After a winter that can sometimes seem endless, spring in Canada is always a cause for celebration. Before you fire up the grill and kick back in the hammock, however, there are a few things that you’ll likely need to attend to around the house. In other words, it’s spring cleaning season.
While dusting the baseboards and changing the furnace filter isn't most people’s idea of a good time, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of stepping into spring with a sparkling clean home. Fortunately, with a bit of organization and coordination, and a few clever hacks, spring cleaning doesn’t have to feel like an insurmountable obstacle. Here’s how to get the job done.
Declutter
Whether it’s a wardrobe that’s stuffed to the brim or a storage space overflowing with bins, we all have things taking up space in our lives (and homes) that we probably don’t need. Getting rid of excess stuff not only feels great, but it also gives you less stuff to clean later on. The best advice for culling is to assess each object, and if it’s not something that brings you joy or that you anticipate using in the next 90 days (with the exception of winter gear, of course) you probably won’t miss it.
Create piles for “keep,” “donate/sell,” and “throw away,” and remember that if something is broken, stained, or otherwise not in pristine condition, thrift stores or charities probably won’t want it, either. If you have cotton tees or flannel shirts that are headed for the garbage, try prolonging their lives by repurposing them as dusting and cleaning rags instead.
Pre-tidy
It’s a lot easier to clean a room when you start with clear surfaces, rather than ones with books, toys, electronics, and other detritus scattered across them. Before you do anything else, pre-tidy by removing all clutter from floors, shelves, counters, and other surfaces. You can make the task easier by using a box or bin for each person in your household and putting each person’s stuff in their respective container.
Start from the top
The trick to spring cleaning any room is to be methodical about it. First, gather all of your cleaning products and tools together, and have a small bucket of warm, soapy water on hand. Then, work from the outside down and inwards, starting with dusting ceiling fans, light fixtures, blinds, and window sills (in that order). If your ceiling fan is very dusty, keep the mess contained by wiping it with the inside of a pillowcase. For blinds, try rubber banding two microfibre cloths to a pair of kitchen tongs and using those to remove dust from both sides of the slats. When you get to the baseboards, wipe them off with a dryer sheet, which will help to repel dust in the future.
Kitchen aid
Some parts of your kitchen get cleaned regularly, and others, less so. Now is the time for everything else. The good news is that you don’t have to buy any fancy cleaning products. Simple white vinegar and baking soda will do the job for most surfaces, from your counters to the inside of your oven. For your microwave, fill a heat-safe bowl with water and a lemon wedge, microwave for 5 minutes, then wipe down the interior with a damp cloth.
Raid the fridge
Cleaning pantry shelves and the inside of your fridge is good for both hygiene and pest control. Start by emptying out your fridge and cupboards, and getting rid of everything that’s stale, moldy, or otherwise no longer usable. “Best Before” dates can be a good indicator of how long something has been on the shelf, but these are put on food as an indicator of freshness and quality, and don’t necessarily indicate that something has gone bad. If a packet or a can is unopened, it’s probably still safe to eat.
Clean your heat pump filter
You clean your heat pump filter every four to six weeks, right? If not, now’s definitely the time to make it a habit. For mini-splits, open the cover and remove the filters (there are usually two of them.) Gently remove excess dust with your vacuum’s brush attachment, then give them a scrub in a tub of warm water and dish soap to remove any additional grime.
Tackle the garage
Looking for your life jacket, tennis racket, cooler, or one of the many other items that tend to get buried during the off-season? That’s a perfect excuse to get the garage tidied, organized, and ready for summer. Check out our
Jeremy Freed is a freelance writer and editor based in Toronto. His writing about fashion, travel, food and design appears in Sharp, Harry and re:Porter magazines, among many others.