Spring Cleaning & Organizing Tips

When the weather starts to feel like spring, I enjoy organizing my home and doing some deep cleaning. The changing of seasons is also a great excuse to do a little decorating and add some cheerful accent colors. Here are a few of my projects I work on to get my home ready for warmer weather.

Clean the Windows

Cleaning the windows is a great way to get a house ready for spring. After winter weather, windows can easily look dingy because of fingerprints, dust and water spots. I use Windex and a soft cloth to clean the inside window panes of each window. Cleaning interior windows can take some time, so I often enlist my kids to help! Window cleaning can teach kids to have a good work ethic and attention to detail. The outside window panes are a bit more tricky. Sometimes we have to get our exterior windows professionally cleaned, to remove the mineral buildup on the glass.

Curtains, Blinds & Window Sills: I also clean our curtains that are washable in the washing machine to remove dirt and dust. Thicker curtains I take down and shake out, before putting them back up. I also dust the blinds in each room and wipe down the window sills. My favorite all-natural cleaner is Genesis 950, which is a very effective cleaner and stain remover on many surfaces, including plastic, tile and wood. I use Genesis 950 to clean our window sills and inside the window tracks.

Sparkling clean windows make a very refreshing difference in each room of our home. I love having a house that feel cleans and welcoming!

Organize Clutter Drawers

We all have clutter drawers that collect random stuff throughout the year. During spring cleaning is a great time to go through clutter drawers. First, I take a round of things in the drawer to the places that they belong. Next, I organize things by category, such as hair accessories, office supplies, and small tools. I put these in small containers in the drawer. Finally, I throw away stuff in the cutter drawer which we don’t need, or haven’t used for a year. Organizing the clutter drawers makes it easier to find the odds and ends that you need, when you need them. For further details, see our tips about how to organize a junk drawer.

Put Away Winter Clothing & Accessories

Next on my spring cleaning list, I put away winter clothing and accessories. When a season changes, so do the clothing needs in our house. I wash and put away jackets, gloves, and hats in organized bins so it’s easy to find everything next winter. I clean our winter gear and accessories so they don’t smell musty or have permanent stains. This is also a great time to discard miss-matched gloves or single gloves. I fold up big items such as jackets and snow pants in a large storage bin. Alternatively, I keep pairs of gloves, wool socks, hats, and snow goggles together in another bin. I store these bins in our garage where they will stay dry and clean for next year.

Professionally Clean the Carpet

The changing of seasons is also a great time to clean the carpet! First, I vacuum the floors in each room. I wipe down the baseboards and shake out rugs. Once a year we have a professional carpet cleaning company Allklean come out and clean our carpets in each room. Allklean does a great job of removing dirt and stains from the carpet, especially in areas where we often walk or the kids play a lot. Clean carpets also give our home a refreshing smell!

Re-pot Plants that Need It

The spring is also a great time to refresh your potted plants. I occasionally give my plants new dirt, or upgrade them to a larger pot. My favorite house plant is a large hibiscus plant, which I grew from a small store-bought potted start. I also have a cactus, several succulents, a potted rose bush and a Spathiphyllum “peace lily”. Each of these plants are happy, healthy and beautiful additions to my home decor. I like to repot some of my plants in the spring, so they can continue to grow and thrive as the weather gets warmer.

Decorate for Spring

Last but not least, I enjoy decorating with seasonal color, cheerful flowers and new or repurposed home accents. In the spring, I get out my vases for bouquets of fresh or silk flowers. Additionally, I swap out some of my neutral home design colors with pinks, greens and blues. I sometimes pick out new throw pillows or a candle holder to introduce a new accent color. I also put up a floral wreath, sometimes store bought or DIY. Spring easily inspires me to decorate our home with color, after the holidays and long months of white snow.

What are some of the things you do to refresh your home for a new season?