After a long, chilly winter, the first signs of spring can be exhilarating. That excitement often gives you the itch to clean up and refresh after winter. Once the first daffodils and crocuses pop up, you may want to tidy up your garden and patio and get your home ready for open windows and sunny days.
These spring cleaning tips can help you efficiently tackle your spring refreshing and organizing needs.
Prioritize Your Spring Cleaning Tasks
You might be full of spring cleaning ideas, so your first task is to plan and prioritize. You'll have more success if you can tackle one task at a time rather than trying to get everything done at once. Build a list of rooms, closets, drawers and cabinets, so you can check off each item as you complete it.
It's helpful to create a list with varying task sizes so you can take off smaller jobs when you aren't up to spring-cleaning an entire room.
Tackle One Room at a Time
You will have more success when you figure out how to do spring cleaning in a way that fits your needs. If you love spending time on your three-season porch, tidy that first or save it for last as a final reward for taking care of other needs. When you plan to clean one room at a time, you'll be less likely to get distracted by spring cleaning ideas in other rooms.
Start at the Top
If you are cleaning everything, start with your ceilings, shelves, ceiling fans and wall hangings. When you start at the top, the dust and debris will fall to the floor, where you can easily vacuum it up. After you've scoured the ceilings and shelves, clean the furniture, bedding and other mid-level items.
Wash Your Reusable Bags
Another helpful spring cleaning idea is to clean your reusable bags. Each time you put them in grocery carts, they pick up bacteria and dirt. Since these bags carry your food, cleaning supplies and produce, it's a good idea to run them through the washing machine. Dry them on high heat to sanitize them. Plan on cleaning them regularly to keep the dirt from the grocery store out of your car and home.
Freshen Your Filters
Spring is a great time to clean and replace the filters around your home. Clean your vacuum filter. Consider changing or cleaning the filters in your refrigerator and microwave oven. Another helpful spring cleaning tip is to change the filters in your HVAC unit. After running your furnace all winter, the filter is most likely filled with dust, pollen and other contaminants you don't want blowing around your home.
Pull the Weeds and Plant New Flowers
When spring begins blooming, you don't want any weeds interfering with the beauty of early blossoms. On beautiful spring days, get outside and start pulling the early weeds. Before you yank them, be sure they aren't your perennials poking through the soil. While you're out there, plant your summer annuals so you can enjoy more colorful flowers throughout the season.
Donate, Recycle or Dispose
While you're involved in spring cleaning, you can declutter your home by evaluating which items you no longer use. If you have clothing you haven't worn since pre-pandemic times, it might be time to donate those items to your local thrift stores.
As you dig through your personal belongings, start building piles of things you can donate, recycle or repurpose. Only throw away things that you can't put into the other piles to reduce your family's waste. Look through your cosmetics and throw away items that are well past their expiration dates. Your home will feel fresh and clean after you've cleared out closets, cabinets and drawers.
Store Your Winter Gear
Another helpful spring cleaning tip is to move your winter gear to storage. Before you put it away for the season, look closely at coats, hats, boots and other items to determine if you can reuse them next year. Store the items that your family can still use and donate the rest.
You can also take winter clothing out of bedroom closets. Move it into the basement or an empty closet to make room for spring and summer clothing.
Do a Sensor Check
After tidying up your home and patio, the final step is to evaluate your home's need for Notion Sensors. You can learn more about your monitoring needs by taking our sensor quiz. While cleaning your home, pay attention to areas in your bathrooms, kitchen and basement where sensors would help you better monitor leaks, temperature, or doors/windows opening or closing.
