This seems to be my motto as of late. Once the weather starts turning a little warmer and the skies shine a little brighter, I get the bug to clean. This means a lot of deep cleaning, purging {donate!!} and maybe even a little redecorating. We are coming out of the chilly Winter months and gearing up for the hot Summer months. The in-between time is perfect for opening up the house and airing it out so to speak. Do you feel the need to Spring Clean?

Funny cartoon eh?

Some tips of where to begin:

Start up and work your way down. You can do this by wiping down cupboards, cleaning bathroom mirrors or even wiping off counter-tops. If you start the other way, you just ‘remake’ your mess. My biggest example of this is when I am cleaning my kitchen. It only makes sense to wipe everything off of the counters and clean out the fridge before I clean the floors. Then I can get any bit of mess that might have fallen along the way.

Pick an area or project and follow through till the end. I typically do things in a order.

• Dust
• Change bedding
• Vacuum

I also tackle all the bathrooms in order.

• Clean toilets and sinks
• Clean mirrors
• Wipe down exteriors (cabinets, counter-tops and lastly, the  outside of toilet)
• Floors

For the main parts of the home — you know, the well loved kitchen and family room {which usually needs it the most}:

• Dust
• Wipe down inside of fridge & inside of microwave
• Wipe down all appliances
• Wipe down cabinets
• Remove items from counter-tops and clean well
• Sweep & mop floors
• Vacuum carpet

I know, some of this might seem obvious — or not These are my ‘basics’. Of course there are some more heavy duty things that can be done less often. Ready for those? You are probably thinking, “Isn’t what you listed enough already? Jeez lady!”. But I am not done. Not yet!

Oven — one of my least favorite of all but so worth it when done. We have self cleaning ovens but that whole process just freaks me out and smells so toxic. Here is a natural cleaner that I have yet to try but plan to soon! Click here for the recipe.

Cleaning windows — inside and out. I will say that calling on a professional is actually VERY worth the money. We have done it several times. They do a great job for less then $200 {2 story home over here}. You can of course do it yourself if you are that motivated or want to save the money.

Carpet Cleaning — I am about to call on Phelan Carpet Cleaning at 916.747.7243. This is a local business here in EDH.

Pantry — purge people! I just found some salad dressing that was um, a couple of years past it’s expiration. At least it did not walk off of the shelf itself eh? It is also helpful to organize things by catagories and also utilize baskets to keep like items together. Examples?

• Canned items
• Dressings, marinades, etc.
• Baking items
• Breakfast items
• Quick grab n’ go snacks

Linen Closets — can you let it go? Old bedding, towels, etc? I just let go of my almost 6 year old’s baby blankets. Well most of them. That was a tough one but really, I don’t ‘need’ them anymore. Sigh.

Playrooms — a lot of us tackled these right before or after Christmas but if not, go for it. I promise that you will come out with at least a bag or two of unneeded items. Word of advice: Do this when the kids are NOT home or they will stop you mid-toss!

This is more like me — smile and all

Outside — yep, Winter pretty much wrecked our yards. Time to pull up those weeds, clean off the patio furniture, power wash the decks, clean out the BBQ and maybe plant a few flowers? Make it livable cause I promise, BBQ weather is right around the corner.

My best advice, find an area that needs some special TLC and tackle it. Make that your project until it is done and then move on. Cabinets are so often a breeding ground for crap {if you have a better word, feel free to insert it where I typed crap } Open them up and reorganize — getting rid of what you can and should in the process. Go ahead, pick a room and GO!

A few other tips for freshening things up a bit:

Use natural cleaners as much as you can. The less toxins, the better for your environment. Here are a couple of sites that share recipes for natural cleaners:

• Natural Healthy Home Cleaning Tips
• Green Living Ideas

Brands you can buy that are eco friendly:

• Seventh Generation
• Mrs. Meyers

Another idea is to open the windows and let the fresh air in as much as you can. Out with the stuffiness of Winter and heaters and in with fresh breeze, flowers and chirping birds. Before you know it, we will be sitting in our air conditioned homes praying for a breeze! Enjoy it now.

One of my favorite things about Spring cleaning is how fresh everything feels after. I feel so accomplished and ready to go into the busy Summer months.