Spring Cleaning Go-to Guide

Once the sun reappears from behind the clouds for longer hours each day, and the temperature rises above sixty-five, I’m primed for tearing aside my shower curtain—armed with my Bon Amie and a sponge, dressed in a hideous outfit, and fueled by an obsession. It’s springtime, which means I have cleaning to do, and most likely will end up on my hands and knees for the duration of an entire Sunday.

Here are some tips for how to spring-clean your house, one room at a time, so that the inside of your house looks as pretty as the buds beginning to bloom outside.

Bedroom

• Organize your winter clothes in bins for storage in basement or garage
• Wash all pillowcases, sheets, mattress covers, and duvets. Have goose down and other comforters cleaned professionally (unless you can do them yourself in a front-load washer).
• Clean the light fixtures and door handles
• Dust your shades or have them cleaned. I use fabric draped over my windows for curtains, which can be hand washed in the tub and hung to dry.
• Dust your lamps, dressers, and other pieces and items on your dresser and nightstand
• Open the windows to air out the room
• Vacuum your mattress, flip it every two months, and make sure you have an anti-allergenic mattress pad. I’m buying mine this weekend.
• If you have pets, mop the floor or steam vacuum your carpeted floor
• To reward yourself, fill a vase with fresh-smelling flowers from the garden and put them on the nightstand so you wake up to their scent

Bathroom

• Grab the Bon Amie or Comet and sprinkle all over the sink, bathtub, and shower; add a little hot water to let it soak.
• Clean all fixtures and the doorknob with your favorite cleaner
• Clean around the toilet, under the seat, and inside the bowl with your toilet bowl brush.
• Finish scrubbing sink, bathtub, and shower and use tile cleaner on your shower if it’s tiled
• Squeegee your shower door and deep clean it with cleaner, or spray down your shower curtain