Thursday, February 24, 2011

Simple Spring Cleaning

Tips on spring cleaning the home, easy spring cleaning.

Let's just say that when my husband and I were married, we were both house keeping challenged. We married young, and other than short stays at college, had never kept house prior to marriage. We just had no clue how the house got so messy and then why it would take so long to pick it up every weekend. It took many years of trial and error for us to work out a system that kept the house in order day to day. Now, our house is far from perfect, but I am able to receive guests at a moments notice. There may be a few things lying about, but for the most part, the house is always presentable.
I am no expert, but a few things I learned were to pick up daily, focus on one room at a time and clean up the kitchen as soon as a meal is done. I easily get overwhelmed. And as for the big jobs like spring cleaning, I just do it all year long. A little at a time with some of my spring cleaning checklists.


It can seem daunting to think of spring cleaning a whole house when you are struggling to keep up the daily tasks or maybe you are lucky enough to hire a spring cleaning service, but most cannot. Here is what I do. Right now I am focusing on the den. Every time I vacuum in there, I do one extra deep spring cleaning chore. This time it was vacuuming under the cushions and the backs of the couches. Prior to that it was dusting the entertainment center and vacuuming under the TV. Next time I will dust the shutters. I simply plan to always do one deep cleaning chore each time I clean in that room.

Another area is cleaning out the fridge. Hate it! It is overwhelming to me to take all the contents out and have to clean the whole darn thing. Plus with the four kids I never seem to have long periods of time to devote to cleaning anything. So after I fill a sink with hot sudsy water, I just take one shelf at a time. I do this continually  and usually before I go shopping for the week when the fridge is near empty. It is less daunting for me to deep clean this way. I have one of those brains that gets overwhelmed easily so breaking these chores down is my way of keeping our house up and my mind in tact.

15 comments:

  1. Morning girl...great tips...I always have so much company with the kids coming by all during the week..it is like I am constantly cleaning and when I do the 'deep' cleaning I try to do the whole house in one and and lordy by the end of the day you could just push me over in a corner and toss me a pillow cause I am dead!! lol I have always keep a clean kitchen..dishes are cleared and washed after every meal and snack...it just makes you feel good waking up each morning and starting the day with a clean kitchen...somedays I never make it out of the kitchen...the kids will stop by with the grandbabies and they sit at the table and the little ones sit on the stools at the counter and I might as well be wearing an apron carrying a pen and paper in my hand taking orders for lunch cause it turns into a diner!!!!! lol But I wouldn't have it any other way...I love my babies...thanks so much for coming by sweetie..I hope you have a fantastic day...Picket

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  2. I am OCD so I spring clean all the time :D I think that everything needs to have a home, and everything should be put away everyday! I drive my girls nuts with this because the stairs going to their rooms looks like a yard sale if they don't pick up after themselves everyday!

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  3. Thanks for The Tips and Kudos to you for Terrific Daily Deep Cleaning! It does make life easier! I'm visiting from Alphabe-Thursday...hope you have time to stop and see my Texas T's.

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  4. You have very good advice! Wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your kitchen tour. Thank you. Have a great day! Twyla

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  5. Super tips -- *simplified* is my key word this time of year :)

    Blessings!
    Gail

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  6. Great ideas and tips. I try to deep one room every week when I clean house. This way it is all done in no time. Hugs, Marty

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  7. oh yes deep cleaning! I hate the fridge, the microwave and blinds. I try to tackle them more than a season too..sometimes it gets put on the backburner. I recently vacumed the couch cushions too, and even moved the couch to get underneath...found dust bunnies and more.yuck! Did you get under the couch too?.. great advice though, thanks...I spen the whole day catching up yesterday...whew! Hugs,Mica

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  8. I hate cleaning out the fridge too! I will have to try doing one deep cleaning of something when I vacuum or dust. Great tips! I haven't cleaned the blinds in.... ah.... shewy, it's been way too long. Blessings

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  9. I think it is interesting to see how other people do things like organize and clean their houses, I really do! Mostly I keep things picked up daily and sweep and dust once a week. Sometimes I want to do a more thorough spring or fall cleaning, then get bored by the second day:)

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  10. What great tips. I hate cleaning out the fridge, and I have two of them :-)
    Blessings,
    Marcia

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  11. Brilliant! My Alphabe Thursday was all about time - or lack of it :) I sahll put your tips to good use sooner or later

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  12. smart...




    Greetings, Happy Firday! Blessings…

    Friendship Awards, Enjoy!
    Thanks for the support, You Rock!
    xxx

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  13. I'd like to have a maid do all that stuff for me, but I guess I'll just have to do it myself!!

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  14. This totally ties in with my post today wishing for a wife!

    ha!

    I try to keep up with cleaning because once it gets behind it feels overwhelming. My husband is great about participating and is charge of all the floors in our house...not an easy task because we have almost 2,200 Square feet of hardwood!

    Thanks for a terrific link to Alphabe-Thursday's letter "T".

    I always enjoy seeing what you've come up with here.

    A+

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