Things you need to clean after the first day of spring

Guess what’s coming up on the road ahead?  The first day of spring!  Soon we can open the windows to let fresh air in and stale air out.

I suppose the thought of opening my windows and breathing fresh, warm air makes me want to think spring cleaning.

I may be jumping the gun a little, but it’s never too early to plan your spring cleaning tasks.

So, let’s get a cup of coffee, pen and a pad of paper and make that spring cleaning to-do list.

Create a plan for those big tasks

Let’s think about what we should focus on cleaning after winter.

We can always vacuum, mop and dust but the things we’re focusing on for this list are those more significant items that we often want to ignore and say, “I’ll do that later.”

With a plan in place, we can tackle these big items one bit at a time.

Top 10 things to clean after the first day of spring

Here are a quick list and infographic of my top 10 things to clean after the first day of spring.  You’ll be surprised to see that not all the things in my top 10 list are window related!

1. Drapes or Curtains
2. Blinds, shutters, and shades
3. Windows – inside and out
4. Mattresses
5. Closets
6. Carpets
7. Kitchen cabinets
8. Light fixtures
9. Door Tracks
10. Window sills and tracks

I won’t go into too much detail on these cleaning to-dos.

Draperies and Curtains

To clean drapes and curtains, I recommend that you gently vacuum them with a soft brush head.  If you have pets that like to hang out near your window treatments, use a lint remover roller to remove pet hair.

Only wash them if they are pre-made and have a care tag that states you can do so.  Custom fabrics can easily be destroyed or can shrink in the washer and dryer.

In general, draperies should be cleaned professionally every two years. Please have them professionally dry cleaned or contact us for either cleaning either on-site or off-site.

Blinds, shutters, and shades

Regular dusting of these window treatments with a microfiber cloth helps in the long-run.  It’s surprising how much dust can accumulate on these items!

Also, blinds, shutters, and shades can be vacuumed gently using a soft brush head and a vertical stroke.

Be careful with any fabric shade.  It’s best to have shades professionally cleaned every two years or contact us for either cleaning either on-site or off-site.

Windows

You’ll want to clean your windows inside and out.

You’ll get the best results using a bucket of warm water, Dawn dishwashing liquid, and a squeegee.  The squeegee should have one side made of a soft scrubber and the other side made of rubber to wipe away the dirt and water.  Wipe off the rubber side after each stroke with a lint-free rag.

If you’re dreading cleaning the windows, just be thankful you don’t have to clean these windows!

If you have a lot of windows or hard to reach windows, you can also call local window washing companies who will come out and make your windows sparkle from top to bottom.

Mattresses

Vacuum your mattresses using a specialized attachment. Don’t forget to flip them over and rotate.

Kitchen cabinets

Wipe down your kitchen cabinets.  You never realize how much gunk, grease, and grime has accumulated on your kitchen cabinets until you get up close and personal with them.  Keeping up with kitchen grease is essential.

Don’t wait until it’s time to sell your home to scrub off years of accumulated gunk.

Closets

Before you kiss your heavy winter coats, boots, scarfs, hats, and gloves goodbye be sure to wash or dry-clean them before storing.

Also, as you’re going through your closets, donate old clothing that you did not wear in the fall or winter. What are the chances you’ll wear them next fall or winter?

Carpets

It’s important to have your carpets professionally cleaned every year. Yes, get those carpets deep cleaned.

Don’t let the debris brought in from all of those holiday guests sit too long on your carpet. It just breaks down the fibers and makes carpets look old and dingy.

Light fixtures

Give your light fixtures a thorough cleaning. Use a good cleaning solution to clean the lamps, ceiling lights, ceiling fans and chandeliers.

Door tracks

Clean the tracks on all outside leading doors and sliding glass doors.

In the winter, we have a lot more dirt and salt that we track in on our boots. Usually, debris lands right on our doorstep.

Gather up a scrub brush, good cleaning product and some of your elbow grease for the job. Scrub the track with a dry scrub brush to loosen any debris.

Vacuum out the door track before applying the cleaning product and water. Wipe down and repeat as needed.

Window sills and tracks

Even if you never open your windows in the winter, you’ll find that dirt, dust and dead insects have somehow found a way inside your home! How do those bugs get inside the window?

Use the same tips as I mentioned above for cleaning your door tracks.  You may need some smaller tools such as a toothbrush to scrape away accumulated dirt.

Spring into self-care

Cleaning and clearing clutter has a beautiful, emotional effect on us.  It is an act of self-care.

Not only does our home become pleasing and comfortable but our minds are also open to new and better possibilities.

Clearing out clutter physically and mentally allows us to feel in control of ourselves and our family’s future potential.

As we approach the first day of spring, let’s use this time of new beginnings not only for our homes but our physical and mental health.