Some of us don’t have the time (or the energy) to thoroughly clean up during the spring cleaning season, but the truth is that a lot of clutter can get built up over the cold winter months, and even if you don’t have the time to turn your house upside down this spring, you can do a lot of good by simply concentrating on a couple of problem areas. Here are a few suggestions that I consider to be must-dos for everyone’s spring cleaning to-do list:
Pantry/fridge – Empty your fridge/pantry. Go through all your food, throw out items that are out of date & any items that you know will never be eaten. Wipe down shelves, drawers, and other food storage areas. Then restock and organize.
Medicine Cabinet – Clean out your medicine cabinet. De-clutter by getting rid of expired medications. Clean the shelves and any storage compartments. Rearrange your medicine cabinet to make items more accessible and easy to find.
Closet – Clean out your closet. Get rid of clothes that do not fit, or are torn, items you haven’t worn in over a year, and anything else that you know you won’t wear. Arrange your closet so that like items are together. Move winter coats, dresses, and other items to an extra closet if you have one, or store them in totes or “vacuum” storage bags on a shelf or under your bed. I did a post last fall on storing summer clothes for this winter. This can also be applied in the spring: Storing Clothes.
Bathroom – True, you should clean your bathroom on a regular basis anyway, but when was the last time that you cleaned it thorughly? If you do nothing else for spring cleaning, you should give your bathroom a good cleaning. Scrub your sink, shower, tub, and toilet till they shine. Take down your shower curtain and wash it in the washing machine or replace it with a new one if needed. Do the same with bathroom rugs.
These are just a few spring cleaning projects that you can do to improve your home, even if you have very little time on your hands. And if these areas aren’t a problem for you, then find another problem area of your home and tackle it this spring. A little goes a long way.
You know my solution to spring cleaning? Move. So far I’ve cleaned out my clothes drawers, closet, and am currently working on the pantry, fridge and freezer. I’m seeing floor I’ve never seen before!
Good tips! After 6 years of living in this house, I’ve decided we’re going to do a thorough spring cleaning this year. Yes, I’m embarrassed to admit that, but I’m hoping that if I say it ‘out loud,’ it will actually force me to do it!!
One thing I won’t actually have to do is the bathroom. We just renovated it in February and there hasn’t been enough time for it to get cluttered and messy! (Plus, we’ve still got no storage in there. We removed the huge ugly free-standing cupboard that was in there, but haven’t replaced it with anything yet. Makes it pretty easy to keep clean!)