Spring Cleaning in 10 Minutes a Day

It's that time of year again -- time for spring cleaning! If you're like me, this annual ritual strikes fear and dread in your heart. Does spring cleaning seem like the Mt. Everest of housekeeping tasks? A challenge only a few have undertaken successfully? Don't worry, spring cleaning doesn’t have to be scary, but it is something we should all do. It's not just about cleaning blinds and sweeping baseboards, though doing these things is great. You can also use spring cleaning as a prompt to schedule household maintenance and service checks that will prevent problems down the line. The tips below are going to help you do all of this in just 10 minutes a day. So have a read and get cleaning!

The first step to successful spring cleaning is to find the time to take care of it and schedule it in. My suggestion is to find a four-week-stretch and block off a convenient time of day or night (before dinner, before bed) to work. If you miss a night, don’t worry, you can always make up the ten minutes the next day. The goal is to get you and your family to commit to cleaning every day for 28 days.

While I'm sure you have a list of what you'd like to get done to prepare for spring, summer and beyond, I want to leave you with 12 tasks to consider adding to your list. Happy Housework!

12 Spring Cleaning Tasks That Take 10 Minutes Each

1. Wash and dry the slipcovers from your pillows, sofas and chairs. Put in the washer and dryer one day. Put back on the furniture the next day.
2. Take 10 minutes and clean the junk drawer in your house. For many people, this drawer is in the kitchen. Toss the junk and use a silverware organizer to manage the chaos going forward.
3. Clean the blades on the ceiling fans.
4. Make today toy clean-up day. Put all the game pieces together in Ziploc bags, throw out broken items and donate toys your kids have outgrown.
5. Clean out your refrigerator. Check expiration dates and toss everything that is old or will not be eaten.
6. Clean out your medicine cabinet and toss old medications (both prescription and over-the-counter). Go to safeguardmymeds.org to find out how to safely dispose of these items.
7. Clean your most cluttered countertop. For many it's the dining room table or kitchen counters. Recycle what you can and shred sensitive materials.
8. Change the batteries in your smoke and CO2 alarms. Why wait for the annoying beeping sound?
9. Clean your blinds. Try using fabric softener sheets (you can show your kids how to do this).
10. Take three days to clean windows. Start with the dirtiest windows and go from there.
11. Wash and dust the baseboards in each room. This is another task the whole family can get in on. Just remember, 10 minutes with five people is almost an hour of cleaning time.
12. Dedicate a day to maintaining and fixing things. Oil a lock, fix a broken toilet paper holder, etc. Just make a punch-list and start checking off items.

Sometime in the next 30 minutes block off 28 days and determine what time each day you'll use to tackle spring cleaning. After all, getting started is the hardest part.

By: Get Buttoned Up