Tip: Spring Cleaning (inc. printable checklist)

I have just done a huge spring clean and declutter in the Ask house and thought I’d share some tips and give you a checklist to print out.

I admit that I’m a bit of a hoarder and the Ask house is small so I had to do a big declutter! With that very fresh in my mind I want to remind you that a spring clean will take time, if your house is a mess, I will bet it took awhile to create the mess – it will take awhile to clean!!

Have a plan. Don’t take out more than you can put away on the day. Consider help if you need it, ask a friend or family member, hire a cleaner for a few hours, get the whole household involved and make a weekend of it. Mr Ask and I had an order and a plan, toiled all day like Trojans, ordered pizza for dinner and it did take a whole weekend but the house is lovely!

Think about what you need before you start – cleaning supplies, bin bags, coat hangers, storage tubs, shelving and have it ready before you begin. I also budget some money for replacements and decorator items too. When we decluttered we bought a new iron and ironing board, new shower caddy and shower curtain. I never feel the job is done until everything looks the way I want it to.
When I walk into a room to clean/declutter I take an empty washing basket, a box and a bin bag. Rubbish goes in the bin bag, items for charity donation go into the box and items that belong in another room go in the washing basket. At the end of your cleaning day you can take the rubbish out and pack the donations in the car. I redistribute the contents of the washing basket at the end of every room.

If you are planning a big declutter and not just a spring clean, be sure that you have a system of rubbish removal. Most skip hire companies will take most rubbish, if you are filling a trailer be sure to check what can be disposed of at the local dump as some will not take ordinary household waste. You can also contact your local council regarding roadside hard rubbish pick up, in my area it is free but there are restrictions on what, when and how much you can have collected and strict fines apply.

I have created a downloadable spring clean checklist that you can print by clicking on this link – Spring Clean Checklist. I am not saying every job in every room needs doing today, these are things I like to get done from time to time. I suggest you print this out and highlight the ones you would like to do and work your way through.