Seasonal Cleaning

It is that time of year. Spring cleaning. I have dedicated the past several days to this task and am still nowhere near done.  But probably my daughter is at least partially to blame.  

I found that very few of the online checklists were as specific as I needed them to be - they either omitted chores I felt were crucial, or went into pages of detail on things I didn't care much about.  So I made my own as I went, and while I am sure it is missing some items, it is definitely detailed and stops you from forgetting anything when your newly potty trained toddler interrupts every five minutes.  

I do say "seasonal", in part because in Southern California we don't do things like switch clothes or rugs - we don't actually have seasons.  However, more to the point, if you are really on the ball you will go through this list once every season and then it will be less daunting.  Some items can be annually handled, but you will love having the house this clean for Thanksgiving and Christmas and all those other things.  My trick?  I have a bunch of people over every few months.  It forces me to get my act together!  I will post a list for an easy weekly cleaning sometime soon.  :)

Happy Spring Cleaning!  

Seasonal Cleaning Checklist

Step One: Remove Dirt

• Dust door tops, window casings, tops of picture frames and mirrors
• Remove books, dust shelves
• Dust ceiling fans
• Dust blinds
• Dust furniture
• Dust baseboards
• Clean outlet covers, switch plates
• Dust and wipe down doors
• Change your air filters

Step Two: Purge and Decontaminate Kitchen

• Remove items from cabinet, clean interior (toss expired or useless items)
• Clean exterior of cabinets
• Clean counters
• Clean oven out and in
• Remove items from fridge and freezer, clean interior
• Run empty dishwasher on hot with a half packet of Glisten
• Clean trash cans with hard core cleaner and leave outside to dry

Step Three: Bathrooms, Laundry Room, and Glass

• Clean toilet bowl
• Dust toilet exterior top to bottom
• Clean surfaces of showers, baths, counters, etc
• Apply Drano as needed
• Wipe down washer and dryer
• Clean dryer vent (not lint trap, vent to outside of house)
• Clean washing machine by running a hot cycle with just bleach and water, and then another with vinegar and water
• Clean mirrors
• Clean fixtures

Step Four: Linens

• Launder curtains
• Launder sheets and dry clean blankets and pillows
• Switch mattress top to bottom and under/over

Step Five: Floors

• Vacuum inside couch and other furniture
• Vacuum under refrigerator (ONLY use plastic, or turn off the breaker)
• Vacuum carpets
• Clean carpets (or have someone do it)
• Sweep floors
• Mop floors
• Seal grout lines

Step Six: The Hard Stuff

• Oil or polish furniture
• Dust and wax vent covers with turtle wax
• Remove and clean window screens
• Clean interior of windows
• Clean exterior of windows
• Clean outside doors and light fixtures, as well as overhangs
• Clean computer screens
• Go through paper files and shred whatever you can
• Donate old items you no longer use from closets and drawers
• Flush/clean water heater (or have a professional come in)
• Now may also be the time to schedule pest control, if you need it

Introduction!

Hi All!  I used to be the memory queen.  I forgot nothing - not names, not birthdays, not directions, nothing.  It was the key to my professional success as a teacher and an administrator.  However, in 2013, it all changed.  I had a baby.  All of the sudden, I remembered nothing.  Starting early in the pregnancy, if I did not write it down, it did not happen.  I was devastated.  However, I learned to cope by making endless lists of things that used to be easy for me to recall.  As I learned new mama skills, I made checklists for those, too.  As I approach my due date with baby number two, I found myself both revisiting these lists and sharing them with friends who asked. So I decided, why not add them to the plethora of lists on the internet?  Maybe others will find them helpful.  If nothing else, I will have a nicely organized repository.  Some are detailed with some notes of advice, others are more like general guidelines.  Some will be to remind myself not to be too type A, some will be for household, some will be for kids.  And I take requests, because I am sure I have forgotten the one list I have truly needed.  So thanks for stopping by, and welcome!