Spring Cleaning Checklist: What You Should Clean Yearly
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Spring cleaning is a rite of seasonal passage. As the days grow longer and the sun begins to shine a bit brighter, it’s time to open the windows and air out winter. It’s time to get our home squeaky clean and organized!
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Scroll down for a Spring Cleaning list, a printable list, and a handy guide on when to clean everything!
In 2000, the Smithsonian created an exhibit on the history of housecleaning. In it, they included this diary entry from a housewife in 1864:
“Swept and dusted sitting-room & kitchen 350 times.
Filled lamps 362 times.
Swept and dusted chamber & stairs 40 times.”
While homes were once heated with wood and coal and lit with whale oil or kerosene, a layer of soot and grim would cover the surfaces in every room. “With the arrival of spring, women would throw open windows and doors, and take rugs and bedding outside and beat dust out of them and start scrubbing floors and windows until sparkling,” says the Washington Post.
“In many homes, men would get turned out of the house while women completed the week-long spring chores,” says the Post. “The house would literally be emptied out,” says Susan Strasser, history professor at University of Delaware, who wrote the book “Never Done: A History of American Housework.”
It may not take you a week, but take advantage of the season, roll up your sleeves and take EASY STEPS TO AN ORGANIZED LIFE.
If you’ve been following the Easy Steps to an Organized Life in 31 Days schedule, you’ve already been completing many of these spring cleaning tips.
We’ve put together a Spring Cleaning Checklist. Some areas may need additional attention, so now is the time to tackle those spaces and ready your home for summer!
Once your house is spring-clean ready, follow our Easy Steps to an Organized Life to clear the clutter and keep your “Spring Clean” home all year long!
Spring Cleaning Basics: What You Should Clean at least Yearly
- Wash windows, inside and out (hire a service or DIY)
- Clean front door welcome mats (hose off and air dry)
- Wipe down front door and polish kickboard and door handles
- Clean and dust crown molding, baseboards, wall and ceiling corners
- Dust lampshades (vacuum or try a lint roller)
- Dust ceiling fans
- Clean light switches
- Clean doors for smudges and scuff marks
- Clean and dust window blinds and drapes (vacuum or lint roller)
- Wipe down cabinet surfaces in bathrooms and kitchen
- Clean drawers
- Dust bookcases
- Polish wood furniture
- Wipe down and vacuum furniture (underneath and don’t forget the cushions too)
- Vacuum mattresses, spot clean, sanitize with disinfectant spray and air dry
- Wash all bed linens, including mattress pads, pillows, comforters, etc.
- Deep clean floors, and grout
- Shampoo carpet (hire a service or DIY)
- Vacuum all rugs, cleaning both underneath the surface as needed
- Vacuum and clean air vents
- Change air/furnace filter
- Clean dryer filters (use crevice tool and vacuum debris)
- Deep clean dishwasher, particularly the filter and run a cycle with vinegar or a product like Cascade Dishwasher Cleaner
- Deep clean oven and microwave (use a one part vinegar to 2 parts water mixture)
- Clean brooms (wash bristle in warm soapy water or vacuum)
- Deep clean refrigerator
Spring Cleaning Printable
I like to print this and take satisfaction is checking off all those little boxes!
Handy Guide to How Often You Should Clean Everything
Good Housekeeping Magazine has produced a handy guide for how often they believe we should clean everything.
While I wipe the coffeemaker everyday, I only clean it with a vinegar/water solution when the Mr. Coffee light blinks. Everything else on the list is pretty good in my opinion. What do you think about the list?
