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"Welcome” – our front door reads…and we mean it. Where pop by-ers are welcome and the scent of coffee and laundry take turns. Our home tells a story, and I think thats my favorite part. In any room I go in there is a piece of something, that shares a relationship with someone.
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Some of the best conversations I’ve had with my girls were served over a fresh batch of laundry.
“What color is Heaven Mommy?”
I saw a super cute article suggesting to hide an Easter egg with some sort of treasure as you dive into the nooks and crannies of The Spring Clean. Put away this pile and look what’s underneath the sorta deal. A cutesy way to encourage our littles to get excited about taking pride in their space. Part of me totally loves it, the other part wants to say:
“That’s extra work for something any well mannered child should already be willing to participate in, with or without the Easter Egg ending. Remember, we are raising little humans here. Give your kid a chore already.”
Let’s talk about 7 Spring Cleaning Must Do’s and how your child can get excited, without hiding candy in your toy box.
1.Dust
What is dust anyway? When I was little, I was convinced I could see air. I also thought I could breathe underwater… so, needless to say, my imagination was pretty vast. As I got older, I realized what exactly those little pieces floating in the sunshine really were. Lint, dirt, skin, mites, feces – yuck! With that being said – I dust all reachable flat surfaces in our home at least once a week, sometimes twice. My husband has an egg shell black dresser (the only piece left from our first apartment together) so I like to use that as my dust-o-meter.
Let’s talk about those spaces we don’t wipe so frequently…
For these deep cleaning days, I like a bucket of water and a bit of lemon cleaner. Start at the top and work your way down, change the water as needed. Arm the kids with old socks and set them up with a task they can tackle. Window sills are a perfect start. Insert dance music!!! What’s your favorite playlist?!
2. Move the furniture / 3. Scrub the floors
This is actually number 2 and 3 because it’s such a daunting task, yet always one of my favorites. I’m bound to find something I’ve been missing. One of the kid’s missing socks, my favorite pen, oh look a dollar!
Vacuum, polish, wipe or scrub the floor underneath , lift the cushions, wipe behind the walls and the feet of the furniture. Is there a rug under your kitchen table? (you brave soul)…. Now is a great time to roll it up and clean underneath. You’ll be shocked to find how much dirt falls through.
While those cushions are off (and now clean) let’s make a tent! Or stack them up at the bottom of the basement steps. There’s nothing like jumping into a giant heap of cozy. Pile on!!
We purchased a carpet scrubber a few years back from Lowes and never looked back. It works great on cars, furniture, carpet, mattresses, and steps. If this isn’t an option for you, ask around for local professional floor cleaning or waxing solutions. What a difference clean floors make.
3. The kitchen cabinets and pantry
Get the trash can. Bags of cereal buried back there? Last year’s Halloween candy? Anything expired or sketchy has gotta go. Wipe the shelves down and restock your cabinets or pantry with “like items” :
Cans go with cans, bags go with bags, boxes go with boxes, and Oreos go with Oreos… wait – what?
Be honest with your kids during this process. Let’s talk about waste. Wasted food, wasted money, and now then time to clean it all up. The less we have, the less we waste.
Finish up by wiping the handles and fronts of your cabinet doors.
4. Clean the oven
Going out to dinner simply isn’t in our budget, or at least not as much as I wish it could be. For a typical week in our house, we cook about 20 meals between breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So needless to say, our oven… ain’t always pretty. Before you set it to self clean – be sure to clean any spillage and scrub the top of the range. The fireman in me (wink wink) says an oven set to self clean can also be incredibly dangerous, so do it right. We used this as a chemistry lesson to give our kids something to be excited about. Everything in your oven turns into ash or carbon – the basic form of life. Glove up girls! We’re gettin messy!
5. Clean your bed, then make it too.
I try to make our bed everyday. Admittedly, there have been times somehow that gets missed in the morning shuffle. But there’s nothing quite like perfectly folded covers welcoming me to my nights slumber. Climbing into cool sheets and fluffing the pillow just right. If it isn’t made, bedtime feels more like a chore than a goodnight kiss.
Over time, mattresses can wear unevenly. So, extend the life of your mattress by vacuuming it and turning it at least four times per year, alternating between end-over-end and side-over-side rotation. Back to that beloved carpet scrubber – works wonders on mattress stains.
In our house jumping on the beds is forbidden, except when we strip them. So party on!
6. Paperwork
Raise your hand if you love paperwork…No? Ahh, I get it. It’s like it gives birth overnight or something. Dig it all out. All of it. Figure out what’s important and what can finally be tossed. The dishwasher manual can also be found online, let it go. We found a cute, three tier file system at Home Goods to easily store items that I need to access frequently in their proper place. For those items that require a more permanent solution (taxes, wills, insurance, investments, etc) – we found an awesome fire proof, water proof, key locked safe that has plenty of room, yet also tucks away nicely. Now is the perfect time to create a spreadsheet and get down to the nitty gritty of your finances. Dave Ramsey podcast anyone??
Now order a pizza, make a picnic on the floor, and bask in the clean! No, really. Tomorrow, your kids will trash it all over again so soak it up. Remember, less stuff is less to clean so PURGE as much as possible during this process.
Happy Spring Cleaning !