Spring Cleaning Tips & Tricks For Your Suncoast Home

It’s that time of year when many people start to feel the inklings of a new season. Spring cleaning is a great way to organize your home, clean out what is not needed, and bring out lighter decorations for the warmer seasons on the horizon. If you have a million things you would like to organize and spring clean things up but aren’t sure where to start, here are a few ideas.

Start Bad to Better

When spring cleaning, don’t save the best for last. Instead, please start with the area most needs some TLC, be it your living room or bedroom. One suggestion is to identify a chore that will have “a strong visual impact” when completed, such as scouring a shower and cleaning the shower curtain, scrubbing a kitchen floor, or decluttering a closet.  

The “before-and-after” effect may inspire you to take on more projects. “The feeling of satisfaction of restoring that one surface will motivate you to slog through the less glamorous tasks that aren’t as Instagram worthy,” she says. Think: vacuuming the refrigerator coils or cleaning the gutters.

De-clutter as You Clean

Studies show that a disorganized home adds to your stress level. It signals to your brain that work isn’t done. The scientific implications of inhaling dust and the stress of coming back to a cluttered workspace can take a toll. Since we’re all spending more time at home and in our home offices specifically, keeping a neat workspace is more important than ever.

Set aside some time to:

• Dust and organize your office
• Look through that dreaded junk drawer (and desk drawers!)
• Organize your closets

You may be surprised how fresh you feel after eliminating unnecessary stress from your life.

Don’t Rush or Overwhelm

Do you want to do it fast, or do you want to do it right? After you draw up your list of tasks, you might rethink how much time to allot to it. Sure, you can hit the highlights in a weekend, but if you want every square inch truly clean, you’ll need to take more time.

The answer? The classic divide-and-conquer technique. Go back to your list and break down each task into manageable chunks. There’s no rule about how long it should take you to finish your spring cleaning, and it doesn’t have to be finished by the first day of spring. Estimate how long each task will take you and where you can add them to your everyday routine. For example, if you’re in the bathroom wiping down the sink and counter, maybe you can also take the time to clean and organize under the sink, too.

It would help if you also built-in breaks to avoid burnout. Many people are guilty of powering through when in the middle of a task, but sometimes, they can run out of steam before reaching their goal. At the same time, be a little ruthless with yourself — now is not the time to flip through your old yearbooks or reread letters from pen pals.

Stock Items for the Marathon Clean

Before you can get to work, you need to make sure you’re stocked with your must-have cleaning supplies. On the natural front, baking soda, white vinegar, and Castile soap are essentials you can use to make natural cleansers for nearly any spot in the house. A microfiber mop, like Libman’s Wonder Mop, makes easy work of cleaning vinyl, wood, linoleum, laminate, marble, stone, and ceramic tile—we like that the Wonder Mop’s head is machine-washable, making it an eco-friendly alternative to most conventional alternatives. Plant-based sponges and a reusable spray bottle also make most cleaning jobs easier. You’ll also want to stock up on your favorite mild dishwashing detergent and all-purpose cleanser, or else make a batch of your favorite DIY solution.

And just in case a checklist is your thing – here is the ultimate spring cleaning checklist for you to run through – CHECKLIST.

Are feeling energized to take on a small reorganization or maybe a huge sorting, donation, and cleaning spree? Whether you want to freshen up your home with lighter colors for Easter forward, or you need to get through a “storage area” that has been organized in years, the key is one tiny step at a time. Here is to the new season and your spring cleaning endeavors, Suncoast – happy organizing!!

Pictures courtesy of Deposit Photos