Spring Cleaning Essentials

You want a quick spring cleaning for your house – but are not ready yet to do a deep dive. Perfect, then this is for you! This pinpoints more on hot zone locations than cleaning technique per se. A few key drop zones can look like you did an overhaul in an afternoon. Just like real estate, it’s all about location, location, location.

Let’s break it down into bite-sized spring cleaning pieces – we are not tackling ceiling fans at this point – we are – simply starting with cleaning the highest traffic spaces:

The Coat Closet and Shoe Depository

Be it a rack, mat or closet can do wonders. Especially in Canada – simply putting coats and boots into their seasonal storage places now frees up this space for cleaning before the spring sneakers and sandals come out to play.

The Entryway(s)

Some homes have one, others have two – one for the company and then the mudroom at the back off the garage – these hot zones attract strays – backpacks, scarves, mitts, homework, tools, cases of beverages… whatever was “on it’s way somewhere” and… never quite made it to its final location. After these items have been shuttled to their actual resting place, a quick sweep and mop can take a load off the visual senses.

Kitchen Counters

Gasp! I said it, but we all know it’s true. Things slowly migrate there (more like migraine there we know) and then seems to take up permanent residence. The quick rule is… if you use it daily – keep it out, like a blender. If you use it less than 2x’s per week – put it away… Clear spaces make cleaning up super quick and easy throughout the day, and far less scrubbing for spring cleaning. Emptying the dishwasher in the morning also does wonders, then just put in the dirty dishes right as they get used. No more sticky dishes mountains at the end of the day. If cupboards are already jammed… this leads us to our next item on the list.

Kitchen Pantry and Cupboards

If there’s too much stuff in the cupboard to handle the things that are on the counter but do get utilized on a regular basis… then it’s a great time to re-evaluate the food storage situation. Most stock needs to be rotated on a continual basis- especially nuts and crackers which can go stale quicker than we realize… or even multiple ¼ boxes of things taking up 4 times the amount of space necessary, especially kid snacks. Making the quick decisions about stale or outdated pantry items can take less time than you think, and free up valuable real estate space for vitamins, salt and pepper shakers, protein powder, cutting boards and whatever else finds it’s way to the counters on a daily basis. If in your sleuthing you find out you have 10 spaghetti sauces and they are still 6 months away from the best before date, a food bank is a great win-win option.

The Refrigerator

At the risk of provoking an eye roll, think that bacteria and other gross things can put a family’s health at stake. Also, when this task is complete, your sub conscious will thank you by letting out a big sigh and a sense of satisfaction each and every time you open the fridge in the coming weeks. Again, similar rules apply – by chucking the old, the gross and the science experiments. Checking due dates, and even the quality of items that are not yet “due” somehow can go strange – thus checking everything. Then once space is freed up – one at a time you don’t have to pull the whole thing apart – one bin, one drawer, one shelf at a time scrubbed down and re-wiped with a fresh damp yet soapy cloth will have things looking and smelling great in no time. You may even find your produce lasts longer! (Throwing a cleaning package in your dishwasher and laundry machine – made for those respectively is also a great idea)

Washing Windows

Ok yup we said it, but it’s amazing how much of our psyche is based on visual perception of the world, and that’s hard to do when we can see outside. Sure, it’s not that bad, but once you get in there, you’ll wonder where all that dirt came from and that you can’t believe you didn’t see it all this time. Starting with just one space – either the external storm door or another great place is the living or family room window(s). It’s a bit addictive once you do one, you really can’t help yourself to do the others while you’re at it. Let the sunshine in!

Washing Bed Linens

We like hotels mainly because of the fresh sheets and clear clean clutter free spaces, whether we realize it or not. Updating the bed linens or even washing them with great smelling soap and putting your comforters or pillows in a different order can really spruce things up. Taking a good look at them and tattered sheets are kind of like tattered underwear – no ones really going to see them (other than our partners) but you know, and so does your sub conscious! Switch them up to something fabulous and you’ll perhaps find a spring in your step, knowing your house (and undergarments) is in order… and maybe even your romantic endeavours.

The above super quick spring cleaning basics, was just to get you to enjoy your new found space and potentially to gear up to do the next level sprucing up – feel free to check out our comprehensive Spring Cleaning Checklist (printable download version available) – divided by room for deep cleaning of each space step by step.

We hope this list helps. If you need a hand with any or all of your spring cleaning, including decluttering – or if a family member or loved one needs a hand, we are here for you, and them!

Call us at (905) 472-6042

About Us: Rapid Home Service

As a full-service residential and commercial cleaning company, our staff is fully bonded and insured. We are happy to present our certification of insurance upon your request.

• We customize our services on a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or project-by-project basis.
• We don’t require contracts to work with you
• We are simply glad to provide you with an in-home estimate specifically tailored to your needs
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