10 Tips for Spring Cleaning Success
April 15, 2008 by Karen Weideman
Filed under Top 10 lists, cleaning, time management
April is Spring Cleaning Month! Spring cleaning can be a daunting task, so here are tips to get you started and to help you not feel so overwhelmed.
1) Go to each room and make a list of the jobs that need to be done.
2) Take one job at a time. If you look around, you’ll likely freak out and become discouraged. Instead of thinking about all the things in the room that need to be cleaned, refer to your list (see #1). This will help you to tackle one job at a time. As you complete that job, just cross it off your list.
3) Clean one room each week.
4) Make a list of all the supplies you’ll need. Whether it’s cleaning supplies, boxes, trash bags, or storage containers, you’ll need a list. Go to the store and get the things that you need so that you don’t have another excuse to procrastinate.
5) Set a deadline. This sometimes helps for me. Sometimes I will even schedule an event at my house so that I stay motivated to get it done before people come over.
6) Make out a schedule. Here’s an example: Monday you could write on your schedule to go through all the dressers in the kids’ room. Tuesday you could clean out their closets. Wednesday you could take down the curtains and blinds and clean those, as well as wipe down window sills with bleach (to kill any mold). Thursday you could move the furniture in their rooms and clean behind the furniture and wash the baseboards. Friday you could wash all the bedding (including the mattress covers), vacuum the mattresses, and spray dust mite remover on the mattresses. On Saturday you could dust, paint, or whatever else needs to be done. It makes it easier to stay on task when you have a schedule or goal for each day.
7) Have a pile for things that you no longer want. You’ll probably want this stuff to be in plastic bags or boxes so that the kids don’t see it and pull it back out.
8) Pump up the volume! Nothing gets us moving like a good beat. I have some of my favorite cds downloaded onto my computer so that I can make my own playlist. Perhaps you could make a cd with good tunes to get you moving.
9) Set the timer. If tackling a room each week still seems like too much, try setting the timer for 20 minutes at a time. See how much you can get done in those 20 minutes and then stop and spend some time with the kids. A little break with them will help them to be more understanding about your cleaning schedule.
10) Get the kids involved. We have a small rechargable vacuum cleaner that I let my son vacuum with when I’m cleaning. Find small tasks that they can do while you’re cleaning. Otherwise, have a few other options on hand.
Here’s a few suggestions for the little ones:
Nick Jr printables
Crayola Dry Erase Activity Center
Bingo Dauber Printables
Online Fun for Kids
Practical, smart, and achievable. Now it’s time for me to clean my office!
Thanks!
I feel sometimes like I clean my kitchen and an hour later, it’s upside down again! I got so frustrated that I did something very unlike me… I bought something from an infomercial… lol! It’s called a Foldtuk container (www.foldtuk.com). I mean it does a lot of neat stuff, but what appealed to me the most is that it collapses really thin. It saved me a lot of room in my kitchen and has really made me feel more organized in general.
People generally freak out about how much time it will take to clean the house when, if you just keep up with it regularly, it should only take a few minutes each day . . . .
Matthew: I agree that it’s easier to keep up with it regularly, but I disagree about how long it takes. I rarely do spring cleaning because I try to keep up with the cleaning each day. It is time consuming though. Yesterday I cleaned out my daughter’s sock and underwear drawer which took about 20 minutes. This is in addition to my regular cleaning, which takes a while with two little kids running around. Today I cleaned out my daughter’s toy bins and organized some things in her room. There’s always the dusting and wiping things down. What seems to be the most dreaded task for me is the mail. I have yet to find a system that works for me. We just moved and I hope to get my office set up soon. I hope to find a system that works well.
Thanks for dropping by.
Matthew, we are so glad you stopped by. I am not very good with the whole maintenance thing. It took me 1.5 hours to clean my kitchen yesterday because I am not good at keeping my counters clean of clutter. So I had to go through the junk and clutter on my cabinets. At least I am honest. Maintenance is definitely the way to go.