Does anyone else just cringe when there are piles of clutter or noticeable dust around your home? No? Just me? As much as I know the piles of clutter are things I’m going to have to get more accustomed to once our baby is here, the dust and dirt around our home are things I try my hardest to stay on top of. 

We moved into our new construction home five years ago (!), and because it was spotless, I wanted to do my best to keep it looking that way as long as I could. Have you ever read the descriptions of for sale home listings that say “✨ meticulously maintained ✨”? That was my objective. Our previous home was smaller and I was able to knock out all of the basic cleaning in a few hours on a Sunday morning. This house has a tad more square footage and I kept finding it harder to do all the essential chores in a day. It ended up taking most of my entire Sunday and was so overwhelming. A few years ago, I listed out all of the duties I wanted or ought to stay on top of and developed a schedule for myself that works out so much better for actually checking them off each week and keeping myself sane.

Enter a fresh season and the tables turn in our house. As much as I keep up with my weekly, quarterly, and monthly deep cleanings, the onset of a new season always drives me to go above and beyond! 🦸‍♀️ Maybe it’s the cleaner air, warmer temps, or being able to open the windows again. I can’t explain it and entirely blame my personality 🙃.

HELLO, SPRING CLEANING!

We have a modest-sized home with the main essential rooms-foyer, a living room, a kitchen, a dining room, bedrooms, baths, and laundry room, along with a basement that is predominantly finished that houses my husband’s and my offices, a workout area, and a recreational area. I’ve tried a myriad of ways to approach my cleaning checklist on deep cleaning days, or even on my daily cleaning checklists, and found that, for me, performing from smallest space to largest allows me to attack tasks quicker. If you have a routine that works for you, feel free to continue doing so! You know your home better than anyone and what works for me might not work for you.

Curious about trying out my spring cleaning approach in your space?
Download this detailed checklist of items to spruce up here!

Here’s a quick rundown of how I commonly maneuver through my home to get it in tip-top condition for the spring. It’s a major objective of mine to ultimately go all-natural with all of the cleaning products in our home, especially with littles being added to our family, and when I find a mixture of ingredients and aromas I love, I’ll be sharing so stay tuned!

This checklist is a bit long-winded, but the more you stay on top of it every season, the more effortless it’ll be to tackle each one because it’ll be clean more often!

FOYER

• Clean windows on the front door
• Dust and wipe clean all surfaces
• Dust and wipe clean the baseboards, door panels, and light fixtures
• Vacuum air vents (anyone with dogs understands!)
• Vacuum and mop floors

LAUNDRY ROOM

• Dust and wipe clean all surfaces
• Dust and wipe clean the baseboards, door panels, and light fixtures
• Vacuum air vents
• Clean the windows AND the window tracks. When it rains, our tracks accumulate a lot of dirt and debris from the windows. When I’m cleaning the windows, I vacuum out the tracks, spray and wipe thoroughly the tracks and edges (typically just with the window cleaner), and vacuum out the excess dirt. Ta-da! Looks good as new!
  • Note: We do not have any blinds or shades in any of our windows, just curtains, so be sure to add dusting or wiping down blinds to your checklist if needed!
• Clean your washer and dryer! Our washer has a clean cycle that I run from time to time to make sure it’s rid of any leftover dirt, debris, or scents that might get caught up in clothing. I also use a bristled refrigerator brush to get deep into the lint trap to empty where I can’t reach myself.
• Vacuum and mop the floors

HALL BATH & BASEMENT BATH

• Dust and wipe clean all surfaces
• Dust and wipe clean the baseboards, door panels, and light fixtures
• Wipe out/vacuum drawers and cabinets (you’d be surprised how much hair gathers in here over time that you can’t see!)
• Clean the mirror
• Clean the toilet-not just inside the bowl! Clean the outer shell, base, and handle! After all, this is one of the filthiest spots in your house!
• Clean the tub/shower
• Plungers-I set these in the tub before I clean the tub and soak them in bleach for about five minutes to disinfect them. Make sure to get the bases or containers they set in as well!
• Vacuum air vents
• Vacuum and mop the floors

MASTER BATH

• Dust and wipe clean all surfaces
• Dust and wipe clean the baseboards, door panels, and light fixtures
• Clean the window
• Wipe out/vacuum drawers and cabinets
• Clean the mirror 
• Clean the toilet
• Clean the tub and shower
• Clean the shower door and track
• Plungers
• Clean makeup brushes!
• Vacuum air vents
• Vacuum and mop the floors

BEDROOMS

• Dust and wipe clean surfaces
• Dust and wipe clean the baseboards, door panels, and light fixtures
• Wipe down ceiling fans
• Clean the mirror
• Change and clean any sheets
• Clean the dog bed (just one of three that she has in the house 🙃)
• Clean the windows and the tracks
• Clean the closets! This is an excellent time to go through clothes and set aside what you don’t wear or want anymore!
• Vacuum air vents
• Vacuum floors

