Ah, spring.
The flash of color from early flowers. The smell of freshly cut grass.
The sound of sneezes as everyone around quickly states emphatically, “It’s just allergies…”
Spring means lots of things to many people. Growth, rebirth, fresh start. But to many of us, it means spring cleaning!
Let’s delve into spring cleaning, and look at how often you should clean many items in your home.
Everyday Cleaning
Let’s begin with things that should get some attention every day. That’s making your bed, doing the dishes, washing out the coffee pot, and cleaning out the kitchen sink. You also should wipe down the kitchen table and counters.
Pro tip: wipe up messes in the oven and the microwave as soon as they happen. It’s much easier to clean them when they are fresh rather than when they are baked on.
In the bathroom, it’s a good idea to disinfect your faucets, the toilet handle and seat, and wipe down shower walls with a squeegee.
A Few Times a Week
Give some attention to your floors. Dust mop those made of hardwood, sweep or vacuum entry mats, and vacuum any high-traffic areas, particularly if there are pets, kids, (or messy spouses!) in the house.
Once a Week
It’s usually enough to go through the kitchen and wipe down the appliances weekly. Also, inspect the fridge and throw out expired food items (and those pesky, unidentifiable things that tend to get put back in until you’re sure they are bad. C’mon, no one is really going to ever eat those things!)
In the bathroom, sanitize surfaces. Dust furniture and vacuum those pieces that are upholstered. Change the sheets and pillow cases on beds that have been used.
Vacuum or sweep and mop floors.
Every Three to Four Months
You should clean your oven, whether it’s a self-cleaning model or one you have to buy oven cleaner for. Give the dishwasher a good cleaning — that means checking the filter for gunk and running it through with a vinegar cycle. Clean the lint out of the dryer vent as buildup can be a fire hazard. Wash the comforter living inside your duvet cover. Throw the bed pillows into the washing machine. Wash the range hood filter, this is where grease can really build up. Dust your ceilings and walls. Move the heavy furniture and vacuum underneath it.
Twice a Year
Give some love to the gutters, whether you do them yourself or have them cleaned out professionally.
Annually
You can clean out your fireplace in the spring, after the fire season. (Have the chimney inspected in the fall before you start up again.)
Steam clean or shampoo carpets and furniture.
By no means is this little list exhaustive; there are many other items in the house that deserve the Cinderella treatment, from the pet bed and toys, to draining sediment from the water heater, your lampshades and curtains, the furnace filters, refrigerator coils, the windows, garage and basement, the handrails on the staircase, and the cup your toothbrushes sit in.
What item is on your spring-cleaning list that you are about to get to?
