Now is the Time for Spring Cleaning!

The mother of perfection, Martha Stewart, has a thorough room-by-room checklist that includes the types of cleaning supplies and products to use. It even has step-by-step instructions for perfectly clean windows. You can download it online.

If you’re looking for something simpler, consider these room-by-room suggestions:

Kitchen

• Deep clean fridge and freezer, defrost if needed
• Dust cupboards and top of fridge
• Deep clean stove inside and out
• Deep clean small appliances
• Deep clean dishwasher
• Disinfect sink and faucet
• Wipe down walls, cupboards, drawers, countertop, and light switches
• Clean out junk drawer(s)
• Wash out garbage can
• Sweep and mop the floor—move all large appliances if possible

Bathroom

• Scrub shower walls and fixtures
• Clean shower curtain or door
• Wash trash can
• Organize cabinets and drawers
• Wipe down mirrors
• Clean walls, light switch
• Clean and organize medicine cabinet
• Mop the floor
• Dust décor
• Clean toilets

Family Room

• Dust surfaces, including décor
• Organize book shelves, DVD collections, and gaming equipment
• Wash throw blankets and pillows
• Steam clean furniture
• Wipe down walls and light switches
• Dust and clean window treatments
• Clean lampshades
• Dust electronic and wipe screens clean
• Clean crevices of baseboard

Master Bedroom

• Dust all surfaces
• Wash curtains and blinds
• Wipe down walls and light switches
• Wash bedding
• Flip and rotate mattress
• Sort through clothes and separate for garage sale, donation, etc.
• Organize closet
• Clean out under the bed
• Clean carpet and rugs
• Organize drawers
• Clean lights

Kids' Rooms

• Wash bedding
• Organize closet
• Sort through clothes and separate for garage sale, donation, etc.
• Organize toys
• Sanitize toys and toy boxes
• Organize books
• Dust and wipe down all surfaces
• Clean carpet and rugs

Laundry/Mud Room

• Deep clean washer and dryer
• Wipe down all surfaces
• Organize cleaning products
• Wipe down walls and light switches

Garage

• Organize and dust shelves
• Sweep floor
• Throw out any broken or worn equipment

Now is a good time to pay attention to the most neglected parts of your home and establish a routine to keep up with cleaning so next spring it won’t be such a big project. As mentioned above, spring cleaning is about purging too. Here’s a concise list of things to throw away, donate and recycle from Simply Kierste.

Now that your house is sparkling, you want to keep it that way. Maintaining a clean house can be a challenge, especially if you have a busy work schedule. Consider making a weekly cleaning list to help you stay on top of it. Again, this is the perfect opportunity to enlist the help of your kids. Give them easy to complete tasks that they can do as they are getting ready in the morning or after they finish their homework after school.

Good Housekeeping has a great checklist for every day, weekly, and monthly cleaning tasks to help you stay on top of it. You can adapt this checklist for your home and create a sticker chart chore list for your kids! You also might consider checking out this list of 9 Homemade Cleaners You Can Make Yourself! 

Here are a few more quick tips to help you keep your home clean throughout the year:

• Clorox wipes- Keep them in the kitchen and the bathroom and wipe down all surfaces daily
• 2000 Flushes Antibacterial Automatic Toilet Bowl cleaner- just drop it in your tank and it lasts up to 4 months.
• Roomba- If you hate vacuuming but want clean carpets and floors, consider investing in a Roomba. You can set it to vacuum every day if you need.

Happy cleaning!