A Spring Time Check List for Your Home

The season of Spring brings with itself blossoming flowers, rays of sunshine, warm breeze, and unfathomable joy. The new blooms and fresh green grass can lift anyone’s mood after a depressing winter. Almost everyone welcomes spring with open arms and a wide smile.

Honestly speaking, I love winters. I enjoy cuddling up in warm blankets, having a mug of coffee and dressing up in dark cardigans. However, winter does end up taking a toll on me eventually. Everything begins to seem dreary and insipid, I yearn to wear bright colors and flip-flops, and not to mention, store away all the warm clothes out of my sight.

Another thing I love to do when winter ends is to give my home a thorough deep clean from top to bottom. It helps that I am slightly obsessed with cleaning and organizing. When spring arrives at our doorsteps, I ensure that my home is sparkling clean with spotless windows and fresh, crisps sheets on beds. I can bet that you won’t find a single dust bunny.

There is More to Spring Cleaning

Spring clean doesn’t only clean out the house, it revitalizes the person as well. After a gloomy cold season, spring cleaning adds some zest in our lives. Most of us are not aware of it, but spring cleaning has cultural, religious, and spiritual roots. Researchers have found out that springtime cleaning is being practiced for many centuries. In ancient Iran, that is Persia, it was termed as “khooneh tekouni” which means “shaking the house” right before the Persian new year. Springtime cleaning was also a thing in Greece; carried out during the first week of Great Lent.

Well, spring is almost here, and if you are like me, you must be itching to scrub away the grime and gloom. Here is a checklist that will help you clean and bring back the spark to your house.

1. The Outdoors

We often overlook cleaning the exteriors, but trust me, it will give you immense satisfaction to see speckless patio and polished roofs. Moreover, you will be the envy of the whole neighborhood.

Repair Gutters

Once all the snow has melted and frost bids farewell, have your gutters and downspouts inspected and cleaned. You don’t want clogged gutters and uninvited creatures in your garden and home. Imagine having a grand barbecue party and the mice decide to show up. No, you don’t want that! Furthermore, during the rainy season, properly repaired water drains will be a blessing. You won’t have to go through the trouble of clearing the rainwater around your house.

Tidy Up Your Garden

Your next target is your garden and woodwork. Check for insects and rot on any outdoor wooden structures. I have all the woodwork sealed and primed every couple of years, and they have lasted me a long time. If you suspect termites or other bugs, call a professional pesticide service. Spring is a wonderful time for flora enthusiasts. While I am not into gardening, I adore the scent of freshly cut grass. Adorn your garden with potted plants, herbs, and other greenery. Keep your lawn mowed and plants watered. Tidy up evergreen trees, remove the pile of dead leaves and get rid of weeds. Don’t forget to renew the fertilizer and repair the sprinklers.

Which plants are you planning to grow? I, for one, simply adore roses!

Don’t Ignore the Roof

Most of us don’t give a second thought to roof cleaning, but it is equally important. When the monsoon season arrives, you will be thankful for the attention you gave to the roof back in springtime. That’s right… Better safe than sorry! Repair any damaged parts such as mold, broken pipes, shingles, and vents. Snowstorms and rainfalls are the worst enemy of shingles! Chimney is a part of your house too. Take a peek inside to see whether Santa Claus needs a rescue. Just kidding, but hey, you never know!

A Fresh Coat of Paint

A new layer of paint can do wonders to the appearance of your house. Not only it will shoo away the unwanted critters with its strong smell, a new paint coating also protects the house from rot and damage.

Swimming Pool

Are you the lucky one with the pool in your yard? It is time to open it up for summers! Clean the pipes and valves and treat the water. If you can afford, call the pool cleaning service.

Give Your Car Some Attention

Your car was the one who bore the hailstorm and snow all season. It is highly necessary to remove winter tires and replace them with all-season ones. Summertime can cause irreparable damage to the winter tires that will, in turn, possess high risk of accidents.  Last but not the least, wash and wax your car. If you have a garage, it won’t be a bad idea to give it a good scrub.

2. The Indoors

Come inside and take a deep breathe. This is going to take a lot of time.

Declutter the House

When the winter goes, there are plenty of things lying around the house that you don’t need. One of the best ways is to create a donation box and give it to charity. You can put in clothes, boots, wraps, blankets and other things you don’t plan to use any more. If you have kids, you must have a huge pile of clothes and toys your child outgrew. Don’t hesitate to donate them.

Coming to winter apparel and things, you can store them in plastic bags and put them in a box. When you decide a place to store them, make sure you don’t forget it. Once upon a time I cleverly hid the Christmas decorations in a random box and placed it in the basement. It has been years and I am unable to recover the box. For consolation, I tell myself the Christmas elf took it. Hopefully, I will stumble upon it someday.

It’s Time to Deep Clean the House

The key to deep clean the house is to be patient. Your back will be hurting badly by the end of the day and you will be sneezing thanks to all the dust. Nonetheless, it will be worth it. Don’t merely straighten up the furniture; clean, wash, dust, and scrub everything thoroughly. Strip the windows off their curtains, remove the bed-sheets and duvets, and throw the table cloth into the washer too.

For sofas, rugs, carpets, and mattresses, you can call dry cleaning services, or do it yourself. Steam them with iron, use alcohol, baking soda and vinegar to rub off the stubborn stains and hang them outside to give them a good dose of sunlight. Once they are dry, move them back inside.

Next, dust off the furniture and appliances, and then give it a good wipe with a damp cloth. You can use glass cleaner liquids to shine up the mirrors and glass surfaces. Stains on wooden and glass furniture can be removed with the help of vinegar as well.

Walls and windows that have peeled off paint, chipped surfaces and broken parts need a makeover. Paint the walls, fix broken window glasses and sills, and check if all the pillars are sound. If you want more ideas on where to start, here is a handy check list apart from those already mentioned above. We also cover some of these areas in the following sections.

Kitchen and Bathroom

The two places where you will find most of the filth and dirt. Oily, grimy build-ups are everywhere. They need a scrub off. Take a washcloth, soak it in a solution of vinegar and baking soda, and leave it overnight around the sinks, counters, stove, cabinets, and taps. For tiles and toilet seats, use bleach instead. Reorganize the shelves and cabinets. Wash your shower curtains or replace it because I am sure it is pretty gross. Throw away useless jars, empty bottles, and old toothbrushes, because you won’t be doing any arts and crafts with them.

Attic and Basement

Oh, the horror! Full of nasty reminders and lovely keepsakes, nobody wants to clean the basement and attic. However, you MUST! If I manage to clean my basement out, I am sure I will find my long-lost Christmas lights.

Maintenance Alert!

Springtime cleaning is not limited to furniture and garden. It is deeper than that. From your air-conditioner to your waffle-maker, everything needs a maintenance check! Just now, I noticed the dirt on my keyboard. I am going to use an old make-up brush to clean it. Talking of make-up brushes, make sure you wash them too! For your safety, have your smoke detectors, sprinklers, cameras, and fire alarms checked while you are at it.

Get Some New Things!

Change is a good thing, and shopping is a lot of fun. To welcome spring with open arms, go on a shopping spree! Be it brand new clothes, a new kettle or crisp bed covers, new items will offer fresh vitality to your house.

Get Ready for Summer

Spring is short, and summer is just around the corner. We are all dying to sunbathe on the beach and have barbecues on weekends.  Once you are done with springtime cleaning, prepare yourself for a wonderful summer.  I can’t wait to spend a day on a sun-kissed beach making sandcastles and eating ice-cream. What are your plans? Let us know!

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