I’m one of the few people out there who actually enjoys cleaning. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy cleaning, but my house isn’t spotless or even always clean. And with kids and pets, it goes without saying that cleaning usually isn’t high up on my priority list.
But since spring is here, it’s time for “Spring Cleaning†– that detailed cleaning we only make time to do once a year. I thought I’d share some tips for making your efforts more time efficient while making the job easier, or at least bearable.
1. Write Down Your Plan
Where is the biggest mess? Where are the areas you want to tackle? If you don’t detail out what you want to make sure gets cleaned, here’s exactly what will happen: you will start in the kitchen; then you’ll walk into the living room to get something and see something else that needs to be cleaned. You’ll clean up that mess and go to get something from the bedroom, and next thing you know you are doing laundry.
In order to avoid cleaning chaos, make sure to list out all of the things you don’t want to forget to do, or the specific rooms/areas you want to tackle. Get everything you will need to clean and go one room at a time, cleaning entirely. If you try to do a little here, there and everywhere you won’t get anything accomplished.
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2. Make Sure You Have What You Need to Get the Job Done
So, now you have your plan. You are ready to clean! You start gathering up everything you need only to realize you don’t have and all-purpose cleaner. I make my own (more on that next week!), but if you don’t, you’ve either just earned yourself a trip to the grocery store or you will decide you just can’t clean today.
So get the vacuum ready, make sure you’ve got the necessary cleaning products, make sure you’ve got your Scott Naturals Towels, and anything else you need to get cleaning! After all, SCOTT Naturals™ is a small and easy step to help make every day a little greener.
3. Get Rid of Stuff As You Go
Clutter. It happens to the best of us. That book you bought a year ago that you plan to read in your “free time†or those magazines from 1992 that are collecting dust. Your kids’ shoes from last summer that you couldn’t find and he’s now outgrown. You don’t need that stuff!
And clutter makes everyday cleaning that much harder to keep up with. Get rid of it; you don’t need it.
Donate it, trash what can’t be donated, or have a garage sale. Use the profits from your garage sale to do something special with the family. You’ll feel better for doing it!
4. Clean Top to Bottom
Think about it: if you start at the top of a room and work down, you only have to dust and vacuum once. If you vacuum and then dust and then decide to clean the ceiling fans, you are just going to make your job harder.
Start up top by dusting ceiling fans, hanging photos and light fixtures. Use your vacuum cleaner attachments to make it even easier. Don’t forget to get those cobwebs out of the corners and give your crown moldings some TLC as well. Next do the walls, over the furniture and dustable surfaces, and end with the baseboards and floors. Always vacuum floors last.
Pretty easy, right? I think the hardest part of cleaning is finding the time to do it. But once you get in the groove, you’ll be done in no time!
Breaking a big job into smaller steps is the key to making life easier. I’d love to hear your best spring cleaning tip…what shortcuts do you take to make the job easier?
I mentioned Scott Naturals products and that they help make Spring Cleaning easier - start your SCOTT Naturalsâ„¢ Test Drive at ScottBrand.com. You can even pledge to switch to SCOTT Naturalsâ„¢ for four weeks. The state with the greatest participation rate will receive a $50,000 donation to be applied to local conservation efforts; just another easy way one small step can lead to a big change. Just think – if everyone tried SCOTT Naturalsâ„¢ for just four weeks, we’d save over 2 million trees!
This post is sponsored by Scott Naturals brand which has provided product samples and compensation.
Photo Source: Chiot’s Run
