A Strategy for Spring Cleaning

Who doesn’t love spring in Indiana?  The snow and ice of winter quickly give way to ever-brighter shades of green grass.  The birds begin to sing their myriad of songs.  The crocuses appear first, followed by the yellows of daffodils and then the rainbow of tulips.  The sun shines through windows that have grown grimy from months of blowing dirt into rooms that have been closed up, trapping dust and germs.  Oh, wait, that is definitely not something to love about spring.  But it is a good reason to love spring cleaning.  If you are ready to tackle the deep cleaning that your home needs, here is a strategy to get you started.

Look high and low.  Start your spring cleaning adventure by scoping out the terrain.  Don’t just look at things that are obvious or on eye level.  Look down at your floors and baseboards and up at your ceilings and light fixtures.  Open cupboards, push to the backs of closets, and look into places that you hardly ever think about. As you do this, make sure that you take off the “blinders” that you may wear as you go about your daily life.  You might want to pretend that you are an inspector who is getting paid for every problem area you can find.

Make a list.  As you are searching out those areas that need your attention, be sure that you have your pen and notepad in hand.  Mark down every task that you’d like to complete as part of your spring cleaning.  Once you have a list, you can start to group tasks that make sense to do together.  You may want to group tasks by room so that you can get one room completely done before starting on another.  Or you may want to do all of the same type of tasks at one time.  For example, washing all the bedding and pillows at once.  If your list is a little intimidating and you wonder if you can get through it all, it can be helpful to rank your list so that you are sure to get done with the things are the most important to you.

Gather supplies and recruit help.  I know you’re anxious to get started but before you begin, it is helpful to make a list of all the supplies you will need and have those supplies close at hand.  You don’t want to get elbow-deep into this adventure and have to stop to make a trip to the grocery store.  You also want to make sure that you don’t tackle this job alone.  Who might be willing to join you in cleaning up your home?  If you share a home with others, they have a vested interest in a cleaner, neater, fresher-smelling environment.  (Or if you have kids, you can always bribe or force them to help!)

Be sure that you’re also taking advantage of the resources that are available to you. Don’t hassle renting a do-it-yourself carpet cleaner and then spending hours shampooing your carpets for only mediocre results, you can always enlist Langenwalter Carpet Cleaning.  We will gladly join you in your efforts to get your home clean.  Carpets, tile, hardwood floors, even upholstery – we can handle it all!

Stay motivated.  Okay at this point you are ready to start the actual cleaning process.  And this is also the point at which you may feel the temptation to give up.  Cleaning is hard and spring cleaning is really hard.  It requires diligence and is also a dirty job. (If it wasn’t, why would you have to clean?)  So it is important that you stay focused on the end goal and fight against the urge to throw in the towel.  How can you stay motivated?  That is something that depends on your individual personality.  Maybe set a reward for yourself to have when you get finished.  Or maybe you need a smaller reward for each portion of the cleaning you complete.  For you, having a friend keep you accountable may help.  Or making it a competition may be the way to motivate you.  Do whatever works best for you, but by all means, just stick with it.  You will be so glad you did when you have a clean comfortable place to relax with your family and entertain your friends.

This blog has covered a high-level strategy for spring cleaning, but you might need help with the nuts and bolts of what to do and how to do it.  If that’s you, there are lots of websites like this and this that will give you lists and more detailed instructions.  If you are ready to dive into the spring cleaning adventure and are looking for some help with your carpets, floors, and furniture, this is a great time to call Langenwalter and schedule your cleaning today.  Don’t forget to use our April special to save some money on our services.