Spring cleaning doesn’t have to suck. These five ways to make Spring cleaning easier are just what you need to help make the chores feel less daunting!
It’s been Spring for well over a month now, but we’re just getting around to Spring cleaning. We’ve done a little bit of purging and deep cleaning here and there, but now that the weather is truly warming up – it’s time for some real Spring cleaning! As much as I love the smell and sight of a freshly cleaned or organized home, I’m just not one to really get into cleaning (unless we have company coming over!) And I know I’m not alone.
So, to try and make the best of it, here are five easy ways to make Spring cleaning easier!
Get Motivated
I love having a clean and organized house. But I don’t always love what it takes to get the job done and keeping it that way. So when it comes to Spring cleaning, I make sure I’m motivated to get it done in as little time as possible. I have some go-to methods for ensuring that I don’t waste time and that I’m as ready as can be when it comes to cleaning day, too. I get up early, put on some comfortable clothes and give myself blocks of time that I’ll be working. When the block is done, I take a short break, grab a snack or drink, and then get right back to it. Once it’s all done, I celebrate with a good meal, watching a movie with my feet up or a day trip to someplace fun.
The key is to put yourself in the best mood possible to do a less-than-fun task. Sometimes I like to listen to music or an audio book to make the time go by quicker, too.
Double Check Your Supplies
I can’t tell you how many times I got ready to clean something only to find out that I was missing supplies. Talk about a motivation killer! Make sure you have plenty of rags, double check that your tools (brooms, mops, vacuums, etc) are in tip top shape, and make sure that you have plenty of your favorite cleaners for whatever job you’re tackling. And if you’re looking for some new eco-friendly products to clean with, you HAVE to check out Lemi Shine! We were recently introduced to their line of products and I am in LOVE.
Lemi Shine is a Texas-based, family-oriented company offering powerful, safe products. They have been dedicated to helping people get Clean Freak Clean dishes and appliances for over 20 years with powerful and safe (100% natural citric extracts) products. Their products are non-toxic, biodegradable, and phosphate free. Pretty awesome, right? Plus, they all have pretty minimal ingredients which is something I’m super passionate about. Some of my favorites include:
INSERT PHOTO OF GLASS + SHOWER CLEANER
Glass + Surface Cleaner & Shower + Tile Cleaner
I love having two natural products that can clean my bathroom (and then some!) Our bathroom is tiny so when we clean, the door pretty much has to get closed. And that means it doesn’t take long for bleach or any other strong chemicals to overwhelm your senses without the window being opened. But these? No issues! Our bathroom smelled clean, looked clean, and never irritated my hands or nose. I’d highly recommend the Lemi Shine Glass + Surface Cleaner as well as the Lemi Shine Shower + Tile Cleaner. Be sure to grab the coupon to save $1.00 on either cleaner!
Dish Soap
I’m super picky about the soap in our house since my hands dry out pretty easily thanks to having eczema. Even dish soap can leave my hands feeling pretty dry if it’s too long. That was one of the many reasons we got a dishwasher recently, but we still wash a lot of the bulkier pots and pans by hand. The Lemi Shine Dish Soap has SO few ingredients (water, non-toxic surfactants, glycerin, sodium citrate and preservative) that I was pretty sure it wouldn’t irritate my hands, but I didn’t know if it would be enough to cut through grease. Luckily, it was! And it smells great, too. You can save $1.00 on the dish soap, too.
Dishwasher Detergent, Cleaner & Booster
Our dishwasher is probably my favorite appliance just because we went without one for so long. But it doesn’t always cut through the hard water spots that we get from having well water. Between the Lemi Shine Dishwasher Detergent and the Lemi Shine Detergent Booster, we’re covered! No film, no spots, and no hard water remnants. All we’re left with are naturally clean dishes. And if you buy the Booster, you can try the Dish Soap for free!
Use The Box Test
The Box Test is such a simple tool that I highly recommend doing pretty much year-round, not just for Spring cleaning. Your junk/stuff accumulates over time so it’s not always logical to go through it and say “I haven’t used this in the past week – time to toss!” So the Box Test solves that problem. It works for junk drawers, closets, gadgets, and more.
For the Box Test, you just need a box (any size works depending on what you’re decluttering) and to follow these steps:
- Put everything that’s similar in a box. For instance: a whole junk drawer can go in one box, but if you’re working on pairing down your wardrobe, you might want to only put Summer clothes in one and Winter clothes in another.
- Pick a time-frame that you’ll pull from it. Normally a month is what I use, depending on the contents.
- For that time-frame, put back only the items that you use in it.
- Once the time-frame is done, if there is anything left in the box – it’s probably time to get rid of it!
SUPER easy, right? You don’t have to make the decisions all at once and you truly get a good idea of what you use – not what you might use.
Refresh Your Home
This is a fun one for right at the end of cleaning. When I really get into cleaning, I go into purge mode. That means ratty looking towels get moved to the garage, clothes that no longer fit get donated, and I usually realize a handful (or more) things need some extra TLC to bring them back to life. New paint, replacement parts, etc. So when the Spring cleaning is all done, I make a list of all the necessary replacements. Maybe new guest towels, linens, candles, or even something to liven up a dull room like placemats for the dining room.
The trick here is to not add to the clutter so if you’re getting rid of something that you don’t absolutely need to replace, then don’t! Refresh your house with a floral bouquet or some new Spring-like essential oils in your diffuser.
Come Up with a Plan
This is a before and after thing for me. Coming up with a plan for cleaning your house is the easier part. Is this room dirty? Yep. I need to add it to the list to clean! Okay, so it might be more involved than that, but it’s not too hard. At least for me. The hard part comes after the Spring cleaning is done. When all I desperately want is to make sure it stays that way for longer than a day. So I try to come up with a cleaning schedule that focuses on every room I cleaned so I can maintain even a much smaller level of cleanliness.
Assign your tasks/rooms to days of the week and set aside 15/30 minutes to maintain it each day. If your house is larger than ours, you may need more time or you may need to assign more tasks or rooms to one day. Regardless of how big your house is or how many tasks you’re trying to finish, the key is to do something every day. So even if you’re more of a “do it once a week” type person – try just picking up for 15 minutes a day. Doesn’t matter the room, just spend 15 minutes picking up or putting things away before the end of the day. It helps keep a bit of order and prevents every week from feeling like you have to repeat the same Spring cleaning schedule again!
Let’s Chat!
What are your favorite ways to make Spring cleaning easier? Have you tried Lemi Shine products before? If not, you can find where you can buy them with this easy store locator!
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