Spring Cleaning Checklist
This time of year for the deep cleaning tasks that you don't have time for on a regular basis. One of the main reasons for spring cleaning is to perform routine maintenance and make sure all your appliances are working properly.
First, a few tips:
Never mix cleaning products. Bleach plus with ammonia can equal death.
Start at the top and work your way down.
Inventory your cleaning supplies and products and make sure you have enough--garbage bags, vacuum bags, paper towels, rags, rubber gloves, etc.
Gather everything into a cleaning caddy so you won't have to go searching for what you need.
Spring Cleaning Checklist
Start on the outside and move our way in the house. Be sure to get the whole family involved, turn it into a yearly tradition as a signal that summer fun is almost here.
The garage:
Appraise your tool collection, get rid of anything you don't use or that is rusted or beyond repair.
Make a pile of things to sell in the garage sale and things to haul to the dump.
Install pegboard with hooks on the walls to hang tools and implements.
Make a special place for outdoor toys, bikes, scooters, skates, etc.
Finish by sweeping and spraying the floor.
Outside:
Inspect the roof for loose shingles, for mushy places, for debris. Get the hose up there and spray it off.
Remove debris from gutters. Ensure that gutters aren't loose or in disrepair.
Examine exterior paint, brick or siding. Touch it up if needed.
Check window screens for needed repairs or replacement, then power wash the outside of the house, including windows.
Clean up any woodpiles and other debris which serve as homes for pests.
Check your lawn sprinkler system for maintenance problems.
Drain all sediment from your hot water heater.
Perform maintenance on home cooling systems, air conditioning or swamp coolers before hot weather warrants their use.
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Inside the house:
Throughout the house, remove all wall decorations and wash down the walls throughout the house using 1/2 cup ammonia, 1/4 cup white vinegar and 1/4 cup baking soda to 1 gallon of warm water.
Vacuum-dust all baseboards and wash them down using the above solution.
Wash all inside windows. Vacuum out the tracks. Vacuum/wash/dry clean all window coverings.
Dust and wash light fixtures and chandeliers. Vacuum lampshades. Replace light bulbs.
Wash all knick-knacks and dust books and bookshelves.
Dust and wash down all interior doors.
Remove heat registers, dust and wash thoroughly.
Closets
Go through each bedroom closet. Box up any clothing that has not been worn for more than two years and donate it to a local charity.
Perform repairs before storing winter clothes (sewing buttons, fixing hems, stain removal).
Dry clean winter coats and donate those that haven't been worn.
Using a vacuum hose, dust out each closet thoroughly--walls, shelves, ceilings, floors.
Sweep away all cobwebs and dust near the ceilings.
Bedrooms
Launder all quilts, blankets, comforters and bedspreads and flip the mattresses.
Move all the furniture to the center of each room and vacuum thoroughly. Shampoo if needed.
Inventory the contents of each room. Force yourself to get rid of the things you don't need.
Bathrooms
Clean out and reorganize the linen closet. Repair fraying towels and washcloths, or throw them out and replace.
With a vacuum brush, remove hair stuck to walls and ceiling by hair dryers and hair spray.
Deep clean shower, toilet, floor and sink.
Inventory the medicine cabinet and toss expired medicines.
Kitchen
Deep clean the floors. Move the stove and fridge so you can get under and behind them.
Defrost freezer (if needed) and wash out refrigerator. Toss out expired foods.
Remove screen on stove fan and wash. Clean oven and soak stove rings and drip pans.
Go through your kitchen appliances, clean thoroughly and get rid of ones you no longer use regularly.
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