The Complete Spring Cleaning Check-list

Copyright Louise Docker 2010 - Creative Commons

The first crocuses and anenomes have flowered and the sun's shone long enough to get some washing out.

It certainly feels like spring is on it's way.

And with spring comes spring cleaning!

I'm not great at the day to day cleaning, but I do like a good old spring clean.

The only problem is, I don't have a handy week free in which I can stop absolutely everything and get the whole house sparkling.

It would be much more manageable, if I could break it into little chunks and do 4 or 5 things every week throughout spring or even - radical thought! - one thing a week throughout the year.

But to do that, I need a complete check-list to help me remember what's done and what to do.


And as a list is something I can always come up with :-)  ... ta da! ... here it is, The Complete Spring Cleaning Check-list, (just click the link to download), covering everything you need to do whether you're doing it all in a week or spread out across spring.

The list is divided into four sections ..

1. Dusting, vacuuming and polishing
2. Bedding, soft furnishing and carpets
3. Kitchen
4. Bathrooms

Each section has 13 activities in it. The activities can easily be tagged onto your weekly cleaning routine.  I'm going to feature one section a week throughout March sharing my own tips and those from some of my fave household management blogs, so by the time spring starts I will be all ready to go.

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First up this week is dusting, vacuuming and polishing ...

1. Clean out vacuum cleaner

Vacuums have to handle all sorts of gunk and get pretty gross inside.  So before you start clean out your vacuum so it can perform at its best - change bags and filters, rinse out tubing and wash brushes in soapy water as appropriate to your cleaner.

2. Dust on top of everything including wardrobes

Get a step ladder out so you can actually see what you’re doing and dust on top of wardrobes, shelves, window and door frames and curtain rails.  I use the dusting attachment on my vacuum cleaner to do all the hard work.  Once all the dust is up, spray with a dusting spray and wipe down.

3. Clean light fittings

Lights really attract dust, but easily get missed during the weekly clean as they're hard to reach.  A couple of of mine are horrid at the moment.  Get on the ladder so you can clean the top of them properly or if easier take them down to give them a thorough wash in soapy water.

4. Clean fans

Like lights, fans of all sorts are a magnet for dust, which they can end up recycling around the room. 

5. Vacuum behind and beneath all furniture

Pull out all the furniture, remove anything from underneath - particularly from under the bed - and vacuum thoroughly.  Vacuum behind and beneath radiators.  A long arm vacuum attachment and long arm brush are a god send for this.  

6. Wipe down all painted wood

Wipe down baseboards, banisters, trims, doors, sills, window frames & furniture with water and washing up liquid or a dusting spray.  If you get them really clean it’s easy to keep them clean with very light dusting, but once they’re even a little bit “sticky” - yuk! - dusting is hopeless.

7. Spot clean walls

Wipe down any mucky spots on the walls.  Get down to child height to find some of the major culprits.  Touch up with paint.

8. Clean windows, mirrors and paintings

Dust thoroughly first - you don’t just want to wipe the dust around - and then clean off any mucky marks with your preferred glass cleaning spray.  

9. Polish wooden floors and furniture

Clean furniture with a dusting spray and then polish or wax as required.  With a little supervision, children can be quite helpful with this as it doesn’t involve water and they actually enjoy rubbing as hard as they can :-)

10. Vacuum sofas and soft chairs

Pull all the cushions off and open them up as much as you can so you can get the vacuum into all those little crevices that are full of dust, crumbs and worse!  Put an old stocking over the end of the vacuum so you don’t suck up all those coins, pens, hair clips etc that you always find in the sofa.  Beat the cushions to get dust out and run the  vacuum upholstery brush on your vacuum all over the furniture to get out the miteys!

11. Polish silver and brass

This is definitely a great activity for cold winter days in front of the fire and the TV, rather than being kept for spring.  My mum always gets my dad to do it in front of the football - he does a much better job than her! - and children also enjoy helping out.  Don’t forget tarnished jewellery that needs sprucing up.

12. Wipe down electronics

Pull everything out so you can dust really thoroughly and then wipe everything down including the TV screen.

13. Dust books and ornaments

Our house is over flowing with books and a fair jumble of nick nacks.  Even if you’re good at dusting the shelves every week, it’s really worth yanking all the books off the shelves and giving them and the shelves a thorough dust and wipe down.  This is a great opportunity to donate some you’re never going to read again to a charity shop.

Do come back next week for tips on spring cleaning bedding, soft furnishings and carpets.

And if you're looking for ideas to help you around the house check out my housework board on Pinterest ..

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And if you've got your own great spring cleaning posts do add them here ...

Spring Cleaning Link-up

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