Spring Cleaning Time is Just Around the Corner

Spring Cleaning Time is Just Around the Corner!

There is nothing that looks, smells, and shines like that of a home after a good spring cleaning. In its many forms, spring cleaning has been a regular practice around the world for hundreds of years. Before the advent of electricity and a host of other modern conveniences, homes were heated with oil, coal, and/or wood, and lit by gas or candlelight. Soot and grime were synonymous with winter.

Come spring, the doors would be thrown open, and everything from furniture, rugs, cupboards, curtains, and more was cleaned, swept, scrubbed, and aired out. Although today’s centrally-heated homes don’t collect the same amount of dirt and grime as back then, somehow the winter dingies seem to creep inside.

With the challenges of a pandemic and weather conditions keeping us stuck indoors all too long, our instincts are to make everything look fresh and bright come that first wink of spring. For many of us, the practice of spring cleaning almost feels ­like a biological imperative. During winter, we are exposed to less sunlight due to shorter, often dreary days.

With a lack of exposure to light, the pineal gland produces melatonin, a hormone that produces sleepiness in us humans. When we’re exposed to sunlight, our bodies produce much less melatonin. It’s possible that we have the urge to spring clean simply because we are waking up from a winter-long melatonin-induced stupor and find more energy as the days grow longer when spring arrives.

So, if you’ve been gripped by the urge to rid your home of the dust, dirt, grime, and dog hair that’s accumulated over the long, dark season, you’re certainly not alone in this strange desire to clean. After all, it’s easy to allow your abode to get a little gross around the edges when you’re in sleepy winter mode.  

Beginning the fourth Sunday in March, National Cleaning Week shows up just in time for fair weather. Besides a clean home, it’s a week that can produce improved moods, decreased stress levels, and increased creativity. It’s a week to put away winter essentials, roll up your sleeves, put on your latex gloves, and focus on the areas and spaces in your home that often get overlooked and/or forgotten. March is the perfect time to usher in a fresh new start with a good old fashion spring cleaning.

Cleaning your home from top to bottom may never become effortless, but you can make the project more manageable  Whether you prefer to clean a little at a time or all at once, a deep cleaning can be overwhelming unless you go in with a plan.

• Decide on your cleaning style. Some people find it more effective to clean one room at a time. Others prefer to group tasks such as cleaning windows in several rooms at once or leaving all the vacuuming until the end.
• Prioritize. If one room at a time is your style, decide on the order. Generally, it’s best to do the rooms that need the most work or get the most traffic first. That way, if your cleaning plans get derailed, you can still feel good about what you’ve accomplished.
• Consider the big stuff. Do the curtains need to be laundered? What about comforters, blankets,  slipcovers, and shower curtains? Are your area rugs and draperies due for professional cleaning? Once these items are removed from the room and on their way to getting clean, it will be easier to tackle the rest of the space.

What to focus on during a cleaning deep dive 

The kitchen

Most kitchens see a lot of daily use and household traffic. You may be wiping down your counters or sweeping your floors on the regular. During a deep spring cleaning, focus on those areas that have likely been overlooked.

• Cabinets – Wipe down fronts of cabinets, handles, and/or knobs
• Fridge – Clean the shelves and drawers inside, wipe down the top, and vacuum underneath. If your fridge has a water dispenser, now is a great time to check the filter and replace it if needed.
• Oven – Clean the inside, wipe down the cooktop, and vacuum underneath. Also, clean the range hood (if you have one), and kitchen exhaust fan.
• Microwave – Wipe out the inside and wash your turntable by hand or in the dishwasher.
• Dishwasher – Wipe down the outside, clean out the filter, and run a cycle of white vinegar to clean the inside.
• Drawers – Wipe out drawers (they can get pretty dirty over time)
• Coffee Maker – Now is the perfect time to run that cleaning cycle or descale your brewer.
• Walls – The wall behind your oven, cooktop, and prep areas can get dirty and greasy. Use a mild cleaner to wipe them down.

As you clean, go through your kitchen and declutter. If there are any items that you haven’t used in months (or even years) – give them away.

Main living space

Just like your kitchen, your main living space gets a lot of household traffic. If you already vacuum often, use this time to go after those elusive tasks that aren’t under the radar and get forgotten.

