As we draw closer towards the end of February the days become longer and lighter and although we are still suffering the season of winter we start to get that spring feeling that warmer days are on the way. Spring cleaning is a long standing tradition that goes back many years and it certainly is a lovely way to bring in the warmer, brighter weather. After months of part time hibernation it is likely our homes really do need a good dusting down and clearing out. However for those of us who don’t enjoy cleaning in the slightest and are rather lazy when it comes to looking after our homes, the thought of a massive cleaning session sounds like a nightmare. The secret to spring cleaning is actually to start early and do a little bit at a time. By setting aside merely an hour or so every weekend starting now, by the time spring actually arrives your house will be spick and span. Below are some top tips on how to get started.
Declutter
This is the first step to any deep cleaning exercise and one that most people put off for as long as possible. Trust me, by decluttering first you will make the cleaning part that bit easier as there is less stuff to gather dust. A general rule of thumb is anything you haven’t used in the last 6 months has to go. Now there are a few exceptions to this which are as follows:
- Seasonal clothing – should be stored in space saving bags such as vacuum bags so they don’t take up too much room and also don’t gather dust.
- Kitchen appliances – some kitchen appliances, such as juicers are seasonal, if you are certain you will use it again then keep it.
- Christmas decorations and wrapping paper.
- Sport equipment
As you can see these items may only be used at specific times throughout the year and naturally you don’t want to throw them away. Everything else that is just wasting space get rid of it. You can donate, recycle or even try to sell on some items if it doesn’t feel right throwing them away.
Deep Clean the Deepest Darkest Spaces
This is a great task to do early on in your spring cleaning and should really be done simultaneously with your decluttering. For example if you have a storage cupboard that you are decluttering, you may as well pull everything out and give the cupboard a good dusting and hoover. This way you can really see what you have in there while you are deciding what to keep and what to throw away, plus you can dust down the things you’re keeping before putting them back. If you target a new location every weekend starting now you should be good to go by spring time.
Make a Plan
Now that you have started decluttering and have gotten into the habit of deep cleaning as you go you need to make a plan of how you want to continue. The best plan is to start at the room you use the least first as it is more likely to have stuff in there you will throw away thus making more space for you to organise your storage as you move through your home. Depending on the size of each room you may want to assign a three weekends to each room.
