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Health & Fitness

The Time for Spring Cleaning Has Arrived

The idea may seem daunting, but have no worries, we have some tips and tricks for you.

By Maid Brigade of Northern CT

Spring is finally here and you know what that means… spring cleaning!

The idea may seem daunting, but have no worries, we have some tips and tricks for you.

You’ll first want to make a plan. Spring cleaning is about going beyond your usual dusting, mopping, vacuuming, and scrubbing. Start by listing out every room of your house and think about things that you probably don't clean on a regular basis.

Take your time. Yes, you can hit the highlights in a weekend, but if you want to get everything really clean, you'll need to take more time. Look at your list and break down each task into manageable chunks. There's no rule about how long it should take you to finish your spring cleaning. Figure out how long each task will take you and where you can add it to your everyday routine.

When you’re ready to start, make sure you’re prepared. Spring cleaning will be even more annoying if you have to stop and run to the store because you're out of something. You probably have the basics already, but you'll also need an all-purpose cleaner for everything from walls to floors, and a glass cleaner for windows and mirrors. Don't forget about specialized cleaners because you probably don't use those things nearly as much. Your tools are just as important. A frayed broom can make sweeping take twice as long. Spring is also a good time to go green so check out green cleaners.

The first thing to do is to declutter. Don’t just shuffle piles. Before you can clean, you have to declutter and organize. There are lots of ways to go about it, but the easiest is to set up three different boxes: keep, throw out, and donate/sell. Go through all your stuff and figure out which box it belongs in.

One classic trick when you're spring cleaning is to do each room from the top down. If you're more the type to wing it – not the list type – you can get lots done by going into each room and literally going from ceiling to floor.

Be an early bird. Actually getting everything finished will become more difficult as time goes by. Before you know it, you'll be trying to find the summer toys in the garage, realizing that you didn’t get to that room in the spring.

When you're spring cleaning your pantry, actually check out those jars, cans, and boxes. Pretty much everything has an expiration date. The medicine cabinet also needs to be purged of old stuff. Expired medicine can be dangerous at worst and ineffective at best. Liquid-based cosmetics can harbor bacteria and should be used/tossed in three to six months.

The phrase "spring cleaning" doesn't just have to mean cleaning the inside of your house. There are lots of outdoor home maintenance-type things that would benefit from your attention.

If all of this seems overwhelming and impossible, give us a call at 860-645-6243. We’ll help get your house in tip-top shape this spring!

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