Want to give your house a good spring cleaning without feeling overwhelmed?
Did you know a clean, tidy home can actually make you feel better? It can lower your anxiety, make you feel energized, and generally put you in a better mood.
I’m not saying you should spend your entire spring season doing housework, but a little effort each day can have you feeling pretty good about your home in as little as two weeks.
Catching up at home will also ensure you have a comfortable, happy place to work and hang out with your family.
Here is your Spring Cleaning Decluttering Plan:
1 – Catch up on paperwork
You know that pile of mail and paperwork that’s been sitting in the “to-do” spot for longer than you would like to admit? Let’s tackle it.
No one wants to pay bills, file papers, and generally do anything financial when the pile is more than we can handle mentally. Tackle it now, before it makes you dislike everyone around you!
Need more help getting paperwork under control? Check out how my best tips for mail organization without a big DIY project!
2 – Polish all the furniture
I love the smell of fresh furniture polish, and I love the look even more!
Grab a bottle of polish and a couple of dusting rags and get to work! This task won’t take long, and your home will be shiny and pretty.
This is a great task for kids too. If they’ve never dusted before, give them a quick lesson and then trust them to get it done.
Want to get your kids involved in more chores? Check out this free downloadable chore chart for kids.
3 – Wipe down your kitchen cabinets
My grandmother wipes down all her kitchen cabinets daily. I’m almost sure of it.
Me, not so much. I try to do it monthly. They probably could handle it weekly.
Grab your favorite kitchen cleaner and get ready to put in some elbow grease. Get all the “tacky film”, you know that grimy stuff that builds up, off and enjoy your sparkling clean kitchen.
After getting all the grime off, I enjoy an extra wipe-down using Murphy’s Oil. It gives a nice, shiny look to your cabinets.
4 – Inventory your food
If you haven’t cleaned out your pantry in months, there’s a good chance you have some food nearing expiration (or is already past it). You may even have more food than you think you have in your freezer, fridge, and pantry that you could be using in your rotation this week.
Grab a notebook and create three separate pages. Title each page, “Fridge”, “Freezer” and “Pantry”.
Next, write down every single thing you have in your inventory.
For example:
- 3 lbs chicken breaks
- ½ bag of frozen broccoli
- 2 containers of yogurt
- 5 eggs
You might learn you can survive for weeks off of what is in your pantry! Talk about money saved at the store while prices are climbing higher every day!
Feeling lost on how to survive on just your pantry? Check out my No Spend Grocery Challenge. It may be the tool you need to make it another few weeks and save a whole load of cash.
5 – Do a repair that’s been on your to-do list
You know that repair that’s been on your to-do list for weeks, maybe months? Now is the time.
Pick a repair or project you can do with the tools on hand, and get it done.
Don’t worry about something being outside your wheel-house. YouTube can literally teach you how to do anything. (I learned how to drywall from YouTube. Seriously, you can learn anything.)
6 – Wash ALL your bedding
I wash our sheets often. I don’t wash our blankets and comforters as often as I would like.
Open a window, air out your room, and wash ALL the bedding. You will feel so good when you crawl into bed later tonight.
7 – Wash your windows, inside and out
This is the task I never, ever do, but once it is done, there are is immediate gratification.
Check off this spring cleaning task no one really wants to do but we all enjoy it when it is done.
Get your kiddos to help with washing the windows on the inside. This is a task they can likely help with if they are in elementary school or older.
8 – Organize your spices
Pull all of your spices out. Then, inventory them if you like.
Think about what spices you use and how often.
Some people like to organize their spices in alphabetical order. That’s not my jam. I like to organize by what I use.
Baking spices and baking additions go on the top shelf. I bake less often than I cook.
The weird spices we love but don’t use often, go on the middle shelf. The least used go in the very back, on a stair-stepping type shelf. The more popular go towards the front.
The spices we use daily go on the bottom shelf, with the most used spices in the very front. It works!
9 – Declutter and organize a storage closet
I often call these “junk closets”. They literally become the dumping ground for everything we are avoiding decluttering or organizing.
Go find a box or two you’ve been meaning to tackle for YEARS, and start decluttering. Then, get it out. Move your give-away pile to the trunk of your car and get the trash out.
Finally, organize what is left.
10 – Declutter and organize your clothes closet
With the change of seasons, it becomes painfully obvious what clothes we used over the past season and which ones sat in the same spot for months without ever being worn. Use this time to declutter your clothes you don’t wear that often or have been meaning to go through.
Look for clothes you haven’t worn recently, still have tags on them, or don’t fit.
Need more help? Check out these posts:
- How to Declutter Your Closet Fast
- How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe: Beginner’s Guide Included
- 9 Proven Methods to Decluttering Your Closet Without Regrets
11 – Declutter and organize kids’ toys
Kids’ interests change. They outgrow toys. They bore of toys.
If your kids have a tough time keeping up with cleaning their room, there’s a good chance they have more than they can handle. That’s always the first sign we need to declutter.
Use this opportunity to purge toys your kids have outgrown, don’t like, or that you hate. (It’s ok to hate a toy and find it a new home. I’m not judging you!)
Related Posts:
12 – Declutter and organize your craft space
It’s time to be honest with yourself about the types of crafts you enjoy. If you have a craft that used to be your thing, and now you don’t enjoy it anymore, move it to the give-away pile.
Use this time to also finish any projects.
Finally, organize what is left.
Don’t go buying more craft supplies until you have used up what you have on hand!
Related post: Declutter and Organize Your Craft Room
13 – Tidy up your entryway
Your entryway is the first space you see when you or guests enter your home. It can also set the tone for the rest of the space it flows into.
Use this spring cleaning time to tidy up your entryway and organize things like shoes, coats, and any other items you store in an entryway closet.
I like to keep my shoes organized on a shoe rack in the entry-way closet. Maybe you enjoy a basket or a door hanging organizer. Find what works for your space, and get that project finally done!
14 – Clean out and detail your car
OK, so your car isn’t inside of your home, but with summer coming up and spring break road trips, it will be nice to have a spic and span car to travel in!
Bonus, make your kids help. They can empty out trash, see all the fun treats they left under the car seats, and generally make the task a little less daunting.
Spring Decluttering DONE, in just two weeks
Check off a quick task every day, and before you know it, you will feel calmer and have a clean home!
Good luck!
When Your New Habit Mocks You