Life Hacks: Spring Cleaning Made Easy

Life Hacks: Spring Cleaning Made Easy

As the saying goes, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” Although a spotless, meticulously organized home feels great, the process to get there isn’t usually much fun.

Spring cleaning takes effort, time, and money—three things that many working moms don’t have enough of to spare. But either way, it needs to get done. With these spring cleaning hacks, not only will you need less effort, time, and money, but it’ll be more fun than ever before. Here’s how!

Hack 1: Out With the Old

Spring cleaning often seems like a mammoth task, but that’s probably because you’ve collected a whole lot of stuff that you don’t use anymore. Purging unused items is the first step to any successful spring cleaning process.

For example, if you’re packing away your winter clothes for the season, donate what you haven’t worn this winter. Ask the kids to put toys and games they don’t use anymore into a box, and donate those too. The furniture you inherited that’s been gathering dust in the garage? Sell it.

You’ll find that removing the clutter of unnecessary stuff will make the job much easier.

Hack 2: Get Everyone Involved

Many moms (myself included!) feel that tasks get done faster when we just do them ourselves. How many times have you asked your kids to do something, but then they mess it up and you end up having to do it yourself anyways? I get it! But, it’s only fair for everyone to chip in when it comes to spring cleaning. And, if you’re smart about it, your kids can be pretty successful at certain helpful tasks!

First, assign each child a task based on their age. It can be as small as having them make a pile of clothes that are too small, or place unused/broken outdoor toys in a box to get rid of—or as big as cleaning out the basement or the car.

The key is to take the time to show them what you want to be done and give clear instructions. A little family treat afterwards might help (dinner at the kids’ favorite restaurant, maybe?).

Hack 3: Use Multi-Purpose Products

This hack is all about killing two birds with one stone. Ideally, you want a cleaning product that multi-tasks for you, both cleaning and accomplishing another task simultaneously. Whether it’s a furniture cleaner that also conditions or a stain remover and deodorizer, it will save you time and money—especially when doing the deep cleaning that’s required this time of year!

Depending on your floor, you may want to invest in a floor cleaner that washes and waxes. This will help protect your floors and keep them cleaner—or at least make cleaning easier in the long run. You could also invest in a floor cleaner that cleans and shines at the same time, cutting the time you spend on the floors in half, and saving you money since you’ll need only one product.

Hack 4: DIY It!

Sometimes you don’t need all these fancy products to get the job done—what you have in your kitchen often works just as well! Here are a few household staples that can double as cleaning supplies:

Microwave to clean sponges: If you don’t have time to run to the store to get new sponges or simply want to save some money, don’t throw out your old sponges! Soak them in a mixture of water and lemon juice and then pop them in the microwave for one minute to disinfect them.
Vinegar to clean taps: To help remove lime scale and other stains around your taps, soak cotton wool pads in vinegar and use them to clean the area. Say goodbye to lime scale and hello to shiny taps!
Coca-Cola: Perfect to get rid of those oil stains on the garage floor: simply cover the area, let it soak, and rinse off.
Baking Soda: Sprinkle some baking soda on your bed or carpet to deodorize it and eliminate musty, moldy stains and odors.

Hack 5: Scale it Down

Avoid spring cleaning overwhelm by tackling one mess at a time. Clean one room or area completely before moving on to another. Dealing with a single area at once helps you avoid that feeling of frustration and enables you to better budget your time—and as working moms, our time is precious!

Hack 6: Make it Fun!

For many of us, spring cleaning isn’t something we look forward to. So why not try to make it a little more enjoyable? Crank up your favorite music, and feel free to throw in some dance moves while you’re at it! Or, instead of allocating rooms to everyone, clean certain areas together with the family, using that time to bond and maybe even engage in a little friendly competition (who can finish their clean-up faster?!)!

There are so many other life hacks to make spring cleaning easy, but these six tips are a good place to start. The key is not to get overwhelmed—so accept some help, break it down into smaller tasks, and congratulate yourself on a job well done!