Spring cleaning season is here again! If you are anything like me, you absolutely love the opportunity to declutter your space and make it sparkly clean again.

Do you stress over everything that needs to be done, though? Does the sheer amount of work that needs to be done intimidate you?

Let me help you out, then! I have put together a total list of everything that needs to be done to give your home a breath of fresh air!

If you want to check out my weekly cleaning schedule, you can read that here. A lot of that stuff isn’t going to be on this list, though you will see some. Today we are going to focus on those things that don’t really need to be done every single week. But they will make your home feel like home again!

A Few Tips

Before we get started, there are a couple things that I want to point out.

When you are cleaning, declutter first, then clean and sanitize, then do the floors. Also, make sure you clean from the top down.

Pick a starting point and work clockwise. Or counterclockwise if you like going against the grain—I’m cool with that. The point of this is to make sure you don’t miss something by jumping from one thing to another.

After you have your home spotless again, I want you to keep it that way! I know that most of us save all of our cleaning for one day of the week, and that is totally fine. But in order to make your weekly cleaning a breeze, I want you to take ten minutes each day, focus on one room in your house, and do a few things. To help you out here, I’ve created an awesome Ten Minute Cleaning Spree Cheat Sheet, so make sure you grab that!

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Declutter

The point of decluttering is to put everything where it goes. If something doesn’t have a place to go, decide if you want to keep it. If you do keep it, give it a home where it will always go back to. If not, toss it, donate it, or recycle it.

Kitchen

Go through your cabinets and check all those expiration dates—canned goods, spices, pasta, nuts. Check anything with a long shelf life that you haven’t checked in a while.

Go through all your Tupperware and toss or recycle any with missing lids.

Note any old dishes, pots, pans, cutlery, or utensils that you are holding on to for no good reason. Decide if it’s something you really need to keep.

Go through the fridge and check the expiration date on all condiments, or anything else that may have been left in there.

Go through your freezer and check the dates on everything. Toss anything that is old or freezer burnt.

Living Room

Toss or recycle any magazines or newspapers that are laying around.

Put away any books, clothes, and toys that made their way there and never went back.

Put away any blankets, throws, and pillows that have gathered during the winter.

Dining Room

If your kitchen table is the household dumping ground, go through everything and find a new place for everyone to dump their stuff. Perhaps a family command center? Keeping the table clean will persuade your family to have meals together more often.

Office

Shred all that damn paper. Don’t keep old paperwork. If you might need it again, scan it into your computer. There will be a separate post on decluttering your digital space, but anything you need to save (records, financials, doctor, insurance) keep it in your computer, but back it all up.

Take stock of your office supplies.

Organize your desk drawers. If something doesn’t have a home, make a home for it or toss it.

Throw out old pens, rusty paperclips. You don’t need them.

Bathrooms

Go through your medicine cabinets and check all expiration dates.

Throw out sunblock from last year.

Expired medications.

Go through all face creams and cleansers and check the expiration date.

Get rid of old makeup, check all dates.

Throw out or recycle old towels and washcloths.

Make sure you don’t have three half empty bottles of toilet cleaner under your sink.

On that note, how does it look under your sink? A lot of junk? Give it a home or toss it.

Bedroom

Go through your closets. Downsize your clothes. If something doesn’t fit, donate, recycle, or toss it.

Throw out old socks.

Check all your shoes.

Get rid of the stuff you don’t actually use. I’m not saying to throw out your wedding dress, but you probably don’t need to hang on to the dress you wore to your spring formal fifteen years ago. I mean, good for you if it still fits, but that was a horrible decade for fashion.

Kids’ Rooms

If you are saving hand me downs for the younger kid(s), take the time to go through them, and make sure each article of clothing is actually something worth saving. Stained onesies are easy to replace.

Throw out mismatched socks.

Get rid of broken toys, donate neglected ones. Send them on a play date with daddy, go through EVERYTHING, and ditch what you can.

