The Ultimate Spring-Cleaning Checklist

With spring’s delightful visit only a few weeks away, many may be preparing for their annual cleaning routine. To help with this project, we’ve put together the ultimate spring cleaning plan for you. We’ve broken it down by room to make it easier to digest (and to tackle).

Kitchen

With all the cooking and eating that goes on in the kitchen, this room can become dirty pretty fast. Here is a checklist of kitchen tasks:

• Clean out the interior and exterior of your cupboards and drawers. You’d be surprised at all the crumbs, dust, and grime that accumulate here. Complete one cupboard at a time, wiping off anything that’s dirty, and then wiping the interior. When you replace the contents, rearrange things as necessary.
• Spot clean the walls. If you want to clean your entire walls, that’s fine. However, cleaning where you see dirt is probably all you need to do.
• Move your refrigerator out and clean behind, on top, and under it. Also, take a small hand-held vac and remove the dust from the back of the refrigerator.
• Clean the inside of the refrigerator and freezer.
• Clean the interior and exterior of your dishwasher including the dishwasher filter, which collects soap scum and food particles.
• Wipe down baseboards and light switches.
• Remove window treatments and wash. If curtains are too difficult to handle, you can vacuum and steam clean them with handheld gadgets.

 Bathroom

The bathroom is a place you want to sanitize regularly. For annual cleaning:

• Clean the walls of the tub and/or shower. If you have ceramic tile be sure to regularly clean the grout. According to Today, you can seal the grout annually.
• Clean the showerhead using white distilled vinegar to remove water minerals.
• Use a toothbrush and to clean the area at the top and bottom of your shower door. Mold can easily collect in the grooves.
• Wipe down all baseboards and clean the floor by hand making sure to get in all the tight corners.
•  Follow the same procedure used in the kitchen for your cupboards and drawers.

Living Room/Family Room

This is the room in which people spend a good deal of time.  This means there is a lot of foot traffic.

• Vacuum furniture upholstery.
• Move furniture to vacuum underneath of it.
• Clean carpeting and upholstery with a rug cleaner.
• Dust in the corners using a handheld duster.
• Clean light fixtures, lamps, and blades of ceiling fan.
• Wipe down all outlets and baseboards.
• Clean curtains and/or blinds.
• Clean all artificial plants with special plant cleaner.
• Dust all furniture thoroughly, including wall hangings.

Bedrooms

Tasks for this room are as follows:

• Vacuum under the bed.
• Clean carpeting.
• Vacuum mattress with a handheld vacuum.
• Sweep and mop walk-in closets if applicable.
• Clean out and organize drawers and closets, removing items no longer in use.
• Wipe down baseboard and outlets.
• Dust all furniture thoroughly, including wall hangings.

Once you’ve done your spring cleaning, you can look forward to enjoying your summer with a sparkling clean home.