Ultimate Spring Cleaning!

After a long, cold winter, it’s time to deep clean the home in preparation for the new beginnings that springtime brings. When you take the time to go beyond your regular cleaning schedule, you’ll begin to feel better about your tidy and welcoming home. To get started, we’ve crafted a list to help you clean your home by offering up a room-by-room checklist. All you need to do is schedule the time, grab cleaning supplies, and pick a room! Then, get ready to kick the dust-up in our in-depth cleaning tips and tricks.

How often should I deep clean?

When you’re asking yourself this question, think about your personal life. What time do you have available? Who can help? There are so many different ways to tackle spring cleaning, but it’s ultimately up to you to get the job done.

Keep in mind! Spring is a beautiful time to clean, organize, declutter, but the actual cleaning portion should happen more frequently than once a year. Consider cleaning seasonally or choosing a room or space to tackle every three months for the weekend. You might want to choose one room per month (suggest kitchen in July and Bedrooms in June) or chip away weekly with 1-2 tasks per week.

Be aware that the more people who share your home, the more time you’ll need to put into cleaning. If you live with other people, consider breaking up the tasks.

If your roommates happen to be your children, consider this an excellent opportunity to teach them something new! They will be moving out one day and will need to learn how to clean their own homes anyways.

What do I need to deep clean?

There’s no need to buy all the fancy products from Target – chemicals are not great anyways. Everyday products like dish soap, baking soda, white vinegar, microfiber cleaning cloths, and a scrub brush are easy to find and useful.

Stock your cleaning caddy or cabinet with these times:

• Plastic bucket
• Detail brush
• Cleaning cloths (paper towels, dish towels, or rags)
• Old toothbrush
• Mop or steamer
• Broom or vacuum (for hard floor setting)
• Glass cleaner
• Rubber gloves
• An all-purpose cleaner (or homemade)
• Baking soda
• White vinegar
• Squeegee
• Spray bottle

Bathroom

Scrubbing the bathroom should begin with the bathtub, fixtures, and grout.

We recommend using soap and water to clean most of these items, but it’s just not cutting the trick. You can make a paste with baking soda and water. Once you’ve made this mixture, scrub with a detailing brush around fixtures and other hard-to-reach areas. Finish up with a microfiber cloth to help it shine.

A trick to cleaning your shower head is to let it soak overnight in vinegar and water. You can do so by filling a bag with the cleaning solution and tightening it around the showerhead. You can use this same technique to get the grout clean.

Pay close attention to the shower tile. With a little elbow grease, it can look like new. 

Shower curtains

Most shower curtains can be washed in a delicate cycle in your washing machine, but make sure to check the packaging before doing so. We don’t want a bigger mess on our hands, do we? If your shower curtain is gross and not able to be washed, consider repurposing it as a painting cloth drop. You can easily tape it up with painter’s tape on your next project.

If you have a fabric curtain, wash and dry according to the instructions on the packaging. You might be able to Google the directions if you remember the name brand. If you’re feeling wild, go ahead and call the manufacturer for instructions.

Kitchen

Fridge, Cabinets, and furniture

Oh my! It would help if you started your cleaning adventure in the kitchen by cleaning out all food items and unplugging your fridge before tackling this massive task. Once all your food is out and the device is unplugged, go ahead and use dish soap and a rag to get the sticky-icky out! It isn’t odd to use dish soap because it’s a degreaser and helps break down the oils and residue left behind. If your fridge is easy to move, push it or pull it out from its spot and clean underneath it. When finished, toss expired food. Are there items that you can dispose of properly? Check the packaging to see if you can recycle via the Hefty Bag program or locally.

Use a microfiber rag to clean cabinet fronts. Consider grabbing the vacuum with a crevice attachment to go deep into your cabinets and drawers. Once all the junk is out, wipe it down with disinfectant.

Chairs, chair legs, and kitchen table legs can be whipped down with a rag and disinfectant spray. Keep in mind the material of your furniture and plan accordingly.

Wash trash bins and recycling cans with warm soapy water and a rag or sponge.

Oven and stove top

There are three convenient ways to clean the oven. The oven’s self-cleaning setting might be the easiest, but make sure your kitchen is well ventilated, remove anything inside the oven (or that fancy little drawer below it), and run the cycle. If your oven doesn’t have this option, you can clean it with a baking soda paste and a scrubber. If you have to, grab a specialty product from Target (but stay focused on your task at hand! It can get wild in there.)

If you have a gas stovetop, you can soak the metal grates in soapy water and clean them with a scrubby before returning them to the stovetop.

Clean the entire thing if your stove has a glass top or stovetop with electric coils.

Microwave and dishwasher

Grab your sponge and all-purpose cleaner to clean the microwave. Remove the tray and toss it in the dishwasher. Whip the exterior with the same sponge and finish it off with a microfiber cloth. So fresh, so clean!