Laundry/Closets/Cleaning Supplies

Get rid of any piles of mismatched clothes.

Combine half empty bottles with other half empty bottles.

Take inventory of all the cleaning supplies you have. Do you really need all of them? Is the only thing stopping you from throwing something away that you don’t want to waste money? If you aren’t going to use it, get rid of it. The clutter is worse for you than the couple bucks you spent.

Are your mops and brooms disgusting? Replace them. And don’t just get a new one and keep the old!

Deep Clean

Now that you have decluttered your house, it’s time to make it shine again. When it’s possible, I absolutely suggest that you use all natural cleaners. The power of vinegar and baking soda has not been lost on me. But if a mouse has run across your kitchen floor I need you to bleach that shit. That is disgusting. Just don’t let your kid lick the floor after you’re done if you’re that worried about it.

My go to cleaner for areas that do not need to be sanitized is vinegar, Dawn, and water. If I need a little scrubbing power, I’ll add baking soda.

Kitchen

Clean the ceiling fan, light fixtures, and exhaust fan.

Replace the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Check the fire extinguisher.

Degrease all cabinets, the hood, stove, and backsplash.

Remove everything from inside cabinets, vacuum, and sanitize. Only put back things that belong there.

Clean and sanitize all kitchen hardware.

Remove everything from inside all drawers, vacuum, and sanitize. Only put back things that belong there.

Create a paste out of baking soda and water and put it inside of your oven. Scrub it up after.

Deep clean the dishwasher.

Clean the kitchen windows, window treatments, and window sills. Wash the curtains if possible—they can get greasy.

Take everything out of refrigerator, vacuum, and sanitize.

Deep clean the coffee pot – run vinegar through it twice, and plain water through a couple after. Let one vinegar run sit for about an hour halfway through for maximum effect. Wipe the inside of the machine really well, too.

Deep clean the microwave and any other kitchen appliances.

If you have a gas range, soak the plates in ammonia overnight to get all the dried gunk off.

Throw some lemons in the garbage disposal to freshen it up.

Scrub and sanitize the inside of your trash cans.

Vacuum and clean all vents.

Wash any rugs (if possible).

Clean all baseboards.

Vacuum and scrub the floor.

Living Room

Clean the ceiling fan and light fixtures.

Replace the batteries in the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Clean all picture frames, mirrors, and wall decorations.

Pull out all furniture, vacuum and scrub the floors.

Wipe down all the walls and doors.

Clean all the windows, window treatments, and window sills.

Clean all the shelves and surfaces, moving everything as you go.

Vacuum inside all furniture.

Remove all spots and stains from the furniture, rugs, and carpet.

Sanitize all door handles, light switches, remote controls, lamps, etc.

Pull everything out of any drawers, vacuum, and clean. Only put stuff back that belongs in there!

Vacuum and clean all vents.

Wash any smaller rugs that you can (or hang outside), and freshen up rugs and carpet with baking soda (put a few drops of essential oils for scent).

Clean all baseboards.

Vacuum and scrub the floor.

Dining Room

Clean the ceiling fan and light fixtures.

Change the batteries in the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Clean all picture frames, mirrors, and wall decorations.

Pull out all furniture, vacuum, and scrub the floors.

Wipe down all the walls and doors.

Clean all the windows, window treatments, and window sills.

Clean all the shelves and surfaces, moving everything as you go.

Clean the kitchen table and chairs.

Sanitize all door handles, light switches, lamps, etc.

Pull everything out of any drawers, vacuum, and clean. Only put stuff back that belongs in there!

Vacuum and clean all vents.

Wash any smaller rugs that you can (or hang outside), and freshen up rugs and carpet with baking soda (put a few drops of essential oils for scent).

Clean all baseboards.

Vacuum and scrub the floor.

Office

Clean the ceiling fan and light fixtures.

Change the batteries in the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Clean all picture frames, mirrors, and wall decorations.

