Spring Cleaning

Spring is a great time to clear the clutter and the dust from your home, but often it’s hard to know where to start. Here are a few tips to get you started and making progress in no time.

Start small.

While it’s tempting to run through each room with a garbage bag and toss everything, it will be more sustainable to start small, and tackle one area at a time. Consider choosing just one room or ‘category’ of items at a time. You could start with the kitchen, for example, and spring clean all of the clutter that has landed on the counters over the winter, and then move on to the pantry that has expired goods from who knows when. Alternatively, you could choose to spring clean your wardrobe first, and get rid of any clothing that no longer fits, has been worn out, or that you simply don’t wear. By choosing one section at a time, you’re more likely to see progress, which is encouraging, and less likely to lose steam and ambition,

Don’t just move your things around, truly declutter.

Make one pile of things to be put away, one pile of things that need to be disposed of, and one pile of things to be
donated. You can find the list of things that we gratefully accept at our Habitat for Humanity ReStore center here:

Clean as you declutter.

Grab your favorite nontoxic cleaner, some cleaning rags, and wipe down the insides and outsides of cabinets, closets, and appliances as you go. There’s no better time than now to get it spotless, and it’s more efficient to clean it once, and completely than to declutter and then come back to clean again.

Gather your tools ahead of time.

Make one trip to the store for trash bags and cleaning supplies before you get started. Don’t be tempted to spend on bins and buckets to organize your things before you’ve purged. Often, you’ll find that you’ve removed enough of the clutter during a spring cleaning, that you have more space, and less need for organizing tools.

Get the family on board.

Make it a game to see who can clean their own spaces the fastest or assign different zones to each family member. Even the youngest in the family can help wipe down surfaces or carry items back to their designated homes. You can lead by example with cleaning your own personal spaces first, like the master bedroom and home office, and then assist your children in cleaning and decluttering their own rooms.

Remember why you started.

If you find yourself losing steam while spring cleaning, remember the enthusiasm you had when you started. Envision what you want your home to look and feel like, and work towards that goal. Take small breaks, and work in focused chunks of time. Before long, it’ll be done, and you’ll be enjoying your clean and clutter free home!