Creating a Spring Cleaning Checklist
At Olmec Reflections, we believe that a clean home starts from the ground up, and a fresh carpet can set the tone for the entire space. Let’s dive into an easy-to-follow spring cleaning checklist to ensure every nook and cranny of your home is revitalized for the Spring season. Take a Saturday or weekday evening, put on some rubber gloves, play your favorite music, and get your Spring cleaning on!
Spring Cleaning The Kitchen
In the heart of your home, give the kitchen a thorough cleaning. Empty and clean out the refrigerator, wipe down cabinets, and scrub the oven and stovetop. Refresh your pantry by organizing and discarding expired items.
- Refrigerator – Start on the inside and work your way out. Throw away any outdated food items and condiments (yes, ketchup goes bad). Take out and scrub every shelf you can. Don’t forget the freezer! It gets grimy too! Now for the fun part. Once you’ve taken care of the inside, it’s time to work on the outside. You might wipe it down from time to time (hopefully at least the handles), but have you cleaned out the condenser coils?
- If you’re ever complaining that your fridge just isn’t cold enough, you may need to clean your condenser coils! They will be under the refrigerator behind the base grille, on the back or on top. Always unplug it before you start! Here is a video of how to go about it.
- Oven – If you have a fancy oven, you might have a “self-cleaning” mode. Follow directions on how to use this feature. Otherwise, you’ll probably be using a heavy duty cleaner that is not great for our lungs. Make sure you have proper ventilation and pace yourself. After the inside is finished, carefully move it and clean behind, under, and on the sides that never see the light of day. Be careful of gas lines if it runs on gas.
- Coffee Maker – If you have a coffee maker or a Keurig it will need a good cleaning. There might be special solutions for fancier machines. Follow those directions. For a plain old coffee maker, you can use our favorite, vinegar and water. Here are some directions for both situations.
Spring Cleaning The Bathroom
It’s easy to do a quick wipe down a couple times a week for your bathrooms, but Spring is a great time to do a few extras that can make a huge difference. Scrub and disinfect bathroom surfaces, including the toilet, sink, and shower or tub. Replace old shower curtains or liners, and launder bath mats. Check for any leaks or plumbing issues that may have arisen during the winter and more!
- Shower Curtains – If you have a fabric one, follow the cleaning instructions on the tag. If you have a plastic or vinyl one, check for mold or mildew. Replace the curtain or clean with bleach if necessary.
- Medicine Cabinets – Remember that moisturizer you bought 5 years ago? It’s in your medicine cabinet and is begging to go into the trash. Go through old products and dispose of them. Many people don’t realize that lotions, make-ups, and even eye drops have shelf lives. Heed to them and clean that space out!
Spring Cleaning The Bedroom
Spring is the perfect time to switch out heavy winter bedding for lighter options. Launder all linens, including curtains, pillowcases, and bedspreads. Consider flipping or rotating your mattress for even wear.
- Comforters –Wash your top layer comforters out every season, but more often if you have pets that are enjoying them daily. You might not use the comforter as much in the seasons to come, but make it part of your spring cleaning checklist anyway for a fresh comforter the next time you do need it!
- Pillows – Give your pillows a wash. You might have to visit your local dry cleaners to handle those big ones or pillows that are specially embroidered.
Spring Cleaning The Children’s Rooms
Begin your spring cleaning journey by decluttering. Tackle one room at a time, sorting items into categories like keep, donate, or discard. A clutter-free space not only looks cleaner but also creates a more open and inviting atmosphere.
- Toys and Toy Boxes – We will often forget about these items since they are not totally in our realm. Depending on how much the toys are used and how often you clean them, use mild to disinfecting cleaner. Give the toy boxes along with the toys a nice scrub and let air dry.
- Stuffed Animals and Toys – You can just throw these in the washer on the delicate cycle and then air dry. Pay special attention to materials that are spot wash only.
- Clear Away Clutter – This is a good time to go through old toys, books, crafts, etc. and decide what to keep, give away, or dispose of. Children often don’t have a knack for how to handle stuff. It will just stay wherever it does until the parents decide what to do with it.
Cleaning The Living Room
The living room can be a catch all for the house- toys, blankets, puzzles, games etc… Since a lot of time is usually spent together in the living room, it’s a good place to declutter, re-organize and think about getting those chairs and couches cleaned.
- Throw Pillows – Just like with the bedroom pillows, you should be able to launder these. Follow care instructions on tags.
- Upholstery – Get your upholstered furniture deep cleaned. This item is forgotten a lot of the time, but is very important as we sit on them day in and day out. If you are looking for a company to use, Olmec Reflections does upholstery!
General Spring Cleaning Checklist Tips
- Dust and Wipe Surfaces– Dust tends to accumulate during the winter months, so give your home a good dusting. Wipe down surfaces, including shelves, tabletops, and baseboards. Don’t forget commonly overlooked areas like light fixtures and ceiling fans.
- Walls and Baseboards – Run a wet rag over the baseboards to grab all the settled dust. Use a light cleaner if necessary. Clean the walls with mild cleaner or a more heavy duty in frequently used or soiled areas. Be aware of cleaning on flat finished paint as opposed to satin finishes. They might be less forgiving even for water exposure.
- Curtains – Wash your curtains per instructions and then simply hang them back up where they where for an easy air dry.
- Windows – Washing your windows might not seem like an enormous job, but when you get into it you will realize it actually is. Don’t forget the outer sides! Recruit the entire family for this chore! It’s a spring cleaning task that is not so bad since you get to open windows and enjoy the warmer air flow!
- Garages & Basements – Even if we spend little time in these spaces or care about the dirt on our basement floor, cleaning them up will pay off. When you are forced to do it, whether it be selling the house or renovating, you won’t have to deal with such a built-up mess. You’ll actually appreciate these areas more too.
… and last, but certainly not least for your spring cleaning checklist…
- Floor Cleaning/Restoration – At least once a year have your favorite floor cleaner give all your floors a deep clean. There are allergens, germs, stains hidden in the padding, scratches in the hardwood, wax build-up, etc. that will need addressed eventually. Why not tackle it now?!
The spring cleaning checklist can be a huge task, but don’t fret!
Take it a few days at a time. Do a couple of things each day. Get the family involved. The trouble is worth the reward of enjoying your fresh clean home!
Are you looking for a floor restoration specialist? Olmec Reflections is amazing at revitalizing your carpets, hardwood, epoxy, tile and grout, and more! We’ll have it germ-free and looking like the day it was installed. Book today! Check us out on Facebook and LinkedIn for specials, updates, and more!