When the weather warms up and the flowers bloom, your first instinct is to go outside and enjoy the warm weather and relax in the green grass. Your second instinct is probably to try and wipe off all of the pollen from your pants after sitting in your grass. The third is probably to look at your house, after a fine layer of dust has accumulated from being closed off all winter, and say: “wow, I have really got to clean in here.”
Everyone, whether you’re living in a tiny house in Maine or one of our St. Joseph apartments locally, will have to do some spring cleaning sometime. If you’re not sure where to start, or the task seems overwhelming, here are some tips to start:
1.) Save your floors for last.
This needs to be in all caps because it is so wildly important. Do not vacuum, mop, Swiffer, sweep, or anything else until everything else in your house is clean. This may seem counter-productive, especially if you’re the type of person that likes to get one room completely clean before moving onto the next one, but trust us. All of that dust, dirty water, cleaning supply runoff, etc. is going to end up on your floor. If you mop or sweep first, you’re leaving all of that nastiness that’s a byproduct of your cleaning spree to rot on the floor, and then where will you be? That’s right: not with a clean house.
2.) Make sure that you’ve got the right cleaning supplies.
You can make your cleaning journey so much more difficult if you don’t equip yourself with the right tools. Cleaners that work well on glass won’t work well on stainless steel, and cleaners that are good for dusting may not be the best for disinfecting. If you’re going to clean using different cleaning supplies, it’s important to know what you need and what exactly it’ll be used for.
If you aren’t sure what to get, or don’t want to spend a ton of money on buying different cleaning supplies, then it might be beneficial to find a good multi-purpose cleaner instead. If you can find one without a lot of the additional harsh chemicals, then that will also overall make your cleaning experience a better one – without your whole house smelling like bleach.
3.) Exercise caution so that you don’t accidentally cross contaminate.
This is going to sound a little bit like a no-brainer, but you have to make sure that you’re not cross-contaminating your cleaning supplies. Change sponges at each surface or, even though it isn’t as environmentally friendly, use something disposable like paper towels. This will ensure that you aren’t accidentally cross-contaminating. After all, you definitely don’t want to wipe your kitchen counters down with the same sponge that you used to clean your toilets – ew!
4.) Disinfect your frequently touched surfaces.
When you start your spring cleaning, one of the most important things to do is to thoroughly wipe down those surfaces that might not always cross your mind in your regular cleaning regimen. In fact, see if you can answer this question: when is the last time that you disinfected your doorknobs?
In our COVID-era world, being cognizant of what you touch is more important than ever before, but constantly touched surfaces like door handles, refrigerator handles, or even the plunger on your toilet will sometimes fall by the wayside in your normal cleaning routine. Take this opportunity to create a good habit of disinfecting these areas constantly, even if you haven’t thought about it before. It’s never too late to start.
5.) Donate before dumping.
One of the biggest tasks that people undertake during their spring cleaning is trying to get rid of items that they no longer need. But before you decide to toss them in the trash, see what you could donate. Not only can donating help those in need (which, of course, is the most important thing), but a lot of donation centers will provide you with a slip for you to to be able to write it off of your taxes. This is an element of spring cleaning that not only benefits you, but can also benefit others in your community.
6.) Get the whole house to help.
If the idea of cleaning the house alone is daunting, then create a plan to get the entire house to help you do it. Have your kids choose what toys that they want to give away, because when Santa comes at the end of the year, he can’t bring toys to a full room! Or create a chore chart for you and your partner. Dividing and conquering can make an hours-long endeavor much shorter and, maybe, even more enjoyable. Host a cleaning party! Put on some loud dancing music. Take breaks often and don’t overwhelm yourself. The cleaning of the St. Joseph apartments will get done when it gets done – and you don’t have to do it alone.
7.) Treat yourself.
Set goals for yourself in your cleaning journey and, when you meet those goals, don’t forget to give yourself a reward. Try breaking it up by room: whenever you finish cleaning a room (except for the floors, because those go last!), give yourself a treat. Whether it be giving yourself some uninterrupted phone time, watching a couple of YouTube videos, or something else, give yourself a reward for getting part of your cleaning done.
8.) Hire someone else.
If you’ve hit the end of your rope and you feel like there is just absolutely no way that you’ll be able to get your spring cleaning done on your own, then here’s one final tip: just don’t do it.
Or, let us rephrase: don’t do it yourself.
There are many affordable cleaning services out there to where, if you simply find yourself unwilling or unable to give the deep clean of your home the time and attention it needs, you can simply outsource the job to someone else. It’s important to note that prices often fluctuate by apartment size, so make sure to double check the square footage of our St. Joseph apartments to get a good estimate on the cost.
