While looking at my backyard, noticing the buds on the trees, the flowers emerging from the ground, and the grass turning bright green, I was reminded that spring would be here soon, and it was time to do some deep cleaning. To do this, each year, I have specific places to deep clean during springtime.
These areas are places that don't need a lot of cleaning or decluttering. Once a year is usually enough for us to get rid of the mess.
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You may be asking why do I need to do deep cleaning this time of year. I find it helps clear the home of items that may be stuck from the winter. So, making a point once a year to go through these areas will bring attention to them and allow me to decide if I need the items or if they can go. Doing this allows me to see my home differently and freshen areas that were just not being looked at. Below I am sharing the areas I deep clean this time of year. Follow along and make your own spring cleaning task list.
Visit our How to Awaken to Clutter in Your Home three-part blog post series for help finding clutter in your home.
Now, let's begin!
Bedrooms and Closets Places to Deep Clean
Clean Out your closet (and the kids' closets) and replace the items with your lighter spring clothing. Get rid of anything faded, torn, or that doesn't fit anymore. When in doubt, put it in a box marked "Clothes to get rid of," then place it in another room or garage (Affiliate Link). If you do not go in the box for at least two months, you can donate or give away the entire box of items - done and done!
Changing bedding to lighter ones and then washing the thick blankets. Spring cleaning aims to get rid of the excess dust in your home. Blankets trap a lot of dust, so cleaning them every few months works well. But, if you can't make this time to clean your bedding, this time of year is great for this task.
Shared Spaces to Deep Clean (Living Rooms / Dining Rooms / Kitchen)
Living Room Deep Cleaning Areas
Dust the floor under furniture (Affiliate Link) and move furniture (Affiliate Link) around your rooms. Then get your carpets cleaned. You may be surprised that you may find something you have lost. My mom and I would do this task each spring, and we found it very therapeutic. It allowed us to let go of the winter woes and make room for the new springtime change.
Take books and knick-knacks off bookshelves (Affiliate Link) and decide if you should keep them. Ask yourself, "Have I used this book in the last year or even three years?" If the answer is no to this question, donate to the nearby library or used bookstore. Ask yourself, "Do I really need this knick-knack or item out all year long?" If not, consider getting rid of it by donating or recycling it.
Clear cobwebs in corners and around recessed lights. A damp cloth works nicely, and I particularly like the telescoping cleaning brushes.
Dining Room Deep Cleaning Places
Clean the china cabinet by taking out everything and then wipe the shelves (Affiliate Link). Mismatched dishes or serving utensils (Affiliate Link) you don't use anymore are great things to eliminate in your china cabinet.
Below is one duster and cobweb tool I found on Amazon (Affiliate Link).com(affiliate).
Duster with Extension Pole, Cobweb & Corner Brush Cleaning Kit
Buy Now →(Affiliate Link)
Kitchen Deep Cleaning Areas
Clean Out the upper cabinets in your kitchens. Be honest with yourself; how often do you reach above your fridge or in the top cabinet space? Not often, correct? This area is a great place to get rid of clutter.
Empty the refrigerator and reorganize the space. Sort all the items by tasks. Use trays, lazy susans, and containers to help you keep the space organized and easy to clean. If you can place all the items in one bin, it is much simpler to clean the shelves (Affiliate Link).
Clearing out the pantry (Affiliate Link) is another area that needs to be examined closely, especially if you have a deep pantry (Affiliate Link). It is best to make meals from the pantry (Affiliate Link) after finding items in the back of your closet. You can also make some interesting dishes.
Dust and clean the pictures on the walls. Take them down and dust the frames top, bottom, sides, and back.
NOTE: The bathroom areas are usually cleaned frequently, so they are not needed to do this time of year unless you have large amounts of clutter in cabinets and linen closets.
Basement and Attic Places to Deep Clean in Your Home
Empty and purge items in your basement storage space. We tend to forget this place because it is the catch-all area we do not visit often. So, going here will make an impact on your home. You will probably find items you never knew you still had. Check behind doors and on shelves (Affiliate Link) behind boxes (Affiliate Link) for items you can revisit and get rid of.
Windows to Deep Clean
Change out curtains or remove them altogether. If you have curtains up for several months, they get pretty dusty. Taking them down and popping them into the dryer will freshen them up. Washing them works even better to remove the dust if the fabric instructions recommend it.
Cleaning windows. I like doing windows when I take down the curtains. Doing this on a sunny day helps us see the spots. But no direct heat, please; it will get streaky.
How to clean windows easily
Here's how we do it. After spraying the glass from the top down and saturating it, use a squeegee and start from the top left corner to the right corner. When you reach the right corner, turn the squeegee and move down the window, making a tight zig-zag pattern while overlapping the rows. Then, at the bottom, use a paper towel and whip off the excess drips around the window and the bottom. It works well, and you don't need to work your shoulder too hard.
Below are products you can use for deep cleaning your windows to make the job easier.
Window Cleaning Squeegee Combo
Buy Now →(Affiliate Link)
Check out Good Housekeeping's The Best Way to Clean Windows, According to Our Cleaning Lab article for tips.
Kid Play Areas to Deep Clean
Clearing out the kids' toys, especially the gaming area. No one wants to do this too often, not even the kids. So, cleaning it out right before the kids finish school is an excellent time. They get to remember what they had, and you don't need to deal with it every few months.
You can also visit their clothing. If your kids are growing, this is also a great time to purge their clothing and donate it to others in need.
