Decorating & Design

May 17, 2016

5 Expert Tips To Get Your House Ready For Spring

If the words “spring cleaning” strike fear in your heart (or at least cause a wave of to do list-inspired stress!), we’ve got good news: organizing expert Marie Potter, the director of marketing for Professional Organizers in Canada, has plenty of easy-to-follow advice for busting clutter — and making sure it doesn’t build up again. Just keep in mind that summer is right behind it, so make sure your hvac has been serviced and is in working order. The last thing you want is to have to wait for an appointment during their busiest time of the year.

“Spring is the perfect opportunity to release and refresh,” she says. “To keep things simple, break up spring clearing into two main steps. The first step is to reduce and the second step is to ease accessibility. Typically step one can eliminate 15% to 50% of your stuff, which makes step two exponentially easier.” Read on for her best advice.

1. Purge, purge, purge. “The process of spring clearing starts with getting rid of what you don’t use, love or need. Living with less means you’ll find things more quickly, your home will be easier to clean and the space will energize you,” says Marie. Pay particular attention to the most hardworking spaces in your home: entrances, the garage, closets, workshops, storage spaces — like the basement, pantry or crawlspace — and kids’ playrooms. Gather like items and keep only what you use, love or need. You might also want to consider hiring an estate cleaning and estate haul out services for professional cleaning services.

2. Be ruthless. Papers, magazines, newspapers, prescriptions, supplements, cosmetics, books and electronics have a way of piling up, even in the most minimalist of homes. Marie suggests getting your “no” pile out of the house immediately so it doesn’t migrate back into your newly-organized space. Your options include donation, consigning, selling, returning, repairing, recycling, up cycling or, if you must, tossing.

3. Assign everything a home. Once you’ve decided what things can go, the next step is wrangling the things you’re keeping. Decide what goes where “based on proximity and ease of use,” Marie says. She recommends labeling (where it makes sense) to help everyone return items to their proper places. This is also the time to rotate your seasonal gear, replacing snow shovels and winter boots with garden tool, sports equipment and camping accessories.

4. Get yourself out there.

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5. Make it easy on yourself. First of all, enlist help — whoever lives in your house can pitch in, even kids! Next, create a cleaning caddy stocked with cleaning products, rags, gloves, brushes and toothbrushes, so you never have to go looking for the right tools. And finally, follow a cleaning checklist. Marie’s standard list for spring includes the following items, but feel free to customize based on your home’s needs:

● Wipe or wash outdoor furniture
● Wash windows
● Wipe down doors & light switches
● Wipe or dust artwork
● Use the dust brush attachment to vacuum bookshelves, blinds and the tops of books and window frames
● Launder or dry-clean bedding, pillows, duvets, mattress pads and unlined curtains
● Clean light fixtures
● Shake out carpets
● Air out quilts & pillows
● Flip your mattress (This should be done every quarter, rotating the mattress end of end and side over side)
● Clear out the freezer and fridge
● Mend or repair items that need to get back into service
● Check smoke detectors and flashlight batteries
● Revisit emergency kits and get diesel generator maintenance through experts who provide generator services in Tenino, WA
● Empty central vacuum or replace vacuum bag if full