10 Tips for Easy Spring Cleaning

Today I am joining up with Erin for her 10 on the 10th link up.  This month it’s all about spring cleaning, and I’m not going to lie, I almost didn’t link up.  My spring cleaning game isn’t exactly strong, but I decided what the hey, I’m sure there are tons of people out there like me who dread spring cleaning.  I might as well share what works for me.

I should also note that to me spring clean also involves de-cluttering.

Tip one: Take your time

As a mom with two young kids, I don’t have huge spans of time to dedicate to cleaning.  I’m sure the same can be said for people who work.  That’s why I spread it out.   I may do a 10 minute task here, then maybe a 15 minute task another day.  For example, when I put my clothes away last week, I also went through my closet and got rid of clothes I no longer wear.

Tip two: Make a task list

If you know me then you know I love a good list.  Having a list helps me stay on track, and then I get to cross things off as I get them done which is a great feeling.  If you are looking for a pretty detailed list I have one here.

Tip three: Involve your kids

Annabelle has a tendency to keep ever. piece. of. artwork. ever.  And lots of random pieces of scrap paper.  The other day I woke up to find that all those papers were all over her bedroom floor.  After closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I decided she would be in charge of cleaning all those papers.  I brought her a trash bag and told her to go through the papers and decide which ones to keep, and which ones to throw out.  After about 45 minutes she had gone through some, but only picked out like 10 to dispose of.  So I stepped in to help out.  We’ve got a lot more to go, but it’s a start.

Kids can also go through their own toys and pick out ones to donate that they no longer play with.

Tip four: Take it all out

When I am looking to the insides of the cupboards I take everything out and set it on the counter.  Then I can easily wipe the area down.  As I put things back in I can clean what needs to be cleaned, and toss or donate anything that I don’t need anymore.

Tip five: Phone a friend

Do you have a friend that can watch your kids for a few hours while you clean?  Then in exchange you can watch their kids?  If so, do it!  Having uninterrupted time is great.  You can also tackle things like going through toys, or other tasks that are hard to do with little one running around.

Tip six: Use old socks to clean the floor

If you are anything like me then you have lots of random socks in your house.  I have a few left over from when I had my kids.  Those socks work great on a swiffer to clean floors.  After sweeping and vacuuming, I spray my floor with Bruce floor cleaner, then use a swiffer and a sock to give it a good scrub.

Tip seven: Use vinegar to clean microwave and coffee maker

One of the best things I’ve learned about is using vinegar to clean out appliances.  If you have caked on food in your microwave simply fill a bowl with vinegar and microwave it for about 5 minutes.  All that food should pretty easily wipe away after that. If it’s really bad you may need to repeat.  But really, I did this to the microwave in the staff lounge once, and it worked amazing!  I also use a 2:1 ratio vinegar to water and run it through my coffee maker.  It helps keep the areas I can’t get to clean.

Tip eight: See if couch cushion covers come off

A few years ago I realized that our couch cushion covers could come off.  That was a game changer.  While I didn’t want to put the covers in the washing machine, I was able to spray them with some cleaner, scrub them, then use the hose outside to spray all the cleaner off.  I then let the covers dry outside.  Not only did I not have to worry about them shrinking, the sun also helped to bleach some of those dark areas off.

Tip nine: Keep up on the cleaning

Once you’ve got your house nice and clean, do you really want it to get all messy again.  Try to come up with a cleaning schedule, so that you can stay on top of everything.  Now I’m not saying that you need to do everything on a spring cleaning list every week, but perhaps you can clean the outside of the cabinets every few months.

Tip ten:  Celebrate a job well done.

Once you’ve done all the things on your list, treat ‘yo self!

What about you?  Do you have any tips to be successful at spring cleaning??