Laundry Room Areas to Deep Clean
Empty and clean the laundry area. Go through cabinets and remove any detergent or free samples you haven't used. Schedule to have your dryer vent cleaned out as well. Search on your Search Engine "Dryer Vent Service Near Me" to find someone near you.
Outdoor Places to Deep Clean
Clear out your shed space. Make a list of items that need to be repaired or replaced or if you need to replenish supplies.
Bring out items used only in the spring and summer, like hoses, water barrels, etc... Uncover lawn furniture (Affiliate Link) and clean off the dirt.
Office Spaces to Deep Clean
Go through papers that were left out and decide on them.
Clean Out the drawers that may be overstuffed with papers going back years.
I know it sounds like a lot. Here is a free image to share to remind yourself and others what needs revisiting this spring.
Now that you purged your stuff and your home is refreshed and cleaned click here for places to donate items. I hope this post helps you stay on top of your spring cleaning tasks so you don't get overwhelmed in deep cleaning.
It is a good idea to do some of these tasks every weekend; by the time summer arrives, you will have cleared out and cleaned all the areas of your home.
If you still feel overwhelmed by what needs to be done, visit our 30 Days to Spring Clean Your Home challenge. It will give you tasks for each day, keep you focused, and help you get through your tasks quickly.
Please leave a comment below if you have any questions while doing this process. I would love to hear from you.
Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon (Affiliate Link) and at no additional cost to you, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.
Visit our other spring cleaning posts.
HOW TO CREATE A CUSTOMIZED SPRING CLEANING CHECKLIST
30 DAYS TO SPRING CLEANING YOUR HOME CHALLENGE
Below are our other spring cleaning/decluttering posts to help you eliminate unwanted things.
Melanie Summers says
You've really thought of everything! I've been staring at some of my super tall windows wondering how the heck I'm going to get up there. You've solved my problem! Thanks for sharing.
Julie Bestry says
I'm exhausted just reading all of this. As a singleton in an apartment, I get to skip so much of this: I don't have many of those spaces (attics, basements, garages, "outdoor" spaces) or things (I have all my clothes in one walk-in closet, so there's no switching out; I live in a warm place so I use the same weights of bedding all year; and ha, definitely no china cabinet). I'm not envious of all the readers getting to put your smart advice into practice.
But I have one hard-to-clean thing you don't mention: ceiling fans. I have a cathedral ceiling, so there's no way, even on a step ladder, to get to the ceiling fan, and dusting those blades from a distance is a wiggly nightmare. Any advice?
Sabrina Quairoli says
I'm glad you stopped by and commented. Thank you.
Regarding your ceiling fan dusting issue, look for a telescoping pole with attachable duster pieces. It's an investment but, it does great for cleaning cobwebs off corners while staying on the ground. Here's one I found on Amazon https://amzn.to/2QPUDro. This is an affiliate link. You can adjust it from 7 feet to 30 feet. Good luck.
Janet Schiesl says
Spring definitely gets me in the mode to deep clean. I identified a few places that need attention: the cabinets in my laundry room, the storage cabinet on my porch and the closet in my office. I just need to find the time to do them.
We are just finishing a renovation of our master bathroom, so I have lined up a cleaner to do a deep cleaning of my whole house. I hope to tackle these 3 areas before they come to clean.
Diane N Quintana says
Great tips, Sabrina. The cupboards that are hard to reach tend to be places I rarely look. I also use those spots to stash things and then I forget about them. This is a good reminder to check inside them and remove the things I don't want.
Margarita Ibbott says
My husband loves spring cleaning. I have to admit it is mainly in the garage, the cars, the yard but there are things I don't worry about. I do a big clean when we turn the clocks forward and back. I definitely picked up a few extra tasks to tackle.
Jonda Beattie says
Great list! I want to restate the importance of cleaning walls and behind wall hangings. I know someone who had a huge infestation of moths that had been dwelling behind wall hangings.
Sabrina Quairoli says
WOW! that is scary. Thanks for sharing. =)
Janet Barclay says
I have a cleaning service look after the routine stuff, so it's easy to forget they don't do everything - thanks for the reminder and all the great tips!
Kim says
I have a week off work soon so planning to do some deep cleaning before I want to spend all my time outdoors. Bad weather = good time to clean. I am looking forward to it. Lol
Sarah Soboleski says
If I could, I'd hire someone! You make a good point about the pictures on the walls, but you should not only dust them, but the patch of wall behind them gets pretty grimey too. I found that out recently when swapping out some frames.
Allison Weigensberg says
what a great list! I know I'll be doing some serious spring cleaning and organizing soon and will be sure to refer back to this 🙂
Stacey Agin Murray says
I have a date with my refrigerator/freezer this Spring! As soon as it looks a little empty in there, I have to start scrubbing both areas down. There's a blob of melted ice pop (red!) on my freezer door that I've been ignoring for a few weeks. I think that's the first spot I'll tackle...
Seana Turner says
I do a deep kitchen clean with a drawer a day. I need to do my curtains... thanks for the reminder!
Linda Samuels says
Lots to do to prep for spring! We have a lot of windows in our home. It's almost ALL windows. Years ago I met a window cleaner at one of my client's homes. Now he visits here twice a year (fall and spring) to give the windows a great inside and outside cleaning. Those are two of my favorite days. He clears the way for enjoying the views.
Sabrina Quairoli says
Thanks for sharing, Linda. This is a great example for outsourcing the work. =)
Brittany says
Thanks for reminding me about window dressings. I always forget those!!