Spring is here at last! We can finally say goodbye to the long, cold days of winter and hello to new blooms and warmer weather. It’s the perfect time to refresh and clean your home.
For most of us though, cleaning is an unpleasant chore. Fortunately, by following a few simple tricks you can spend less time cleaning and more time enjoying other things.
1. Start at the top
When cleaning your home you always work “top to bottom”, meaning it is best to begin with tasks higher up in the room and then working your way down, with floors being the last thing you do. Start with tasks like dusting, washing windows and wiping counter tops before vacuuming or washing floors. As you clean, you’ll naturally move the mess downwards. Working top to bottom saves you from having to possibly redo a job.
2. One thing at a time
To clean more efficiently, its best to work chore by chore than cleaning one complete room at a time. For example, tackle all toilets, all the dusting, all the vacuuming, rather than trying to clean the entire kitchen and then the entire family room. By focusing on one chore at a time you’re spending less time switching between products and tools. Plus, there’s an added sense of accomplishment because you won’t feel like you’re always starting from the beginning and redoing tasks.
3. Stay focused
Try to avoid getting distracted with a larger, time-consuming task during your routine weekly cleaning, like reorganizing your entire kitchen or purging the front closet. Schedule these non-routine cleaning efforts on a seasonal basis. This will help you to stay focused and complete all your regular cleaning without getting derailed. Spring is the perfect time to set time aside for these larger projects:
- Clean out the fridge. Like, really clean out the fridge. Empty it completely and wipe everything down. Remove and wash shelves and drawers. And don’t forget the freezer too!
- Change your furnace filter. This is also a good reminder to consider if you should have your ducts cleaned, which is recommended every 2-3 years.
- Audit the pantry. It’s easy to let items slide past their expiration dates in the pantry. Check dates and tidy every three months.
- Clean windows and screens. Let the fresh air in! Spring is a great time to remove and clean screens while also doing a thorough clean of the inside and outside of windows.
- Donate. Start spring off by going through your home and decluttering. Are there items you have duplicates of or haven’t touched in years? Clothes you don’t think you’ll wear? Clear some space and donate items you no longer need.
- Clean baseboards and underneath furniture. Putting off cleaning your baseboards too long makes them tricker to clean. Every three months it’s recommended to clean them along with moving large furniture to do a thorough cleaning underneath.
- Deep clean appliances. Your oven, dishwasher and washing machine could all use a thorough cleaning. Check with the manufacturer for directions and recommended cleaning products.
4. Break up the work
If it’s difficult to devote all your time to cleaning at once, try breaking up chores across the week. For example, focusing on laundry on Monday, bathrooms on Tuesday, dusting and windows on Wednesday, and so on until you’ve covered all your routine cleaning tasks. Although you’ll be spending the same amount of time, it may feel better to spread it out and tackle a smaller chore each day.
5. The more the merrier
Want to spend less time cleaning? Split weekly chores across household members or look for fun and engaging ways to get children participating. Rather than one person spending the entire morning cleaning, have it take less time by having everyone do their share to collectively get the job done.
6. The right products and tools
While a matter of personal preference, there are some great multipurpose and eco-friendly cleaning solutions on the market. Investing in a good quality cleaning cloth can allow you to clean pretty much any surface using only water. Equip a small caddy with your essentials so you’re not wasting time looking for different products or tools.
7. Establish daily habits
Making small chores a part of your daily routine goes a long way. Whether it’s tidying up children’s toys at the end of each day, staying on top of the laundry pile or emptying the garbage each evening, completing these small tasks each day help to keep messes from escalating and taking more time to complete later.
Cleaning, although unpleasant for most, doesn’t need to take forever or be continually postponed. By following some simple steps you can get your regular cleaning done efficiently, make time for your larger seasonal chores and start spring with a refreshed space.
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