• Blankets and Pillows – Wash all throw blankets, and if you can remove throw pillow covers, wash those as well.
• Sofa – If you can, vacuum under the cushions. Some sofa cushions have removable covers – if you can remove them, wash them. If you have leather, wipe down the leather. Now is also a great time to vacuum under the sofa, loveseats, chairs, etc.
• Carpet/Floor – Living spaces are highly used; cleaning the carpet or floor can make a big difference and bring new life into your rooms.

Bedroom/bathroom

When it comes to your bedroom, you might make your bed or put your clothes away regularly, but when was the last time you actually vacuumed under your bed? Dedicate spring cleaning time to a deep dive into cleaning your bedroom and bathroom.  

• Bed – Wash your bed linens and freshen up your mattress with baking soda (let it sit on the bare mattress for approximately 10 minutes, then vacuum it up).
• Vacuum – Make sure to vacuum under your bed, in your closet, and underneath any furniture (dresser, nightstand, desk, etc.).
• Dust  – Make sure to dust every surface (dresser, nightstand, headboard, desk, picture frames, etc.).

For your bathroom: If you have a shower curtain, wash it. Shower curtain liners can be thrown in the washing machine with some bleach. Some other commonly forgotten items in the bathroom include behind the toilet, the showerhead, the vent fan, inside drawers that hold hair supplies and/or makeup items, and shelving where dust tends to accumulate.

General areas

Almost every item in your home can collect dust. Don’t forget to dust the TV (front as well), bookshelves, media stand, fireplace, lamps, light bulbs, picture frames, plants (real and artificial, general decor, window ledges, door frames, baseboards, wall corners top and bottom (collect dust webs) and anywhere else you can find that has a surface. Also, don’t forget furniture like the dining room table and chairs as dust can get everywhere.

Other items in your home that can easily be forgotten include doorknobs, window tracks, ceiling fan blades, garbage cans, recycling bins, window screens, and pet bowl areas. During a deep clean, it’s also a good time to make sure your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are working, and clean or replace your HVAC filter.

You don’t have to do all the cleaning yourself 

For many people, there are few rites of spring more satisfying than the annual deep clean. For others, the pleasure comes only after the work is finished. If your budget allows, by all means, call in the professionals. You don’t have to do every bit of spring cleaning by yourself. Hire a professional cleaning service to wash the windows, shampoo the carpets, buff the floors, clean the upholstery, or even do the majority of the cleaning tasks for you.

Due to COVID-19, we are taking extra measures to ensure we provide the best clean possible while maintaining high standards of safety, as per CDC guidelines:

• Our cleaning pros will sanitize their hands, put on masks, gloves, booties, and wear additional protective equipment as needed before entering your home. 
• All of our cleaning supplies, tools, and equipment are freshly laundered and/or disinfected before each cleaning visit. 
• While in your home, our cleaners will maintain a 6-foot distance from others and will clean all rooms in a specific order, ending at the front door.

Our customer satisfaction guarantee

Cleanstart strives to provide the best house cleaning services in the greater Puget Sound region. Your satisfaction is extremely important to us and why we offer a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee. If, for any reason, you are dissatisfied with our services, please give us a call within 24 hours and we will make it right at no additional cost to you. We want you to feel completely confident in the quality of our services and our ability to accommodate all of your house cleaning needs.

Cleanstart proudly offers: 

✓ Over 25 years of experience in the cleaning and janitorial industry
✓ Thoroughly trained and vetted cleaning professionals
✓ Commitment to the highest quality clean
✓ Local, licensed, insured, & bonded service
✓ 24/7 cleaning options & support
✓ Customized cleaning solutions
✓ One-time and recurring professional cleaning visits
✓ 100% satisfaction guarantee
✓ OSHA, HIPAA, EPA, CDC, AORN compliant
✓  A+ BBB-rating

Our cleaning pros are ready to get your home sparkling clean – just the way you like it!. For more information about our professional house cleaning services, or to schedule a deep spring cleaning, please give us a call at (253) 921-2593 or request a free online cleaning estimate!

Cleanstart services the following locations in the Greater Puget Sound region:

Auburn, Bellevue, Bellingham, Bonney Lake, Bremerton, Factoria, Fife, Olympia, Kent, Lakewood, Olympia, Puyallup, Renton, Seattle, Tacoma, Tukwila, University Place, King County, Kitsap County, Pierce County, and Thurston County.

Article sources:

• https://www.sleepfoundation.org/melatonin
• https://www.fortunebuilders.com/spring-cleaning-checklist/
• https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/ 
• https://www.marthastewart.com/267295/spring-cleaning-checklist
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4334454/