8 Spring Cleaning Tips for a Tidier Home

February 23, 2017

Cleaning happens year-round, but there’s something about the idea of opening up and freshening up your home after winter that makes spring cleaning such a common practice. Whether spring is just starting or you’re getting a bit of cabin fever towards the end of winter, it’s common to start gearing up for a major spring cleaning. Here are a few spring cleaning tips for a tidier home:

1. Try Doing the Tasks You’re Dreading First

It’s easy to procrastinate on the tasks you’re dreading. But, this often makes them drag on longer, can increase stress as they loom over you, and can even affect other things you’re doing. Instead of avoiding them or saving them for last, try mustering as much motivation as you can and tackle them first.

With the worst tasks out of the way, everything else will likely feel easier. Plus, it can help you stay motivated during longer cleaning tasks and you won’t have any of that dread hanging over you. Bathrooms, cleaning out the freezer, etc., whatever year-round maintenance or other tasks you’re dreading – handle them now so your future self doesn’t have to.

2. Start a Cleaning Schedule

Keeping a small cleaning schedule now tens to pay off tenfold in the future. You don’t have to clean your entire home at once, even during spring cleaning. But, planning a small task that takes a little time each day, cleaning as you go, and more can all help reduce the amount of work you will have to do during larger house cleanings.

3. Tackle One Room at a Time

In addition to keeping a little cleaning schedule or making cleaning a little every day a habit, you can also break up spring cleaning your home into smaller tasks. Sometimes, taking on one room at a time can make spring cleaning your home more manageable.

4. Work From the Top to the Bottom

Dirt, dust, and debris will fall to the floor as you are cleaning. As you tackle spring cleaning, always start at the top and work your way to the bottom.

Clean the corners of the ceiling and light fixtures first, work down the walls, clean higher surfaces, and save cleaning the floor for last. This will keep you from having to re-clean areas.

5. Keep the Dirt Outside

One of the spring cleaning tips for a tidier home is to keep more of the dirt outside of your home in the first place. Clean your welcome mats so they are prepped to keep the maximum amount of dirt outside and off of your floors.

You can also consider getting a heavier duty mat if you don’t already have one and making sure you have a mat on both sides of the door. Heavier materials tend to keep more mud outside and out of your home. Plus, indoor mats give people a space to remove and store shoes so they are not tracking dirt and debris throughout the home.

6. Clean Your Filters and Vents

Cleaning your filters and HVAC vents can often be overlooked, but it can make a big difference in the quality of air inside your home. Plus, regularly cleaning these can help reduce the amount of dusting you need to do year-round.

Clean filters are better at catching small debris and dust that may have gotten into your vents. But, if they haven’t been cleaned in a while or replaced when needed, they may not perform as well. This can result in extra dust accumulating on your surfaces and floors and more allergens in the air of your home.

7. Create Drop Zones to Get Organized

Entry points are common areas where clutter tends to accumulate. Identifying your go-to clutter areas is the first step towards getting more organized. For example, where in your home do you head after picking up the mail? Do you have a favorite end table in the entryway? Or perhaps the kitchen counter? Neither of these need to be bastions for that unopened mail.

Often, clutter results from the various everyday tasks we leave abandoned about the house. Instead of going through the mail, we may become distracted by something more fun. Sometimes unfavorable mail may spark immediate attention.

Over time, we form habits to release ourselves from the everyday mail obligation. The kitchen counter will always accept the unwanted letters – unless you find a more appropriate solution. By making a functional drop zone, you can help organize and contain this clutter wherever it tends to happen.

8. Work on Decluttering

We have a habit of holding onto things and clutter seems to gather more easily over the winter. This can lead to a ton of tedious organizing once you jump into spring cleaning. But, if you don’t have a lot of unnecessary things that can accumulate, then you don’t have to worry about moving them from place to place until you figure out what to do with them.

This makes decluttering one of the most useful spring cleaning tips for a tidier home that also makes cleaning and organization much easier the rest of the year. Getting rid of things you don’t need can give your home an entirely new look and feel. Plus, you may be able to sell some things or donate them to someone else who can use them.

Get Rid of Things You Haven’t Used or Worn for Over a Year

As you work through your home to tidy, consider the last time you used some of your belongings or wore some of the clothes you have. If it’s been a year or longer, perhaps it’s time to get rid of it. This can apply to clothes, past gifts, cookbooks, and anything else in your home.

Clear Out Expired Items or Paperwork That is No Longer Relevant

Decluttering should also apply to your medicine cabinet, personal care products, paperwork, etc. If it’s expired, it’s time for it to go. Paperwork that is no longer relevant, like instructions for things you no longer own or warranties that are no longer active, can be recycled or shredded if it contained personal information.

Old phones and cords you don’t use or need can be recycled through specific programs. That collection of boxes in the closet can be broken down and recycled. Whatever types of clutter have built up for you, spring cleaning is a great time to start working through it and sell, donate, recycle, or throw out what you no longer need.

These are just a few spring cleaning tips for a tidier home, many of which you can use to keep your home organized no matter the time of year. If no amount of cleaning, reorganizing, redecorating, or remodeling makes your current house feel like home, it may be time to consider investing in a custom home built to suit your needs and style.

If you’re interested in getting started on your own custom home, contact Custom Home Group at 717-284-4090. We can help bring your dream home to life!