Written by Jayant Row in Cleaning
Viewed by 103 readers since 04-01-2009

There is no doubt that spring coming after the bleakness of winter is a joyous time. But somehow spring has been associated with spring cleaning and the need to give your home a make over. Though for the life of me I cannot imagine why one has to make this association and get depressed with the thought of having to do this hated chore. Anyway that is the way we were brought up and that is the way it has to be. So let us get on to the spring cleaning with our checklists and tips that can help to get this job done.

Make a checklist of what rooms and items need the spring cleaning. This could also help in distributing the tasks to the other members of the household so that the spring cleaning becomes a family chore.

If you have a multi- storied home with basements and attics, the trick is to start with the top rooms and gradually work your way down. This tip can be followed even in each room, so that the dirt from the top shelves comes down to the lower shelves before you finally clean it out.

See that you have all the necessary tools before you start on the spring cleaning. Brushes, mops, cleaning liquids, brooms and of course lots of old newspapers and cloth with which you cover the upholstery before you start the cleaning up.

The best way of doing the cleaning in any one room, is to clean it as you go along. Once you are finished with one shelf or cupboard put all the things back as they were before you proceed to attack the next area. This way you will prevent cluttering the rooms and have the flexibility of stopping the work whenever one item is completed, in case you have to. You are also sure of where everything goes, and have them back where they were.

Air the cupboards after you have cleaned them, using a deodorizer if necessary. This would make everything smell fresh and cleaned. Leave the windows and doors open and let the spring air into the house.

Do not move out to the next room unless you are sure that the one you have started has been thoroughly spring cleaned. Above all make it a practice to cull out your things when you are spring cleaning. Sort out items which you do not need and decide whether they can be passed on or disposed off, or whether they are too broken down to be of any use to anyone, and just have to be thrown away. You would be surprised when you find that you have a lot of extra space in your cupboards once you have done this.

While you are making the schedule, allot a time for each room or area and follow the schedule meticulously. It would not be a bad idea if you start the spring cleaning much in advance, and set aside an hour every day to finish at least one area.

Decide whether your upholstery can do with just some vigorous vacuuming or would require the more difficult job of a thorough laundering. Assess the state of the curtains in each room and also give it the same treatment. You would be surprised as to how different your rooms will look with clean upholstery and curtains.

And yes. You need to put away the winter clothes, which would be occupying a lot of place in the closets at the moment. Check whether any of them require repairs before you mothball them and keep them away. And if the children are already bursting out of them, just keep them ready to be given away, and remember that next year you would have to buy replacements.