This spring cleaning checklist has helped me in so many ways. It keeps me organized and on track, ticking off all the little details that are overlooked in weekly cleaning. I tend to get the “spring cleaning bug” as soon as the time change hits. I have friends who never feel that bug, and I get it. But there’s something about spring shrugging off all that wintery grayness that puts me in the mood for a fresh start. It’s my way to send winter packing, so to speak.
In the past, I made a mental spring cleaning checklist of the chores I file under spring cleaning. But this year, I made it official with a room-by-room checklist. You can download it here. I consider this to be a sanity saver so I can focus on one area at a time and be efficient. Because let’s be honest, even if you like to clean and organize as much as me, everyone hits the overload wall at some point.
I love this checklist because you can cross off the small tasks and then check off the box for the entire room. That’s handy when your intention is to get the whole room done. Unfortunately, life sometimes interferes with our best intentions, and you have to stop sooner than you wanted. Sigh.
Before I Clean
Before I even start, I assemble everything I need and make a few notes. For me, that includes:
- A caddy of all my cleaning supplies. I love the all-natural products from Grove.
- Buckets, mops, rags
- An empty laundry basket
- A few empty shipping boxes
- Wastebasket
I also make note of things that may need to be replaced, like drawer liners and entry mats. Spring cleaning is also a great time to add some new throw pillows or try a fresh, new shade of paint on your walls. At least for me, it’s important to take note of these things first so I’m ready when it’s spring cleaning “go” time.
As I go room to room, things like washable curtains or gloves that can be packed up until next year will go into the laundry basket. The shipping boxes are where all the donation items will go. Expired items get tossed in the trash unless contents can be emptied and containers recycled. If I come across something that should go in another room or closet, I put it in a pile. When I’m done with the room, those items will go where they should be. If I put things back one at a time instead, I’d soon be caught up in a rabbit hole somewhere else in the house, guaranteed!
Spring Cleaning Checklist Tips
- I do not recommend washing painted walls unless you’re willing to repaint them. A little spot on a wall is one thing to clean, but unless you have a shiny painting surface, a large area of a painted wall will be streaky after it’s clean. And it will therefore drive you nuts. Trust me, Matt sells paint, and he deals with this issue all the time. Wipe your walls with a dry cloth or telescoping dry mop instead if you feel compelled.
- Unless you’re devoting a very large chunk of time to spring cleaning, it’s best to decide what time you’re stopping for the day in advance. It gives you both a goal and a time out.
- Decide what you can reuse, if applicable. For example, my old bathroom hand towels are repurposed as gym towels.
- Get permission to throw out the things that aren’t yours. Just because you don’t think it’s valuable doesn’t mean your husband, son, or daughter will feel the same. If it’s not yours, ask first!
Room By Room Konmari
Spring cleaning is also the perfect time to evaluate the things you have that you don’t use. Before you put it curbside or in the donation stack, ask yourself if you’ll use the items in question if you put them somewhere else instead. Sometimes that’s all it takes.
Other times, though, you need to face reality. Are you really going to listen to all of those CDs you have from the ’90s the same way you did way back then? What about that popcorn maker that’s collecting dust? And those cookbooks you haven’t opened in months, or maybe even years? When I focused on kitchen gadget drawer organization not long ago, I put the tools I hardly use in a separate box and donated duplicate items. I’ve had to get in the hardly used gadget box just a few times, and I have never regretted donating any of the duplicate items. My gadget drawer now only holds the tools I use all the time. And that feels fantastic! There’s truth in that saying that physical clutter creates mental clutter, too.
Alright, time to start checking things off your list! I hope it’s helpful and you enjoy the process. Perhaps you’ll catch the spring cleaning bug, too!
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