Time for spring cleaning: Here's how to do it

Finding the right motivation for spring cleaning

We all like to live in a beautiful home. After all, if everything is spotlessly clean, you can relax without a bad feeling. But sometimes the inner enemy is simply stronger. Why not stay on the sofa for a while instead of tackling the overdue spring cleaning? If you know you'll feel better after cleaning, but you're still not quite ready to get going, you should definitely read on. We have a few motivational tricks for you.  

You know you'll feel even better after spring cleaning, but you still can't quite get it together? Imagine your spotless, tidy flat in as much detail as possible. The more realistic the picture, the more motivated you will be later on. Link as many emotions as possible to your vision. How will you feel when you have successfully completed your spring cleaning? You will see that visualizing your goal will inspire you to finally put it into practice. 

Music is also a great motivator. Put together a playlist with your favorite songs - upbeat, feel-good songs are best. This will make tidying up and cleaning much easier. Or how about an audio book or podcast? Listening to an exciting story will make time fly by and you might even get more done than you thought.

If you feel low on energy or overwhelmed, stop your spring cleaning and take a break. Even though you may have planned to do everything in one day, it is also a good strategy to break down the various cleaning tasks in your house into smaller chunks and divide them over several days. The small successes in between will motivate you to continue the next day and get everything in shape step by step.

Spring cleaning checklist

Before you grab a rag and rush into cleaning, take a step back. If you tackle the mess in your home without a plan, you'll soon run out of courage and throw in the towel in frustration. To prevent this from happening, make sure you have a checklist before any big cleaning event like spring cleaning. Make sure you have all the necessary cleaning supplies and tools laid out in advance, so you can dive right in afterwards. Next, it's also a good idea to think of a fixed order in which you want to tackle the cleaning of your living spaces. 

Spring cleaning is usually characterized by particularly thorough cleaning - even in places that don't always see a duster or a rag during everyday household chores. On top of the cabinets, under the sofa, in the back corners... which rooms and which "construction sites" do you even want to tackle during spring cleaning? It's best to make a checklist. You can go through all the rooms and take a good look around. Write down which surfaces, furniture, etc. should be cleaned in each room. A few examples:

Bathroom:

• Decalcify fixtures 
• Wipe all wall tiles 
• Clean drain     

Living and dining room 

• Dust baseboards 
• Wipe down lamps 
• Clean upholstered furniture 

Bedroom 

• Clean closet and dresser (including drawer insides) 
• Air the mattress and wash cover 
• Wash pillow and duvet 

Kitchen 

• Clean out pantry 
• Wipe out kitchen cabinets 
• Defrost freezer 

In addition, there are a few tasks that have to be done in every room, such as vacuuming and mopping the floors or cleaning the windows. These cleaning to-dos also go on the checklist. This way, you can work your way through spring cleaning step by step and always have an overview of what still needs to be done and what you have already accomplished.

Before you start: Make room

Before any clean-up, you need to declutter. Therefore, your spring cleaning starts with taking a look at your old things and the clutter in your home. Be honest with yourself: Which of these things have you really used in the last year and which are just lying around and might have more use in a different home? After you have decided what you want to keep, what you want to give away and what you want to throw away, you will immediately feel lighter. Why? Having too many things around can stress us out and a smaller household is much easier to manage. Not only your home, but also your soul will breathe a sigh of relief when you make space and get rid of old clutter.

Cleaning out can extend to all rooms in the home. For many people, the closet is most frequently cleaned out. But it's also worth taking a critical look at the contents of the cupboards in the kitchen, for example. First, check the best-before date of the food and get rid of anything that is no longer edible. Our tip: place food that should be used up soon in the front of the cupboard, rather than in the back, so that it is clearly visible and within reach. After spring cleaning the food, it's time for dishes: plates with cracks, cups that no one uses, or duplicate cooking utensils that are just gathering dust in the drawer - they can all be sorted out. 

 A fixed cleaning order ensures better results

If you want to wash the cover of your mattress, you should start your spring cleaning with this task. Allow enough time for this, because the covers are usually not allowed to go into the dryer. You have to let them air dry until they are completely dry. Washing the curtains and letting them dry also takes time. Therefore, these tasks belong in the first place. 

Then move on to washing the windows and cleaning the upholstered furniture. After the windows are cleaned up, the next step during spring cleaning is to dust your furniture. Remember to dust not only the surfaces, which are always cleaned, but especially the hidden corners and any hard-to-reach areas. 

Lastly, it's time for the floors. They should be both vacuumed as well as wiped with a damp mop to get rid of every last bit of dirt. 

Spring cleaning done properly - our tips and tricks

You want to do a really thorough spring cleaning? Here are our tips and tricks for you: 

• Window cleaning: Mix water with detergent and soap the windows with the help of a microfiber cloth. Then wipe from one side to the other in a serpentine motion and wipe with a chamois leather if necessary. And don't forget the window frame! 
• Cleaning upholstery: For upholstered furniture and cushions, you can use the upholstery attachment of the vacuum cleaner. For leather, on the other hand, there is special leather care. It is always best to test a cleaner on an inconspicuous area to see if it leaves behind any residue before treating the entire surface with it. 
• Descale the kettle: While you are spring cleaning in the kitchen, you can descale the kettle. Vinegar or citric acid work best and are likely already in your kitchen. Afterwards, boil water in the kettle and rinse it out well. 
• Cleaning the oven: When it comes to the oven, home remedies such as baking soda or baking powder help remove baked-on dirt. 

Feel-good atmosphere in the blink of an eye

Especially in our living spaces, where we spend the whole year, we can quickly get bored and long for change. You can use the spring cleaning as a great opportunity to redecorate and feel even more comfortable in your freshly cleaned home. The good news is that you can often achieve great effects with just a few simple steps. Usually, only the representative rooms such as the living room or the entrance area are beautifully decorated, but you can also enhance the more private areas such as the bathroom or bedroom with the right decoration. If you want to create a tidier look in no time, take a look at all the things lying around in your home. If you assign them a fixed place in a specific room and store them in pretty boxes, for example, you will immediately create a cmore peaceful atmosphere. With the right houseplants, you can also give your rooms a fresh look and set relaxing accents in no time. Are you looking forward to giving your living space a new sparkle with a spring cleaning? We promise you: afterwards you will enjoy a heavenly feeling and be able to relax even better at home!