5 tips to get a head start on spring cleaning

While we are stuck at home for the next couple of weeks, we have ample time on our hands. When we’re stuck at home, we nitpick certain aspects of our house and how things are organized. We now have more than enough time to get a head start on our spring cleaning and really organize things in our house the way we want to! Let’s take advantage of this free time so that we can enjoy spring outdoors when it comes around!

1. Purge and declutter

One of the main spring-cleaning mistakes we all make is how we declutter. We always start off with the mindset of purging the things we don’t use anymore, but we rarely actually make it happen. Guilty of not purging, we pick up an item that we used maybe once or twice and just move it to a new spot. We think that someday the item will be of great use to us. We feel like we just can’t part with it yet. Instead of finding an excuse to keep something we don’t use, show no mercy and toss it! If you haven’t regularly used it in the past year, it’s time to toss or donate it.

Moreover, create two piles when purging. Create a pile of donate-able items and a pile of items for the trash. We live in a throw-away society. We are strongly influenced by consumerism. When an item no longer serves a purpose for us, we automatically think to throw it in the bin. Instead of tossing an item straight into the trash bin, think about whether it’s still usable. If the item is still in working condition and there’s no real problem with it, donate it! One person’s trash is another person’s treasure! If an item is in pretty rough shape and there is no real value or use to the item anymore, then it is time to toss it in the trash.

2. Put your family to work!

With the kids home from school, now’s the perfect time to make them our little helpers! Getting the kids involved lessens the load that we are doing by ourselves. It also teaches kids how to organize and keep spaces clean. Put some fun music on for the kids to dance to while they clean. Both adults and kids feel more inspired when music is being played and makes the task at hand more enjoyable. Give kids simple clean up chores like cleaning the windows or sorting through their old toys.

Moreover, set a timer for them to complete the task they’ve set out to do. Make cleaning a game and see how fast they can pick up their toys from their bedroom. By making cleaning a game for children, they will find it more enjoyable and stay motivated. Additionally, break big things into smaller, more manageable jobs for them. Giving them one large task will overwhelm them and make them less motivated. If they accomplish smaller tasks, they will stay motivated longer.

3. Small tasks

Just like the kids having smaller tasks, we need to give ourselves smaller tasks. Have a small task for a certain amount of time. This could be washing the floors for 30 minutes or organizing the closet for an hour. But, when we create smaller tasks to complete, we can’t stray from them in the middle of it. This means no stopping halfway through to start another task. When we create smaller tasks and stick to finishing that one task, we get it done much sooner. Give that one thing our undivided attention and get it done quickly and efficiently!

4. Minimal is better

With the house on lockdown, we are seeing families stock up with enough supplies to last many years. Grocery stores are limiting the amount of toilet paper and hand sanitizer we can buy. Instead of buying every cleaning product we see, let’s limit the amount we buy. Do we really need disinfectant wipes and disinfectant spray? Can we accomplish the same cleaning task at hand with just one of the products? Not only does cutting down on cleaning products make everything less overwhelming, but it also gets rid of clutter. Buy a good all-purpose cleaner that will accomplish a wide variety of cleaning tasks. This saves us money and declutters our cleaning cabinet. Additionally, we are also helping Mother Nature out!

5. Clean out the fridge

An often overlooked spring-cleaning task is to clean out the fridge. Take some time to organize and throw away foods that have gone bad or are about to expire. We all have sauces, produce, and old leftovers hiding in the way back of the fridge. Spring cleaning is the perfect time to clear out all the old food that is expired and find the culprit that is making the whole fridge smell. Take everything out of the fridge and put it in a cooler or bin with ice packs. This will allow us to fully see what’s in the fridge. Once we’ve organized our food items, we can scrub the shelves clean. All we need is some warm water and vinegar to get the job done. The fridge is home to all our food items, so we want to limit the number of chemicals we use to clean the fridge. Once done, we can put the items to stay back in the fridge!

Being stuck indoors doesn’t mean we can’t be productive! It’s a great time to get ahead of spring cleaning. This allows us more time during spring to get outdoors and enjoy ourselves! If you’re looking to give your mortgage a spring cleaning, give us a call at Clinton Wilkins Mortgage Team! You can reach us at 902-482-2770 or get in touch with us here!