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It is never too early to plan for spring cleaning. During the winter, people tend to stay inside, lock themselves away in front of the TV with a cup of hot chocolate. I, as much as everyone, love to keep warm and watch the snowfall outside my window. However, after the winter, when the weather starts to warm up, you may well need to give your home a refresh.

In this article, we are going to look at the key focus points of spring cleaning, how to do it, and also some of the most commonly asked questions.

Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning is how it sounds. It is the process of thoroughly cleaning the home in the springtime. There are suggestions that the tradition originated back to the ancient Jewish practice of cleaning in anticipation of the Passover festival.

If it is not something that you are used to doing, then it may seem like a daunting task. However, here at Novanna Cleaning, we aim to help you through it, when the time comes, of course. First of all, we will look at how to tackle spring cleaning for the best results.

Planning

Planning your spring cleaning schedule is the key to ensuring that you get optimal results from your deep clean. The best way to do that is to make lists for each room. One of the most significant advantages of starting the process in the winter is that you get to create comprehensive lists for each room as you think of them.

Here you have a couple of options that may help you make a list:

• A piece of paper in each room to make notes for that room. 
• Keep a notepad in a shared room, such as the kitchen.
• Or a note-taking app for your phone.

Whichever way you choose to make notes, try to do it as you go. You are a lot less likely to forget something if you write it down on your list when you see it than if you try to remember them all. After the winter has passed, you should have a comprehensive list of chores to complete.

De-Clutter

When the time for the spring cleaning comes, you will want to start with de-cluttering. The winters are notorious for being a time for collecting things, whether it is Christmas decorations or other gathered winter collections.

Here I will give you a detailed guide to get your house rid of the clutter.

Hopefully, you have already identified the messiest places in your home in the planning section. However, if you did not get time to read this article in the winter, then it is now time to make that list. The difference now is, you have to do it a little bit quicker.

• Get a notepad and make a note of the most cluttered areas in your home.
• Note the probable reasons why.
• Think of solutions.
• Pick the best solution.
• Implement the solution. 

Making a little list like that makes it seem so simple to de-clutter your home. However, we all know it is not that easy. If spring cleaning were easy, everyone would do it more than once a year! Now, let’s have a look at each section in a bit more detail.

Identify Problem Areas

Do not spend too long on this step. Walk around each room and take notes of the worst areas. They are often the places that your family struggle to keep tidy, such as junk drawers, shoe racks, and storage cupboards.

Do the same for every room in the house. At the end of this step, you will have a comprehensive list of issues you want to tackle.

Probable Reasons

Now that you have a list of areas that you have identified, you need to think about the reasons why they are an issue. For example, are the junk drawers somewhere that you put things that you think you may want one day? Or does everyone throw their shoes on the shoe rack with no consideration?

Whatever the reasons that you think of, write them down under the room and problem area.

Think Of Spring Cleaning Solutions

Spring cleaning wouldn’t be the same without some changes to the clutter. Therefore, you have to start to think of ways you can remove the reasons for the clutter. That may be something simple like buying a more significant shoe rack, or it may be something more comprehensive such as emptying the cupboard under the stairs to place a built-in shoe rack.

Try to make a few options for you to choose from in the next step. You may want to do all of the steps for one room and then move on. Alternatively, you may choose to do one step for all rooms, then move onto the next step.

Whichever way you choose, try to think of a few solutions so that you have the choice when it comes to the time.

Implementation

Of course, the hardest part of any de-clutter during a spring clean is the implementation of the plan. However, it is also the most rewarding. The first thing that you need to do, though, is to remove the clutter as part of the plan. If you have not used something in a certain amount of time, say six months, then you are unlikely to need it. Unless it is for a once a year event, etc.

After the removal of your unwanted and unused items, you can start to implement the new plan of where to put the things. (Shoes in a new, large shoe rack under the stairs.)

Maintenance of those plans can also be challenging; however, only at first. Habits take time to break and reform into new ones. For that period, perhaps introduce reward plans for sticking to the new routine.

 Post-Declutter Spring Cleaning

Now that you have taken all of your clutter to charity shops or chucked it, it is time for the house clean. Get your list out from the planning stage of this section, and tackle one room at a time.

Here are some steps that you can take for almost every room in the home:

• Tidy Up. – Although you have done your spring cleaning declutter, you want to spend a bit of time just making sure that you have a tidy canvas in each room. Put items where they should be.
• Dust from top to bottom. – Make sure that you get into the corners of the wall and ceiling, light fittings and ceiling fans, etc. Use a vacuum cleaner with a long hose and narrow nozzle to ensure you do not knock dust everywhere and on you!
• Clean all wall hangings. – If you have photos, arts, or canvasses on the walls, dust and clean them after the ceiling corners. Be careful which products you use on them, and do not spray cleaner directly onto glass frames as the detergent can get behind it and ruin the picture.
• Dust and clean accessories. – Remember to remove them from the shelves or tables to ensure that you clean them properly. Use a soft toothbrush to get into intricate decorations.
• Clean furniture. – Furniture will differentiate from room to room. However, the basis is the same. Now is the point of cleaning the furniture, whether it is a sofa or a cooker. Look out on our blog page for articles about individual furniture cleaning tips.
• Clean flooring. – Only clean the floor once you have completed everything else. The last thing you want to do is clean the floor and then get dust on it from the doorframes, etc.

Conclusion

Now that you have the beautiful, tidy house that you have wanted through the winter, you need to keep it. Making a home cleaning schedule is a great way to do that. Also, remember the reward system that we spoke about at the beginning, you can use that to keep the house looking the way that you intended it. One other thing that you have to keep in mind; however is that your mindset will need to change to keep it that way.

Having a spring clean is a beautiful feeling. However, it is not always possible to manage it yourself. If you can get someone to help you clean, great, if not, we run one of, if not the best, house, apartment, and office cleaning services in Brooklyn, New York.

If you would like some help with your spring cleaning in New York, contact us.