Plan and focus to make most of spring cleaning

Now is the season to get rid of that winter grime and grit from our homes and yards. Experts agree there are some easy tips for making spring cleaning a breeze.

“We all have spring cleaning to do on our houses. And most people put off some of the cleaning during the winter,” says Turner. “Spring is the launching pad for getting your home really cleaned up.”

From garages to attics to closets, homeowners start sorting, piling and trashing more items in the spring than any other time. Turner’s customers just have to point and the items are loaded into a Got Junk truck, heading to be recycled, donated or tossed.

“Keeping the outside of your home clean adds value every year,” he says. “Your home is your biggest investment and you want to be sure to keep it looking good.” Pressure washing is an excellent way to remove dirt, mold, mildew, and grime from your home’s exterior. It can also do wonders for porch rails, decks, and even driveways.

These two spring cleaning experts agree that the work goes a lot faster if homeowners do make some preparations beforehand. More work on the front end helps ease the workload for everyone, they say.

So here are some spring cleaning tips to get your housework done quickly and leave plenty of time for you to enjoy the warmer days to come.

When you make a detailed list, you will spend much less time wandering around your house aimlessly. You need focused effort when doing spring cleaning or it can take what seems like forever.

So how do you make your spring cleaning checklist? The first thing you need to do is to walk around each room and look at what you have not cleaned in a while. This includes fans, under couches, walls and more. Don't forget the corners at the ceilings. A great way to get cobwebs is simply with a broom. A broom will reach up to the top of the wall with no problem, so that means no climbing.

Go through each room and make a checklist of what you need to accomplish, and that way you can systematically check off each room and when it is finished. When you try to do spring cleaning without a checklist you will end up going from one task to another without ever really finishing the first job.

A common mistake made when cleaning is using one or two multi-purpose cleaners to clean everything in the house. Using the correct cleaning supplies for a particular task is very important because using a multi-cleaner for everything can mean that you will spend way too much time scrubbing than necessary.

So what kind of cleaners should you be using for your spring cleaning?

Choosing the appropriate cleaner for each job will save you valuable time and energy. For example, if you are cleaning the bathroom you should be using a bathroom cleaner that is made for soap scum. If you are not then you will spend too much time trying to get your shower clean.

If you are trying to get your floor back to its original color, make sure you use a floor cleaner and actually use a scrub brush instead of just a mop. You will spend less time spring cleaning your kitchen floor with a scrub brush than you would trying to get it sparkling clean with a mop.

Technically this is not cleaning, but painting your walls is an easy, inexpensive way to really make your house shine and it is perfect to do in the spring because you need to be able to have your windows open to paint.

If you would like your house to have a light, airy feel to it, choose a light color. If you have found a darker color that you absolutely love, then paint one of your four walls with the darker color and the rest a lighter color. Having an accent wall of a different color can really liven up a dull room.

Instead of tackling all of your cleaning on one day, do one room at a time over the course of a week or two. This will break things down and make them more manageable.

Purge anything that hasn’t been used in one year. This goes for clothing, toys, kitchen utensils and even video games. Go through everything in your home and purge things that aren’t being used, don’t fit or may be broken. Some items will be kept for annual use (holiday decorations for instance), and others may be kept for sentimental reasons (baby clothes for example). Overall, you should be able to purge some unnecessary items from your home during the spring cleaning process.

You know all of those socks that end up without a mate after you do laundry? This is the time to grab those and put them to use for cleaning. Put socks over little ones’ hands and spray lightly with a cleanser. Use them to wipe off counters, cabinets, shelving or even walls.  Attach them to your broom to clean off ceiling fans.