If it's March Madness time (which it is), then you know that it's also time for some good ol' fashioned Spring cleaning! Oh yeah, it's time to go dust bunny hunting folks. Are you ready for this?!? You know how it is, you find things that you haven't seen for the past 6 months -- some of it good and some of it bad! You find loose change in the couches and all kinds of craziness under the refridgerator. There are good times to be had during Spring cleaning! So, get out your rubber gloves, all your cleaning supplies and tools, and let's get crackin'!
It's best to attack the house one room at a time. Of course, if you're lucky enough to have family members or roommates, then you can divide and conquer. If you have kids, you can make this deep cleaning project into a game (more on this in a later post). I learned long ago that it's best to do this lofty project equipped with four boxes:
1. trash
2. items to sell
3. items to put away
4. items that belong in the room, but will be in your way while scrubbing
First, declutter the room by putting everything in one of the four boxes. If you run around the house trying to put everything away at the moment, you'll never get to the actual cleaning part. So, be sure to use the boxes. Second, after everything's been assigned to a box, start with the highest point of the room and work your way down to the floor. Third, on your way "down" the room, move furniture and appliances so you can clean behind and underneath them. Fourth, once the room is dry, replace the items that belong in the room (from box #4).
KITCHEN:
b) Rearrange dishes, etc in the cabinets above the countertops. Replace any shelf liner paper that's torn.
c) Scrub the outside of the cabinets above the countertops. Be sure to tighten any loose screws on the handles and/or replace missing or broken kitchen cabinet knobs.
d) If you have a pantry, remove ALL the food from it. Wipe down all the shelves. Discard any and all old, stale items or items that will never be consumed. Reorganize and replace everything.
e) Scrub all the appliances. Be sure to empty the crumbs from inside the toaster and spray the oven with oven cleaner and leave it be for now (follow directions on the can).
f) Scrub the outside of the microwave. If the inside's really nasty, boil some water...the steam will loosen up the old food. Scrub out the inside.
g) Scrub the stove top really well. Replace the foil under the burners (if you don't have foil already, you might want to add it for easier cleaning next time). You may want to add or replace burner covers.
h) Scrub the counters and backsplash area really well. Go ahead and knock all the crumbs to the floor (unless you have carpet in your kitchen).
i) Scrub the inside of the sink. If it's a white sink, use a kitchen-safe cleaner with bleach to revitalize the white again. Drop lemons and ice cubes in the disposal to freshen it and sharpen the blades. Don't forget to make the faucet nice and shiny!
j) Dump out each of the drawers and add the no longer needed items to your boxes. Wipe out the drawer and replace/rearrange the necessary items.
k) Rearrange pots/pans, etc in the cabinets below the countertops. Replace any shelf liner paper that's torn.
l) Scrub the outside of the cabinets below the countertops. Be sure to
tighten any loose screws on the handles and/or replace missing or
broken kitchen cabinet handles.
m) Scrub the outside of your dishwasher -- run it empty with vinegar or baking soda in place of soap.
n) Remove EVERYTHING from your refridgerator & freezer. Dump any food that's old and/or moldy. Discard anything that your family/roommates won't eat (you know you have a box of Hot Pockets in the freezer that no one will eat and it's been there for the past year -- toss it). Scrub the inside of the fridge/freezer with a very diluted food-safe cleanser. Knock all the nastiness out onto the floor. Towel dry and replace the food your family/roommates WILL eat.
o) If you didn't do it already, remove all the magnets and papers from the front/sides of your refridgerator. Scrub the entire outside from top to bottom. Side note: I keep a cloth towel on top of mine because I can't stand cleaning the grime off it.
p) If you have someone to help you, carefully pull the refridgerator out away from the wall. Be careful not to disconnect any water filters, scratch the floor, or hurt yourself. If any seem to be at risk, then skip this step. If you can move the fridge safely, sweep and mop underneath it. Fun!
q) Revisit the oven that you sprayed earlier and scrub out all the grime. Most ovens have metal plates on the bottom...you can easily remove the plates and cover them with foil to make future cleanings easier. Or, you can top them with Teflon oven liners.
r) If there are any walls left to scrub, tackle them now. Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser does an amazing job of making all kinds of wall marks disappear! (It even works on dried blood -- don't ask.) Be sure to dust off any wall hangings too and be careful not to get them wet.
s) Now, you're finally down to the floor. Sweep up all the junk that you tossed on the floor. Take a bottle of all-purpose spray to soak any bad spots on the floor. Then, mop as usual. For best results, scrub the floor with a sponge or rag (be sure to follow the rules for the type of floor you have).
t) Once the floor is dry, treat the floor with a layer of wax or wood polish or whatever extra fancy thing your floor might require. I've actually never treated a floor...I've always been "blessed" with linoleum - ha! Note to self: investigate replacing linoleum with something more modern and appealing.
u) And, as soon as the floor is dry again, replace everything that you removed at the beginning of this exercise. Remember box #4?!?
After all that is done, call for pizza delivery and then go take a nice bubble bath while you wait for your pizza. Play some relaxng music for yourself, light some candles, do whatever helps you forget about the world and enter the world of relaxation. Just remember to put your robe on before you answer the door when the pizza arrives! ;o)
Stay tuned for more Spring cleaning. One room was quite enough for one day. Whew!
Happy Spring Cleaning/Searching/Shopping,
Payton
I find family holiday stories to be both enlightening and entertaining at times (depending on the story, of course). There are some families who get together for the holidays, have a proper meal or meals together, exchange gifts and leave happy. There are other families who get together for the holidays, have a proper meal or meals together, exchange gifts and a whole lot of drama! So, which family do you belong to?!? Are you brave enough to admit it? :o)
