Wrapping Things Up
03/29/2021
After last week’s “deep dive” into spring cleaning, it’s time to get going.
Yep. It's time to …
. . . with a spring cleaning wrap-up post full of (what else?) a few more tips to motivate you and possibly make your spring cleaning life easier.
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First, just as I was putting the finishing touches on last Friday’s post, The Atlantic came up with a special spring cleaning playlist! You can read all about it here, or jump right to Spotify to start listening.
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Next, many of you shared terrific spring cleaning tips and suggestions last week. As promised, here’s a summary of blog-reader tips for you to try:
- Kat suggests doing a two-for-one when it comes to spring cleaning chores (although I won't say she enjoys doing it. . . ). She takes her curtains down for a good washing in the spring, and while she’s at it, she tackles the blinds.
- Vicki likes to bring the spring sunshine in by washing her windows - and especially the kitchen window.
- Carole swaps out her curtains and changes up the décor on her shelves and mantle, and she opens all the windows to air everything out.
- Carolyn opens the doors and windows for fresh air, too. She adds that she does a good porch-scrubbing several times a season. (She also mentions that hosting parties and guests is a good motivator for her to clean her house, but that hasn’t happened in a while . . . ) (Same here!)
- Mary tells us that having your house’s interior painted is a great way to organize and deep clean, no matter the time of year. She also suggested a @gocleanco (Instagram) for great cleaning tips and hacks. (I see that @gocleanco will be hosting a 6-week spring cleaning challenge beginning . . . now. Check it out.) (FYI - I printed out the free download. This is a 6-week cleaning challenge with each week focusing on a different area of the house. It is far less intimidating than some of the lists I shared last week.)
- Sarah and her daughter do a seasonal closet switch-over in the spring. Sarah says it’s a great time to figure out what still fits her growing daughter, and helps them figure out what new clothes she’s going to need for the season ahead.
- Margene offers some great advice: Do the best you can!
- Dee mentions turning on some music!
- Jane likes to approach her cleaning a little bit at a time all year long. She also hires outside help to clean her windows (because none of us need to be up on ladders anymore) (and neither do our "helpers;" leave this one to the professionals).
- I included a tip last week about keeping track of the expiry dates on your makeup and skin care products. Kat added that it’s also a great time to clean your makeup brushes (here’s a link to makeup brush/sponge cleaning how-tos from Good Housekeeping), and Mary told me that she sets up a reminder on her phone whenever she opens a new mascara so she knows when to replace it with a new one. (Wondering how often you should switch out your mascara? At least every three months! Here’s a great list of replacement dates for all kinds of personal products and makeup from Everyday Health.)
- And, lastly, Carolyn sent me an email that included some great housekeeping advice: "If I don't like to clean it, or clean around it, I get rid of it." Carolyn followed this up by explaining how she switched out her glass shower door (fussy to keep clean) with a shower curtain (easier to keep clean). I think this is great advice -- if something is too hard or too maddening to deal with . . . get rid of it!
"Housekeeping is like being caught in a revolving door."
— Marcelene Cox
Thanks for coming along on my spring cleaning adventure last week. I hope you’re motivated -- at least a little bit -- to tackle your own home projects this spring.
Here’s to a good (and productive!) week for all of us.
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Links to other posts in my Spring Cleaning series:
An Introduction and Some History of Spring Cleaning
Rolling Up Your Sleeves and Coming Up With Your Strategy
Finding Your Organizational Style