The Complete Spring Cleaning Guide that Will Freshen Your Home

Spring cleaning your home and opening your house up for warmer, cozier weather is all about two essential concepts: time and organization. Time is a precious resource that all of us wish we had more of in our daily lives: added time to finish up our work, complete day-to-day errands, and enjoy the fun moments with our loved ones that we wish could last longer. Time certainly is an essential factor in gathering up all the resources and energy for spring cleaning.

But perhaps organization is more critical. When looking through every room and the amount of clutter that’s piled up over months, it can be easy for stress to build up just as largely within your mental space--especially when wondering how to lug out huge items. A junk removal Philadelphia professional advises that homeowners should look into using a structural approach and having a complete spring cleaning guide that goes through each room’s task one by one. This process can lessen anxiety and help get an ultimate spring cleaning mission done more effectively.

A Full Kitchen Cleansing

During those cold winter months, we can sometimes live like hibernating bears, staying in our dens and stocking up on food rather than continually going outdoors for nutrition. This was especially true in the wintry weather of 2020 when health risks were still at the forefront of our minds. Now, in 2021, we’re still more likely to stock up on groceries, cook for ourselves, or even utilize home delivery rather than go out for meals.

This scenario, however, can result in added clutter within our refrigerators that has increased over time. Regarding the refrigerator, which is the hub of the kitchen, you’ll want to make sure that you:

Throw away expired food or perishables
Toss out any damaged food containers
Temporarily clear the shelves of any food or drink items
Wash and dry each shelf and bin
Wipe the handles and doors with a disinfectant and microfiber cloth
Unplug the refrigerator temporarily
Clean the refrigerator coils with a vacuum or duster

Once this is done, you’ll want to move on to other essential kitchen tasks. Emptying your pantry of expired food--and other parts of your kitchen where you keep eatables--is equally important. You’ll want to make sure that your pantry, cabinets, and countertops have been properly dusted out. Your kitchen garbage cans should also be free from any long-standing grime or residue. Don’t be afraid to get deep in there with a wet mop--you can get an effective one for under $20.

Giving your kitchen floor an extensive mopping is the final step that adds an extra layer of cleanliness to your spring cleaning initiative. If you have rustic hardwood flooring in your kitchen, then a spray mop is recommended. You’ll be surprised at the fresh, vibrant look of your kitchen after all of these steps are completed.

Create a Brighter Living Room

If the kitchen is the “stomach” of the house, then the living room is the “brain.” It’s where each family member comes to check in with each other, interact, and be entertained. With spring cleaning, you can clear out the clutter, clean up that dust, and ensure a more walkable environment. It’s your chance to make your home’s living room a more open and welcoming space for your family.

Speaking of entertainment, the first task on the spring cleaning list will be to organize your different Blu-Rays, books, video games, and other bits of entertainment content that are in your living room shelves and cabinets. As always, you’ll want to ensure you’re sorting your items into two groups: media to throw away/donate, and entertainment items to keep. Make sure you give your cabinets, shelves, and tables a proper dusting, as well as your TV and other electronics. You don’t want these important items to have that winter muck remaining on them!

You’ll want to vacuum down your larger carpets and rugs. If you have floor coverings that have been excessively worn out or damaged during the winter, replace them. Ensure that you wash your living room blankets, even if they won’t be used as often in the spring. (One can never be sure when a drafty night will come in the early spring season.) And if the living room has become one of those surprise storage areas during the winter for random housing items, then it’s time to haul some of those boxes out to the garage.

Also, here’s one last expert tip for making your living room a more livable space: choosing a new curtain and changing it to a brighter, more seasonal look will add a dash of style to the room. Light blue and green coloring, tones with flowers and gardens, and less heavy material can let some extra sunshine into your spring living room.

Freshening up the Bathroom

Cleaning the bathrooms in our home always looks like a challenging task, especially when adding spring cleaning stresses into the mix. Fortunately, you can categorize the bathrooms that you clean by size, floor, or amount of clutter--whichever is most comfortable for you. You can also sort out which individual tasks you take on for each bathroom that you sanitize.

With that, there are some essential bathroom spring cleaning tips. Similar to our kitchen spring cleaning strategy, we’ll want first to make sure to throw out expired, broken, or worn-out items. These include expired medication, damaged beauty products such as blow dryers, and worn-out towels and rugs. Ensure that you replace the meds and products that you throw out.

If you have ancient bath supplies such as body wash or shampoo that you haven’t used in months, then spring cleaning is the perfect time to head to replace them. Head to your local store and buy a few new bath and body care products for your bathroom. Ensure that your new bathroom items are well organized and ready to use within your new, structured arrangement.

You’ll also want to make certain that you have cleaning items available to begin floor, toilet, and shower cleaning tasks. Make sure that you have the following products on hand for the bathroom assignment:

Disinfecting wipes
Scrub brush
Sprayable disinfectant cleaner
Mold and mildew stain remover
Microfiber cloth
Squeegee
Wet mop

These are all items that will aid in sanitizing areas in your bathroom, such as toilets, sinks, and showers (especially shower curtains and walls) that have built up filth and other forms of residue through those stay-at-home winter months. If you’re finding that your toilet is tough to clean, then one item of use that you may want to look into are disposable toilet bowl cleaning systems. These come with a wand and disposable scrub pads, which you use to clean the interior of toilet bowls and can then toss out when complete.

Ensure that you’ve also properly dusted your cabinets out of any winter dust buildup. Make sure that you’ve also wiped off your shelves, which can also be an area that accumulates residue. Do a final inspection of your cleanup, and your bathroom will be ready for a steady spring season.

Bedrooms Fit for Spring

No home is complete without clean bedrooms that are comfortable to sleep in. And no spring cleaning plan is finished until each bedroom in the house is sorted out and clutter-free. If your home has multiple bedrooms, you’ll want to be sure that you’ve marked each bedroom in your home from least to most needful of cleaning. Like the bathroom approach, this makes it easy to get through each bedroom cleaning timely and effectively.

You’ll want to dust out your drawers, dressers, cabinets, nightstands, and closet. Make sure that you’ve also completely wiped off the top of your nightstand, as that can be a buildup area of residue from food, drinks, and other items. Ensure that you vacuum down your rugs and your floor. If your vacuum can reach under your bed, then go for it, as there is probably a large amount of dust buildup there. If it cannot, then a dust mop is another useful tool.

See to it that you clean your bedding, linens, blankets, and pillowcases. Washing and drying all of these, especially if you haven’t done so in a while, gives your bedroom a full hygienic feel that’s perfect for the new spring season. Speaking of which, you’ll probably want to put away your heavy, warmer blankets that you used during winter, or at least store them somewhere away from your bed. Dusting down and cleaning your curtains will also help let in more sunlight as the spring warmth approaches.

Any type of large-scale home cleaning project is a difficult endeavor. Spring cleaning gets taken on by many with no type of planning or structure in place, and often gets abandoned. This doesn’t have to be the case. By utilizing this spring cleaning guide, taking on your cleaning mission area by area, and performing these tasks, we’re confident that you can help freshen your home in time for that gorgeous spring sunshine.