Spring Cleaning in 9 Easy Steps

April showers may bring May flowers, but springtime also brings lots of lemon-scented cleaning products.

It’s time to get rid of the muck left over from winter and create a blank slate for the warmer and sunnier months of the year.

Here are some tips and tricks to help you out:

1. Get everyone on board

If you live alone, you can very well skip this step. But, for those of you who share a living space with another person or persons, it’s hugely important that you get everyone on board and on the same page.

There is power in numbers, so take your roommates or family members or dogs and huddle up football-style.

Everyone’s got to lend some sort of helping hand, so getting together and designating responsibilities is the first step to a really awesomely painless spring cleaning.

2. Establish a plan

Now that you’ve gotten everybody on the same page, it’s time to put those noggins together and really strategize.

The components of a great spring cleaning plan include: what you’re going to do, how you’re going to do it, what you need to do it, and when you’re going to do to it. Once you’ve nailed those parts, you are ready to get out the broom and get to work.

Wondering how you’re to go about making a plan? Start with one room, and map out the process you’d like to see. Maybe you want to organize the closet after you’ve cleaned it. Maybe you don’t even want to organize the closet.

Everyone’s got a different set of spring cleaning tasks, so it’s a good idea to figure out which tasks are appropriate for you and your home, and then you can plan from there.

3. Make a checklist

As part of the planning process, you should be creating a room-by-room checklist of things to do so that you don’t miss anything. This will not only keep your spring cleaning process organized, but also your sanity.

What’s more is that sense of accomplishment you’ll inevitably feel once you’ve crossed off a task. That feeling is motivation enough to keep you pushing through the rest of your not-so-daunting-anymore tasks.

4. Set a date

Set a date in stone so that you feel committed to doing your spring cleaning. No more “I’ll get to it eventually,” because the next thing you know, it’s time to start getting ready for the holidays, and you don’t have room in the closet for all the gifts you’ve got to buy.

Write it on your calendar, make it public to friends and family. Spring cleaning is an event, and you should treat it that way.

5. Prioritize

This is a huge undertaking, and we don’t always have time to do it all in one day. Prioritizing is essential so that you can accomplish the most important things first.

You’ll get into a rhythm by doing this, and that’s enough to keep you going until the end.

6. Start small

Spring cleaning is an intimidating pair of words. It makes us think of stressful days scrubbing floors that are too low and dusting shelves that are too high. It may seem like spring cleaning will never end.

If you start small, say, the junk drawer in the kitchen for example, then you’ll see how easy and relieving it can be to get clean and get organized. Gradually move onto bigger projects once you’ve completed the smaller ones.

7. Maintain a focus

Stick to one room or area at a single time. Overwhelming yourself with all sorts of tasks in all sorts of areas of your home isn’t going to be an efficient way to go about spring cleaning.

You should try to avoid spreading yourself thin over multiple projects, and instead focus on singular tasks.

Once each task has been completed, then you can move onto the next item on your checklist. You’ll feel less stress and even amazed at how painlessly spring cleaning can go.

8. Break it up into chunks

Maybe you can’t do it all in one day. Maybe you prefer the idea of pouring salt in your eyes over the idea of cleaning for an entire day. Regardless of the reason, if you don’t want to or can’t do your spring cleaning in one day, by all means, split it up into pieces.

Divide your project into chunks, so that you can accomplish certain tasks on certain days. You’ll start each day with a fresh set of eyes and a fresh mind, which might even make you more efficient.

9. The one-year rule

The one-year rule is there to make sure that you don’t hold onto possessions for longer than you need to. We exist in a society that has placed much value upon things, and it’s hard to separate yourself from that.

When you come across items that you don’t use on a regular basis, really think about whether it’s served its purpose in the last year.

If you haven’t used the item in one year or more, it’s time to think about passing it along to someone else who can use it.

Other tips and tricks

Some miscellaneous things to remember when spring cleaning can help you stay organized throughout the year. Containers and labels should be in the arsenal of any spring cleaner, as they will help to keep things organized and findable.

Another tip is to remember your lifestyle. What is the practicality of the way things are arranged in your living space? Does it make sense, for convenience, to rearrange certain items or areas of your home? Keep these things in mind as you plan and undertake your spring cleaning. Our lives and priorities change every year, and it’s good to make your home evolve around that.

We have full faith that you’ll come out of your spring cleaning season with a fresh new attitude, ready to conquer summer.

What are some strategies that you use when spring cleaning? Do you think any of these tips would work for you?