LIVING ROOM

• Dust and wipe clean all surfaces
• Dust and wipe clean the baseboards, door panels, and light fixtures
• Wipe down ceiling fans
• Clean the windows and the tracks
• Vacuum the couches! Go hard on this, pulling up cushions, getting underneath them, and vacuuming the cushions before placing them back! Don’t forget the pillows, too!
• Vacuum air vents
• Vacuum rugs, floor and mop

DINING ROOM

• Dust and wipe clean all surfaces
• Dust and wipe clean the baseboards, door panels, and light fixtures
• Clean the windows and the tracks
• Vacuum chair cushions
• Vacuum air vents
• Vacuum and mop the floors

KITCHEN

• Dust and wipe down all surfaces
• Clean cabinet tops and wipe down fronts (white cabinets collect so much finger filth after a while!)
• Dust and wipe clean baseboards, door panels, and light fixtures
• Clean dog bowls and mat
• Wipe sink, dishwasher front, stove front, microwave front, and refrigerator front (all of ours are stainless steel, and anyone that’s ever had SS knows how much they collect fingerprints)
• Wipe down all objects on countertops (canisters, wine rack, coffee machine, knife holder, etc.)
• Clean microwave and tray
• Clean out pantry-remove expired items! Give it a subtle refresh!
• Clean out the toaster oven
• Clean oven! Inside and the stovetop!
• Clean out the dishwasher filter (something people typically don’t think about more than you think!)
• Clean out the refrigerator and wipe down all shelves, drawers, and cubbies
• Clean out the junk drawer! Yes, it’s a “junk” drawer for a reason but after a while, it starts to get too junky. If you’re like me, there’s a limit to exactly how much junk you can tolerate in that drawer.
• Vacuum bar stools
• Vacuum air vents
• Vacuum and mop the floors

OFFICE

• Dust and wipe clean all surfaces
• Dust and wipe clean the baseboards, door panels, and light fixtures
• Dust and clean fan
• Clean mirror
• Clean the windows and the tracks
• Clean the dog bed
• Vacuum air vents
• Vacuum and mop the floors

BASEMENT

• Dust and wipe clean all surfaces
• Dust and wipe clean the baseboards, door panels, and light
• Dust and clean fans
• Clean workout mirror
• Clean the windows and the tracks
• Vacuum the couches
• Vacuum air vents
• Vacuum and mop the floors

GARAGE

(this is usually the hubs territory, but it’s nice to pitch in once in a while should I have an impromptu DIY project needing to take up real estate in there 😉)

• Organize all loose boxes (we have quite a few we save from online orders we reuse for outgoing shipments)
• Make sure the shoe shelf is organized
• Clean out the refrigerator (I feel like it’s a Midwest thing to have one of these in your garage 😅)
• Sweep out all debris from the cars (and DIY projects)
• Ensure all walking room is open!

MISCELLANEOUS

• Clean all vacuums! We have one manual push vacuum and two robot vacs. It’s common knowledge but make certain the filters and brushes are thoroughly cleaned to extend their lifespans!
• Air fresheners. I use Wallflowers from Bath and Body Works throughout our home and normally change them out every month once they’ve run out. I enjoy picking out fragrances appropriate to the present season to correspond the inside scents to the outside!
• Clean your car! Admittedly, this is something I let go of sometimes more than I should. I’m usually meticulous about my car but when you have the weather we do around here (rain, 85 degrees, -23 degrees, snow, back to 85 degrees, then toss in a blizzard with four inches of ice), it’s challenging to keep on a reasonable schedule to keep it clean. Spring cleaning is the ideal time to give the exterior a good scrub and wax and the inside a good detailing.

EXTERIOR

Don’t forget the exterior of your home! If you’re like me, you spend a lot more time here in the warmer months, so making sure it’s also orderly keeps it more inviting!

• Sweep the front porch and back patio
• Wipe down the front door (pollen likes to collect on our front door)
• Clean out porch light, garage coach lights, and patio light (so many bugs!)
• Powerwash driveway and patio (this is SO gratifying!)
• Powerwash front porch and ceiling/trim
• Wipe down porch and patio chairs and table
• Clean all outside windows! We have hard water where we live so when we run sprinklers, sometimes they hit the windows and leave an odd film that fuzzies our view outside. Regular snow and rainfall do this as well. This is something I try to do every four months (or at the very least, every spring and fall) so we can see the greenery outside!
• Powerwash/clean out exterior trash cans. Something I never thought of doing until recently but all it directly holds is odorous garbage. It gathers film from discarded items and after a while, you can smell the fume when you open the lid. Not fantastic 🤢. A quick spritz when the can is empty to remove any debris does wonders to keep it refreshed!

HOME SWEET SPRING HOME

Cleaning the house from top to bottom is always a lot of labor (even more so when you’re seven months preggo. There are a lot more sitting breaks in there than usual!), but, to me, it is always so, so rewarding when you’re done. To have every space, nook, and cranny free of dust or clutter and to be able to light a pleasing, floral-scented candle and decompress in your space with your family? Nothing quite outshines that.

Happy cleaning! 🧹

Do you spring clean in your home? What does your process look like? Do you create your cleaning products? Comment below or tag me on Instagram, @helloblondemoments, to share the love!