This winter, our family has been through so many minor illnesses, colds, fevers, and even the flu. Now, another fever is hitting me, but this is a good one. It’s Spring Cleaning Fever Have you gotten it yet?
I love organizing– this is no surprise– but what you might not know about me is that I don’t love spending hours cleaning the house. Please, don’t get me wrong, I love a clean house. I love the smell of my house when everything is clean.
In Brazil it is very common to do a “faxina”, or a deep clean, almost every week. I remember spending the whole day (usually a Friday or Saturday) cleaning the house with my mom. We would wash E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.– walls, floors, bathrooms, kitchen, bedding, etc. At the end of the day, the house would be spotless, but we would be exhausted, covered in sweat and with aching backs. Even though I still love the idea of deep cleaning the house in one day, as a working mom with two little kids, I find it nearly impossible. That is why, I came up with a system that allows me to Spring Clean the whole house in one week, just by taking care of a couple small areas a day.
I like to start cleaning the house from top to bottom. I also like starting at one point in the room and moving clockwise, until every single inch is clean.
Here’s my schedule
Day 1: Master Bedroom + Family Bathroom
Day 2: Kids’ bedrooms + 2 small closets
Day 3: Living room + Dining room
Day 4: Kitchen + Pantry
Day 5: Multipurpose room
Day 6: Laundry/Mud room Day 7: Garage + Outside
I spend at least one hour per room, really getting everything clean. I like to make sure every single space is clean, from top to bottom. At this time I also do a deep decluttering of the spaces. I find that if I leave a spot of untidiness– a pile of unsorted clothes or a heap of old toys– it just continues to grow and make more mess. I make sure that everything we have in each space were used the past season, or the past year. I keep two boxes nearby, one for donations and one for items that need to be moved elsewhere.
A couple years ago, I teamed up with 4 of my organizing friends to give you a step-by-step process from Professional Organizers to a better Spring cleaning. Check out our process to clean 5 different areas of your home.
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