Pull out all furniture, vacuum, and scrub the floor.

Wipe down all the walls and doors.

Clean all the windows, window treatments, and window sills.

Clean all the shelves and surfaces, moving everything as you go.

Clean the desk and computer.

Sanitize the keyboard, mouse, and all desktop accessories.

Sanitize all door handles, light switches, lamps, etc.

Pull everything out of any drawers, vacuum, and clean. Only put stuff back that belongs in there!

Vacuum and clean all vents.

Wash any smaller rugs that you can (or hang outside), and freshen up rugs and carpet with baking soda (put a few drops of essential oils for scent).

Clean all baseboards.

Vacuum and scrub the floor.

Bathrooms

Clean all the light fixtures and exhaust fan.

Clean all the mirrors and decorations.

Wipe down all the walls and doors.

Clean all the windows, window treatments, and window sills.

Clean all the shelves and surfaces, moving everything as you go.

Let the shower head soak in vinegar to remove any build-up.

Clean all the grout. If the grout needs to be bleached, put toilet bowl cleaner gel with bleach in the lines and let it sit. For the shower grout, use a Clorox gel pen. Make sure you clean them well after.

Wash or change your shower curtain and liner.

If you have shower doors, clean the tracks well.

Clean the inside of the toilet tank.

Remove the toilet seat and sanitize all surfaces.

Sanitize all door handles, light switches, hardware, etc.

Pull everything out of any drawers, vacuum, and clean. Only put stuff back that belongs in there!

Vacuum and clean all vents.

Wash any smaller rugs that you can (or hang outside).

Clean all baseboards.

Vacuum and scrub the floor.

Bedrooms

Clean the ceiling fans and light fixtures.

Change the batteries in the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Clean all picture frames, mirrors, and wall decorations.

Pull out all furniture, vacuum, and scrub the floors.

Wipe down all the walls and doors.

Clean all the windows, window treatments, and window sills.

Clean all the shelves and surfaces, moving everything as you go.

Wash all pillows, duvets, and heavy bedding.

Combine a few drops of lavender essential oil with baking soda. Using a flour sifter, distribute over the mattresses and let sit for a couple hours (the longer the better). Vacuum up the baking soda. Flip all of your mattresses and clean the other side with the baking soda/lavender oil mixture.

Sanitize all door handles, light switches, remote controls, lamps, etc.

Pull everything out of any drawers, vacuum, and clean. Only put stuff back that belongs in there!

Vacuum and clean all vents.

Wash any smaller rugs that you can (or hang outside), and freshen up rugs and carpet with baking soda (put a few drops of essential oils for scent).

Clean all baseboards.

Vacuum and scrub the floor.

Laundry Room and Closets

 Clean the ceiling fans and light fixtures.

Change the batteries in the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Clean all picture frames, mirrors, and wall decorations.

Wipe down all the walls and doors.

Clean all the windows, window treatments, and window sills.

Clean all the shelves and surfaces, moving everything as you go.

Run an empty load through the washing machine with vinegar to clean.

Clean the outside and inside of the washing machine.

Pull out the lint trap in the dryer and vacuum inside.

Sanitize all door handles, light switches, etc.

Pull everything out of any drawers, vacuum, and clean. Only put stuff back that belongs in there!

Vacuum and clean all vents.

Wash any smaller rugs that you can (or hang outside), and freshen up rugs and carpet with baking soda (put a few drops of essential oils for scent).

Clean all baseboards.

Vacuum and scrub the floor.

 

Okay, so that’s the end of my spring cleaning list! Each home has its own unique challenges that may require a few modifications, but I have covered the most common items.

We just went through a LOT of stuff, so I’ve created an amazing FREE checklist. Grab a copy now!

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I would love to know of anything you do that I didn’t include! So please let me know!

And don’t forget to share this with someone who could use some help organizing their own spring cleaning plan!

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