Spring cleaning is a tradition that allows us to freshen up our homes and get a head start on the often hectic seasons of spring and summer. The easiest way to start is to take it room by room or appliance by appliance. One of the biggest parts of spring cleaning is often getting rid of clutter. A systematic four-step approach can be helpful for this: Identify problem areas, analyze reasons for the clutter, determine solutions, and implement them.
Here are some tips:
- Keep crumbs out of hard-to-reach places. Use the crevice tool on your vacuum to reach into tight spaces and clean those spots thoroughly, then place a stove gap cover between the counter and stove to cut down on debris that falls out of view.
- Freshening white sneakers by using a simple DIY mixture of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and warm water until it forms a thin paste. Use an old toothbrush to gently scrub the shoes, then rinse well with a damp cloth and allow it to air-dry away from the sun.
- Organizing the fridge by removing packaging from multipacks of drinks and single-serve yogurts, using roll-out refrigerator bins to keep small items together and rotating older food items to the front before adding new groceries can help reduce food waste. Keeping storage spaces organized by organizing all your items into three piles: keep, donate and toss can also be helpful.
- Make spring cleaning a household endeavor by assigning age-appropriate chores so everyone feels included. Try throwing on some music as you all clean or establishing a household reward as an incentive to get the work done.
- Finally, establish new cleaning habits such as not trying to do all of your spring cleaning in one day or even one weekend. Instead, space out your spring cleaning list over a couple of weeks so it might not seem like such an overwhelming task.
For more tips check out the article by Caroline Picard and Amanda Garrity at goodhousekeeping.com
