When I first started living on my own, I thought spring cleaning had to be this huge, daunting group of tasks. But now, after having been a homeowner for over 10 years, it’s easier to see that seasonal cleaning is just expand upon the cleaning and maintainence of your home that you should already be doing.It’s important to take semi-regular opportunities to do a deeper clean on areas that are harder to get to, take more time or otherwise just need it because this allows you to look for things in disrepair or that need attention that you don’t typically think about. But because you don’t typically think about this deeper clean, it’s easy to get overwhelmed when the time comes, so I’ve compiled a list of three tips to to help simplify and make your spring cleaning routine a breeze!

First, break your home down into smaller categories, or zones, as opposed to trying to tackle the whole house at once. Then, give yourself a reasonable time frame to accomplish your spring cleaning goals. For me, as a stay at home mom, I try to to tackle the whole house over the course of a month. But for folks that work outside the home in addition to managing the household, it may be more attainable to give yourself the whole season to get through spring cleaning. Whatever time frame works for you is fine! But giving yourself a (loose and reasonable) goal helps to create a feeling of ‘I won’t be spring cleaning forever’. Once your time frame is established decide if you would work better room by room or task by task. Personally, I give myself a room per week (or group of rooms – I do bedrooms all in the same week but each are done individually). By doing this I can do a thorough clean and purge – first I’ll tidy up surfaces, dust (ceiling fan, baseboards and door too!), windows & mirrors, strip the bed to wash sheets, rearrange furniture (so that I can clean under furniture), vacuum, mop, and then I begin opening drawers and the closet and decluttering (either throwing away, donating or rehoming – if something is simply out of place).

Second, once you have a game plan (I’m visual so I find it helpful to have it written), be sure to have a box strictly for donations. With a toddler on the loose, I find it helpful to have this box somewhere out of eyesight and reach of said toddler. This is not to say this because I’m mean and plan to get rid of all of his stuff, but in our case his imagination is incredible. He can see that I’m getting rid of so much as a toilet paper roll without wanting to save it to be used as a tunnel for a racecar or a shirt I no longer wear for he’ll think it will make the perfect super hero cape. This is a time to be ruthless with your decluttering. As you’re removing items to prepare for deep cleaning, if you notice an item is expired or something you no longer wear /use, take the opportunity to toss it appropriately whether that means throwing it away or donating it.

Third, check your batteries, light bulbs, and filters. I am horrible at staying on top of batteries and light bulbs so I have this on my list to check on. I try and buy things like frequently used batteries (like AA and AAA) and light bulbs in bulk from Sam’s so that when they do run out I have them on hand or when I’m inventorying the house during seasonal cleaning, I replace as many as I need to. As far as filters, this is a time that I check the vacuum filters, range hood filter, check inventory of air filters (I change these monthly and like to buy them in bulk), and also vacuum my floor vents and the bathroom fan.

Lastly, not a tip,more of encouragement. Give yourself grace. Don’t stress the small stuff. Don’t have time to spring clean? – again, give grace and pick up the spring cleaning when and where you can. It doesn’t have to be done in spring, just whenever works for you. What are some things you do to deep clean that make you feel better and your space feel refreshed?