Usually, the dishwasher is the one working overtime, but not this time, baby!

Empty it, whip the inside and out and clean the filter. A good tip is to splash 1 cup of vinegar in it and run the machine on the highest cycle. When finished, let the machine air out by cracking it a bit. If you’re worried about animals climbing in, consider giving them a break at the dog park or putting them in a room for a few hours. Finish off the dishwasher’s exterior with some glass cleaner and microfiber cloth. And honestly, folks: You should be cleaning your dishwasher monthly like this.

Kitchen Sink and Countertops

Pay special attention to areas around your kitchen faucet. It’s where goobers, like leftover Chinese food and chip crumbs, like to hide! When cleaning the countertops, toss everything on to the floor for my big sweep later or more responsibly into the trash, then scrub stuck-on-food spots with soapy water and a scrubber.

Once I’ve got all the stickies off the countertop, disinfect with an all-purpose cleaner. You can use this method for backsplash, faucets, and countertops. It’s essential to use a disinfectant and follow proper instructions for contact times and reasonable dilution practices.

Pro-tip: Consider dropping lemon juice down the garbage disposal and run it with hot water for a fresher smelling kitchen sink.

Bedroom

Tell Marvin Gaye not tonight! It’s time to throw all your linens into the washing machine according to their manufacturer’s instructions. The Sleeping Foundations recommends washing sheets once per week, and we’re cool with that. It’s a good idea to make sure you have a back-up pair of sheets if you don’t have time to wash (or you’re lazy like me and forget to switch the load for 23 years).

Every six months, you should rotate your mattress. If you need to freshen it up, sprinkle some baking soda on it and then let it sit for an hour before vacuuming it up.

Scoot your bed over and vacuum under it. The Lord only knows what dusty creatures have built up under there over time. You might even find a few socks that are missing their mates (and probably 34 cat or dog toys).

Use a polishing or furniture cleaner and a microfiber cloth to whip headboards, dressers, and side tables.

Pillows and comforters can be washed once a year if your washing machine can’t hang (or if it’s not large enough), considering going to a local laundromat.

Living room and common areas

It would help if you vacuumed the upholstery. Lift cushions, grab anything you might have lost, and vacuum underneath them—Spot clean as needed.

Pro-tip: There’s no need to Google what upholster is (like I did when writing this). It’s furniture with soft coverings made with fabric, padding, springs, and wedding. It’s your couch, chair, and loveseat.

Wipe down furniture with a microfiber cloth. Make sure it’s a bit damp to trap excess dust.

Closets

Take everything out and reorganize it. It’s really the only way. While everything is out and about, vacuum the floor and whip down any organizational units. When you put your items back in, don’t pack them tight. Hang them the correct way.

If you need to donate things, make sure you do it responsibly.

Laundry room

When was the last time you washed your washing machine? Wipe down the exteriors with an all-purpose spray and a microfiber cloth. Clean your washing machine interior according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Throughout the home

More often than not, people miss cleaning baseboards and walls. You can use a simple hack I found on YouTube to clean these.

Light fixtures

Dust bunnies LOVE light fixtures. Turn off the light, then use a vacuum attachment to suck those buggers up. You can use a damp microfiber cloth as well.

For ceiling fans, consider the mess you may make when cleaning. Use newspaper sheets or a paint drop cloth (fibers can be washed) to catch any potential dust. Wipe down each blade with an all-purpose cleaner and a damp cloth.

Floors

You should be cleaning, mopping, sweeping, and vacuuming often.

For deep cleaning, focus on pesky hard-to-remove stains and addressing high traffic areas where dirt has built up. Grout tiles may need more time and attention.

However, start with the basics of how you would generally clean hardwood or laminate floors. You can sweep, mop, and let dry. Then, go back in for the tougher stains. It makes things easier.

Carpet set stains may be cleaned with a 1:1 mixture of water, white vinegar, and a few dish soap drops. Blot the spot with a cloth so that you lift it (rather than rubbing it back into the carpet). If you use a specialty cleaner, test it on the spot first because you don’t want it to damage your carpet potentially. We don’t want you to add a new carpet to your list of things to buy. If you’re feeling up for it, consider renting a steam cleaner or borrowing from a friend.

Windows

Let there be LIGHT! It’s a good idea to remove any dirt or dust with a vacuum before spraying a cleaning product. Once you’ve sucked up the dirt, you can roll a towel up and use soapy water and a sponge to clean away the first layer of dirt. Squeegee windows dry, and this towel will catch any excess dirty water. Then use a microfiber cloth and glass cleaner to make the window shine.

Keep in mind! If your windows are wood or metal, you’ll need to care for them a bit differently. Wooden window sills shouldn’t be saturated with cleaning products or aqua. To clean these, use a damp microfiber cloth and spray with a little bit of wood or all-purpose cleaner.