-free cheeses, salsa, and fruit that can be easily cut-up to put into the salad. My Busy People’s Cookbooks are loaded with unique, quick and simple salad recipes. Just today my daughter complimented on a salad I’d easily made in a few minutes for us for lunch. I like it to look like I took a long time preparing it; but honestly, fast & frugal quickie meals are for me!
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Tell us the truth? What would we find in your car right now?
In my car you would find: dust,(it needs cleaned), an empty water bottle on the back floor (that I forgot to throw away), CDs of inspirational speakers, praise & worship CDs , and high energy music turned on. In the glove compartment of my car you’d see a protein bar wrapper, small bottle of body spray, a few dollars “stashed-cashed for emergency” (and I do mean few dollars), my car registration and copy of auto insurance. In the trunk, a box of assorted Busy People’s Cookbooks with stickers that read “Autographed Copy” (to put on books) and a baby blanket I bought on clearance for a gift for a friend.
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What advice would you give to other moms who feel the pressure of trying to be ’super mom’?
Let Go & Let God. We can’t do it all the time. Super Woman Syndrome is a serious problem that robs us of our joy. I know! I had it! UGH!!! Learn to do your best and then trust God with the rest. Balance is key to serenity!
Hey, I just made that up! I like it!:)
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What is your number one goal for the year? How do you plan to reach it?
To live a balanced lifestyle. This is something I seriously focus on daily!
I am such a people pleaser and I hate to say, “no” to anyone. This is something I have had to learn to do without guilt or shame. If I am too busy to take care of myself with eating right, exercise and getting enough sleep than I am too busy! I plan on achieving this by writing my goals for the following day out before I go to bed.
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Dawn Hall, a widow from Swanton, Ohio self-published her first cookbook in 1995 to raise money for her loving husband’s brain cancer treatments (even though she did not know how to type, use a computer or publish). Since she has sold over one million Busy People’s Cookbooks featuring low-fat, home-style recipes made with 7 or fewer easy to find ingredients!
As the host of Cooking for Busy People TV show on Direct TV (NRB Network) she humorously shares the life lessons she’s learned as she’s watched her weight and counted her pennies.
Check out her sites:
Cooking for Busy People Facebook
Twitter id: @CookingforBusy
