We all have our usual cleaning to-do list that we run through weekly – laundry, vacuuming/mopping, tidying the kitchen, freshening up the bedrooms and de-griming the bathrooms – but with springtime comes a desire for a little more sparkle and shine in our home - or as Marie Kondo would say, a passion for more of what “sparks joy” in our lives. Maybe it’s that we feel more upbeat and energetic with the warm weather and blooming flowers, but the normal tolerance for dust and clutter has turned into an itch for tidiness.

For those of you looking to put your home on the market in the near future and are thinking about home staging, spring cleaning is a great place to start – of course, right after giving your favorite Housed Real Estate agent a call!

If you are like me, you are probably searching for some tips, tricks and maybe a little inspiration before you get out and put on your cleaning gear. Here’s what I’ve found!

Prepare

Have you ever been cleaning up in your kitchen, about to wipe down the counters and as you go to reach for the paper towels, you realize that you’re out? - Major downer, am I right? To help prevent something like this from happening while spring cleaning, check out this 6 Easy Steps To Prepare For Spring Cleaning article.

Plan – How do you like to get to the finish line?

The Sprint

If you are wanting fast results and looking for an all (of your family members) hands on deck, efficient, “how to” cheat sheet for cleaning a lot in a little amount of time - check out this article Spring-Cleaning That Won't Take Over Your Life: 8 Hours, Start to Finish.

The Marathon 

If you want to give your home a deep cleaning but are feeling overwhelmed by the idea of tackling such a big project in a day or two, follow this 30 Day Spring Cleaning Checklist with quick 10 – 30 minute tasks to accomplish day by day over the course of a month.

Process

The KonMari

If you haven’t seen the Netflix series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,” I highly recommend watching a few episodes to get yourself inspired to get cleaning. She is a tidying expert with only six basic rules to follow and many mini tips to make your home and therefore life, overall more organized. To get an overview of Marie’s method, take a look at this article: What Is the KonMari Method? Here's How to Declutter the Marie Kondo Way.

The Long Haul

Okay, so you get to the end of your spring cleaning venture and are a little tired from the hard work. But, you feel mostly refreshed and relieved as you walk around and admire your clean home and you may be saying to yourself, “I wish I felt this way all the time in my home” and thinking “how do I keep my house this clean all the time?” Well, you might want to take a look at this article - 9 Habits of People Who Always Have a Clean Home and learn how a few daily, weekly and monthly habits may be the answer.

The Hacks

The key to cleaning efficiently without exhausting yourself is to work smart, not hard. Check out these genius and inexpensive Spring Cleaning Tips and Hacks! You’ll be left wishing you knew these tips much sooner in life.

I hope this is of help to you in your spring cleaning pursuits! And as you go, remember the words of the wise Mark Twain - “the secret of getting ahead is getting started.”