How to Speed Deep Clean Your Home This Spring!
Once a year I manage to rally my family and we take 3 hours to deep clean our house. Yes, even my teens get in on it, without being paid and because they live here. Because we all have to suffer equally, because I have a set time that we all work until and because it happens every year, they have learned to not complain. Too much anyway. Here are my top 10 things we tackle once a year:
Windows and Screens
Remove all screens and while one person cleans the windows, another sprays down the dust off the screens and dries them with a towel. It’s amazing how much better we see out the windows!
Refrigerator and Freezer
Completely empty both, then wash the drawers and shelves in warm, sudsy water and wipe down all surfaces. Unrecognizable food gets thrown away and so does any expired or seldom used condiments. Coated wire bins corral all of our jars and condiments on the shelf.
Baseboards
All baseboards get dusted (even behind furniture) and wiped down with a Magic Eraser.
Doors and Trim
All doors and trim in high traffic areas get scrubbed with a Magic Eraser. Its amazing how scuffed they get - especially in our mudroom.
Kitchen Cabinets
How do cabinet fronts get so grimy? Again, a Magic Eraser comes in handy to cut through the grease and accumulated dust.
Junk Drawer
Clean it out, throw it out, how many pens do we need anyway?
Dishwasher
We throughly clean out the drain and wipe down all the interior surfaces, especially along the seal.
Oven, Stovetop, and Microwave
These get cleaned more often than once a year but invariably they need it by the time our deep clean day rolls around.
Garage
Sweep out the garage. After a Midwest winter, we usually have a ton of sand and grime in the garage. We put away all the snow shovels, sleds, and winter gear.
Front Porch
We pull anything lingering in the flower boxes, sweep off the porch, set up the outdoor furniture, pullout the cushions from storage, and wipe down the porch swing to get it all ready for a warm spring day.
