This time of year, it seems that everyone is trying to de-clutter their lives and get rid of unnecessary things around the home, or spring cleaning, as some may call it. It’s the time of year when people take time to re-evaluate what they have while brushing off all the dust. Spending time re-organizing your home can allow you to keep those things you really like… but just aren’t sure what to do with. Maybe you can repurpose some of your old things so they can become useful again in your everyday life.
What do you think about spring cleaning? We think it’s refreshing to de-clutter! It is so much easier to enjoy a home when it is clean and organized. But, don’t ever let yourself get overwhelmed, this is very easy to do! Create a plan, then tackle each part of your home one section at a time!
8 Spring Cleaning Tips:
1. Create a Plan
Decide what you want to reasonably accomplish by the time you’re done with your spring cleaning. Then, break it down over the course of a week and designate what tasks will be done each day. As long as you stick to your schedule, you will have a clean home in one week! Make sure you’re prepared with cleaning supplies before you begin. Also, decide on what your reward is going to be when you accomplish your spring cleaning.
2. Get Organized
Get boxes or bins to sort things that you no longer need or want. You could even label them to make it easier especially if multiple people are helping clean. Categories you may want to have are: items to donate, things for a garage sale, trash, things to return to others. If you’re a crafter you could even start a box of things to repurpose or turn into a craft project [broken jewelry, etc.].
3. De-clutter
After setting up the boxes or bins you’re going to sort with, take a walk through your house and take care of some of the large and more obvious items. You will be adding a lot to the boxes throughout the cleaning process, but if you can remove the bulky things you know what to do with right away, you won’t find yourself moving around them to clean.
4. One Area at a Time
Decide on what area or room of your home you want to focus on that day, and work at it until you are finished. You will feel more accomplished if you can see how much you have accomplished as you go. Sometimes after bouncing around from one task to another you feel like you have done so much work, but don’t have anything completed to show for it. This can make spring cleaning seem even more overwhelming.
5. Go Green
It’s always good to be conscious of what chemicals you are using. Take a look at the ingredients in your cleaning supplies. It’s amazing how many unnecessary chemicals we sometimes spread all over our homes. There are alternative cleaning supplies; you can make them yourself too! You can find some simple recipes for furniture polish, all-purpose cleaners, and more here.
6. Remove from Your Home
Once you have sorted everything that you no longer want, load the car and do the rounds! Take everything that you don’t want and drop it off at designated recycling or refuse centers, secondhand shops, and any other places. Try and make it into a fun day rather than one big chore by scheduling lunch with friends to break up the day. It may help to share your spring cleaning techniques with your friends and see if you can even set a day to donate items together! When you plan to do something together it usually ensures that you actually do it. If you don’t remove your unwanted things from your home, they can end up becoming fixtures in your home and will continue to add to the clutter.
7. Set Goals Going Forward
Although it is great to do a deep clean of your home every year, you can do things throughout the year to help relieve some stress and clutter for the following spring cleaning season. Create a plan for the year to come, perhaps by designating places in the home for family members to place things they want to donate to grab when you know you’ll be passing by a secondhand shop, for example.
8. Reward Yourself
Remember that reward you decided on before you started? Well now it’s time to celebrate. Take time for you! Maybe have people over and show off your home, or even just treat yourself to a nice night out!
Let us know any additional tips you may have!
