Spring cleaning, a daunting task or stress reliever? Well, probably both. What are some benefits to spring cleaning? How can you tackle spring cleaning this year?
I’m sure every family or individual have had plans of spring cleaning in the past, but never actually got around to it. Why is that? Work, family plans, school, sports, etc. Honestly, for some people (me included), cleaning is not always something to look forward to. So, for all of those families or individuals who have been super busy or just don’t look forward to cleaning, I have hopefully found a way to make spring cleaning a little bit easier.
Benefits of Spring cleaning
Before we go into how to make spring cleaning easier, let’s talk about why spring cleaning is important and how spring cleaning can help us physically, emotionally, and mentally.
1. Strengthens your Immune system.
Spring cleaning removes dust, mold, and other things from your home. As a result this will help you breath better and help your immune system. “Dust, mold, mildew, pet dander, and other things like this can be immune system triggers for people prone to allergies. When your house isn’t clean, it can gather pollutants — especially during the winter months,” Dr. Adrian Cotton.
2. Decreasing Stress and Depression
Scientists have proven that having a messy and cluttered home can lead to more stress and depression, especially in the winter months. With spring around the corner, and the sun is out more and it is the perfect time to clean! “When we clear clutter, it has the potential to clear our mental space and attention span,” said by Tricia Wolanin.
3. Avoiding Illness
Think about the common things people touch in your home. Faucets, ovens, stoves, door knobs, light switches, etc. Lots of germs spreading from one surface to the other. Spring cleaning can reduce the number of harmful germs in your home. “Keeping surfaces and sinks and items such as cutting boards clean can improve food safety, which helps minimize foodborne symptoms or illness.”
4. Healthy eating and Physical activity
Studies have shown that those people who keep their home clean, have a higher rate of eating healthier and staying active. “When we clear out in the physical realm, it can inspire to begin to cut out what no longer serves us, such as unhealthy relationships, or our relationship to food, technology, or other substances,” Wolanin said.
Spring Cleaning Tips
Who is ready to start cleaning? Here are some easy tips and tricks to help you get spring cleaning done, and to make you feel better faster!
1. Make A Schedule
Walk throughout your home and figure out what rooms need most attention, and what parts of the rooms have been skipped while doing a routine cleaning. These are some of the rooms to put at your top priority. Also, write down specific days and times of when to tackle each room individually.
Need some help? We have created a Spring cleaning Checklist for you! You can use this list as a guide.
2. Declutter
You’re probably wondering why this is 2nd on the list of cleaning your whole home. Well, decluttering and organizing drawers, shelves, and small spaces is something that is easy and effective to start cleaning the rest of your home. As your decluttering, don’t forget to dust too!
3. Work from Top to Bottom
Cleaning from the top of the room to the bottom is an effective way to ensure that everything is clean, and you’re not having to clean the same thing over and over again. Start at the ceiling. Dust away any cobwebs and dust-mites stuck in corners, light fixtures, and ceiling fans. Go down from there.
4. Don’t miss the Walls and Windows
When we think of dusting, we think of dust flying around and landing on light fixtures, tables, floors, etc. When a lot of the time, dust lands on your walls and windows. After dusting the ceilings, dampen a cloth and wipe down the walls and baseboards. This will ensure that all of the dust is off your walls. For windows, I would suggest using a small amount of Widex or glass cleaner to wipe away dust and excess dirt.
5. Floors
After cleaning the walls and windows, next are the floors! Make sure all floors have been vacuumed, swept and mopped (depending on the floors). If you cleaned from top to bottom, vacuuming and sweeping the floors can ensure that the dust and dirt are gone! For a little bit atleast.
6. Don’t forget the Kitchen and Bathrooms
For me, having the kitchen and the bathrooms clean is a huge relief, it’s just getting it done that can be the difficult part.
When cleaning the kitchen, don’t forget to declutter all of the drawers, refrigerator and pantry. Make sure all appliances are cleaned out as well.
With the bathroom, don’t forget to change your shower curtain, and clean all faucets and fixtures.
7. Make Changes
Spring cleaning is the perfect time to change the mood of your home. From a darker tone during winter, you can change your home to welcome in spring! What a more perfect time to convince your spouse to buy new furniture!
Spring Cleaning Checklist!
Need some help with where to start? Download and print this Spring Cleaning Checklist!
Enjoy!