Spring has arrived. You’ve got more daylight to enjoy, and you feel more energetic because of it. This is a traditional time to clean your house because both the interior and exterior have gotten a little cluttered and neglected during winter. Spring cleaning is meant to open up your house, let fresh air in, and get everything looking good so that you can enjoy the summer.
Put Away Winter Gear
To get warmed up for spring cleaning, you can start with the easy stuff. Your coat racks and entryways are probably crowded with coats, hats, gloves, and boots. Put these bulky items away in storage closets until next season. If you have young, growing children, give away the winter coats and boots that don’t fit them anymore.
Fix Screens
On a warm day when your local pollen count isn’t too high, open your windows. While you’re airing out your house, inspect your window screens. Fix any tears or holes that you find so that mosquitoes and other bugs can’t get inside during warm weather.
You should also check your screens during fall maintenance. Storms and birds can damage them throughout the summer.
Clean Closets
Spring cleaning is an appropriate time to go through whatever has been forgotten in your closets. Remove worn-out clothes and shoes. You’re likely to encounter broken things and old toys that got shoved away thoughtlessly or replaced during the holidays. You don’t need to hang onto this clutter.
Clean Floors
This job is more labor intensive, but clean floors freshen up a house faster than anything. Vacuum your hard-surface floors and then mop them. Rent or buy a carpet shampooer and give those carpets a deep clean. Even if they look good, you’ll be distressed to see how much soil comes out of them.
Clean The Oven
You may have spent much of the winter baking goodies and casseroles. Preparing those cozy meals has likely left some grime behind on the bottom of the oven. Apply oven cleaner and let it set while you’re working on the floors. Turn on a ventilation fan while the oven cleaner does its work.
Clean The Gutters
You don’t want your gutters clogging up if you expect heavy spring and summer rains to arrive. Even if you cleaned them in fall, dead leaves probably still accumulated in them over the winter. Scoop out heavy amounts of debris with a trowel and then spray out the gutters with a hose.
Wash Walkways, Decks, And Siding
If you have a household pressure washer, use it to strip grime off your walkways, decks, and siding. You don’t need a commercial-grade pressure washer to remove most dirt. In fact, you don’t want to use a high setting on your siding or wooden decks.
Clean Patio Furniture
Uncover your patio furniture and wipe it down with soapy water. Dust and spider webs probably built up on the chairs or tables since you put them away in the fall. If your cushions have faded or frayed, this is a good time of year to shop for new ones.
Tune-Up The Air Conditioner
Rake leaves away from the outdoor unit of the air conditioner. Spray off the housing and fan blades with a hose. This removes dirt that reduces the air conditioner’s efficiency. Schedule a tune-up with your local heating and cooling company. The technician will lubricate moving parts, clean the evaporator coil, and check for refrigerant leaks. A tune-up now will protect you from an AC breakdown during a heat wave.
Spring naturally brings a sense of excitement to everyone in the home. A good spring cleaning makes your home feel new and exciting after a long, dark winter. If you can afford to splurge, you could outsource some of the harder work, like carpet shampooing or pressure washing.
