One of the annual things no homeowner should skip is spring cleaning. This is the time that you get to really do a deep cleaning and decluttering at home. This helps you protect your own home and other Section 8 property rental investments if you have other residential properties for rent.
Whether you’re a simple homeowner or a landlord (or landlady), spring cleaning will work to your advantage. If you’re too busy to get everything done on a weekend, you can stretch it out to seven weeks using the guide below.
1st Week: Main Areas
To kick off your 7-week spring cleaning timeline, get started with the main areas of the house: namely the living room, dining room, and front porch. You can take one area per day if you’re really pressed for time. But if you can do it on a weekend or your day off, all three areas can be finished in just a day. From wiping down the walls, dusting the furniture, and cleaning the windows and floors, it shouldn’t take you more than a day to finish everything.
If you plan to paint any of the rooms, make sure that you have enough time to move furniture around and clean the room first before applying the first coat of paint. You also need to allow time for it to completely dry off before putting back all the furniture and appliances in their proper places.
2nd Week: The Kitchen and Pantry
Among all areas of the house, the kitchen is probably one of the most challenging areas to clean during spring cleaning. You need to take your time here since it is the new center of the home and you would want it to be as squeaky clean and germ-free as possible. Go through the pantry and fridge and purge. Get rid of expired food items and other kitchen equipment that are no longer fit for use. Organize the items as you put them back in the fridge and pantry. Don’t forget to give the stove and oven a good cleaning, too. Wipe and disinfect all surfaces.
3rd Week: The Master Suite
For your third week, you can work on the master bedroom since it is the largest bedroom at home. First things first, you need to go through your closet, cabinets, drawers, and shelves for things you need to dispose of. Spring cleaning is the best time to declutter so take advantage of it. Once you’re done, wipe down the walls and dust the furniture. Replace all the bedsheets and other linens in the master suite to finish.
4th Week: Bedrooms
When you go through all of the other bedrooms, just do the same thing you did with the master bedroom. Go through all the stuff and figure out which ones are keepers and which ones need to go. It will be very helpful to segregate them first as you take them out of closets and drawers. Clean up the storage spaces and then purge one more time before putting them all back in.
5th Week: Bathrooms and Powder Rooms
Bathrooms and powder rooms are relatively easy to work on as they very small spaces. Inspect your faucets and showerheads for leaks and repair them if necessary. Otherwise, just wipe them along with the walls, sink, and countertop. Recaulk if you need to. Then scrub the floors and take out the trash. Don’t forget to disinfect the toilets, too, after cleaning them.
6th Week: All Other Rooms
Once you’re done with the important rooms and areas, go over the other rooms in the house. This is mainly applicable for those who own larger properties and not smaller apartments. If you have other rooms like a multimedia room, family room, sunroom, outdoor kitchen, or lounges, this week would be the most ideal time to work on them.
You can take it one room per day or you can finish them all in a day, depending on how you want to go about it. Obviously, if you plan to give some rooms a fresh new coat of paint, it will take longer.
7th Week: Closets and Hallways
Lastly, you need to clean out all the closets, storage spaces, and hallways around the house. You’ll basically just be doing the same things: wipe the walls, dust furniture, sweep or vacuum the floor, and declutter.
The guide above is designed to make spring cleaning a lot easier and more systematic. It is laid out in such a way that the further along you go, the easier the tasks get. However, feel free to tweak it according to your property’s needs.
