Spring Cleaning is a chore that’s both necessary and time-consuming, but once done, your home feels as renewed as your spirit on the first warm spring day. Is it a hassle? Yes. Is it rewarding? Definitely. Here’s how to make it go faster and easier.

Make a List
If you list each room that you want to clean, you can check them off as you complete each one. This breaks a large project into several smaller ones, making it easier to focus on each one until the entire project is completed. You can even break your list down into specific cleaning tasks to do in each room.

Gather Your Tools
Preparation is an important part of the job if you don’t want to end up running back and forth to the kitchen to grab cleaning supplies and tools, interrupting the flow of work. Here are the tools you’ll need …
• several clean rags or microfiber cloths
• butter knife
• bucket
• rubber bands
• broom
• mop
• vacuum cleaner
• squeegee
• mild all-purpose cleaner
• white vinegar
• baking soda
• half-dozen or so reusable tote bags
• multi-pocketed gardening apron

Learn Some Cleaning Hacks
You might be wondering about some of the items on the cleaning tools list above like the butter knife and rubber bands, for example. If you wrap a damp rag around the butter knife and secure it with a rubber band, you’ve got the perfect tool for cleaning vents, which attract a lot of dust over the winter. Ditto for making your broom into a tool to reach cobwebs near the ceiling and dust on the blades of a ceiling fan. The squeegee can be used both to clean windows and to remove pet hair from upholstered furniture and carpets.

Wondering about the multi-pocket gardening apron? Wear it so that you can stash odds and ends you find as you clean that don’t belong where you found them. You can put them away later.

Clean from Top to Bottom
Always start at the ceiling with your rag-wrapped broom to remove cobwebs and dust from high corners, light fixtures and ceiling fans. Use your reusable tote bags to fill with things you’re going to store away, and things you’re going to donate to charity and fill them as you go. (That way you’ll avoid the risk of accidentally throwing away a garbage bag filled with things you were planning to donate.)

Use a microfiber cloth dipped in your bucket of warm water and all-purpose cleaner, and wrung until just damp, to clear dust from the insides and outsides of lampshades.

Use your squeegee to “scrape” upholstery to pick up pet hair. Spot clean any areas that look soiled.

Sprinkle carpets with baking soda and vacuum. You can then squeegee to pick up pet hair that’s still entwined in carpet fibers, and finish up with a spot cleaning of soiled areas. Use your squeegee to clean up moisture remaining in the carpet and then blot with a clean rag.

Don’t Forget Those Rarely Cleaned Spots
Some areas that are out of sight can collect dirt and grime for months without our noticing. One of those areas is the tops of upper cabinets which collect dust and dirt particles as well as grease from cooking. Another is the top and back of the refrigerator. Its coils should be vacuumed a couple of times a year to keep it running efficiently.

Spring cleaning is a big job, but if you break it down and do one or two rooms per weekend, in a couple of weeks you’ll end up with a house that’s clean and refreshed and ready for the new season.



If you’re in the market for a new home contact us at San Joaquin Valley Homes where we’re committed to building affordable, quality homes.