5 Ways to Get a Head Start on Spring Cleaning During Winter

January 21, 2014

It’s snowing outside and you’re getting a mild case of cabin fever. You need something to do on long winter weekends stuck at home. Since you’re indoors anyway, now is a good time to get a head start on your spring cleaning. Where to begin?

Spring cleaning is about transforming your living space and reducing clutter. To do that, you need to start in your storage spaces.

1. Cleaning Closets, Garages, Dressers, and Basements

You have a lot of unwanted junk from years past. Old clothes, appliances, sporting goods, and furniture. Do you really need all of it? Sort through your old, unused items. Organizations in your area like Salvation Army and Goodwill may even pick up your load of unwanted goods; contact consignment shops and used goods stores in your area for more information.

2. De-Cluttering

Take a good look around your living room, your bedroom. Notice the stacks of opened bills on the coffee table? The permanent pile of blankets or clothes in the corner by the bed? These items need to be put away, for good. Hopefully, you’ve freed up storage space in your closets and dressers, but a trip to the home improvement store may be in order as well. As you consider new ways to store your stuff, focus on aesthetically pleasing options like wicker baskets and real wooden shelves.

3. Deep Cleaning

Now is the time to tackle those cleaning projects you only do every so often, like cleaning the carpets, sweeping under the furniture, cleaning out the fridge, washing the curtains and cleaning the blinds. Take the time to wash your windows as well.

4. Updating Your Look

Your bed cover–how old is it? And the towels? New linens and rugs are a great and semi-inexpensive way to give a room a facelift. And, if your budget and time allow for it, consider painting one or more of your rooms a new color.

5. Rearrange Your Furniture

This isn’t a cleaning task per se, but this is the finishing touch on your spring cleaning project. With your clutter gone, your old linens replaced, and your furniture in a new and refreshing location, you’ll practically be living in an entirely new house.