Tips and advice for an effective spring cleaning

No, you can't do it all in two days

Even though you'd surely love to get this heavy task behind you quickly, it's unfortunately impossible, and it would lead you straight to exhaustion. So instead, spread the project over a period of about three to four weeks, focusing on just one room or area each week. 

Breaking it down into small tasks

To avoid getting discouraged, start by breaking the big clean into several small tasks. Here's an example game plan by week, to be adapted of course to the time you have and the type of home you live in.

Week 1 – Kitchen and dining room

• Empty and clean the fridge
• Sort through the pantry (toss expired food, clean and reorganize)
• Clean the oven and microwave
• Wash the cupboards (inside and out)
• Dust the light fixtures
• Clean the baseboards, walls and windows

Week 2 – Bedrooms

• Flip the mattresses
• Wash each complete set of bedding (including the duvet and pillows if they're washable)
• Sort through the closets (download our printable to help you!)
• Clean under the beds
• Clean the baseboards, walls and windows

Week 3 – Living room and common areas

• Clean behind and under the furniture
• Clean the sofas
• Sort through magazines, books and toys
• Dust the decorative items and picture frames
• Clean the baseboards, walls and windows

Week 4 – Bathrooms and forgotten areas

• Descale the showerheads
• Clean the grout and caulking
• Empty and reorganize the medicine cabinet
• Wash the bath mats and shower curtains
• Clean often-neglected areas (tops of cupboards, fans, light fixtures, etc.)

The 15-15-15 rule

For each room, divide the work into sessions of 15 minutes maximum. For example, for the kitchen:

• 15 minutes: fridge
• 15 minutes: pantry
• 15 minutes: oven and microwave
• 15 minutes: upper cupboards
• 15 minutes: lower cupboards

This approach helps you avoid feeling discouraged by an overwhelming task and fits more easily into the family schedule. So you can simply set aside 15 minutes for cleaning before starting dinner, 15 minutes while the kids play outside and 15 minutes once they're in bed.

Getting the whole family involved 

Spring cleaning shouldn't be just the parents' business! Here's how to divide up the chores according to your children's ages:

Ages 3 to 5:

• Pick up toys in each room
• Wipe the baseboards with a damp rag
• Sort and tidy the children's books

Ages 6 to 8:

• Dust the surfaces at their height
• Empty the small wastebaskets
• Clean the mirrors at their height
• Do a complete tidy-up of their room 

Ages 9 to 12:

• Vacuum 
• Wash the windows within their reach
• Clean the bathrooms
• Sort through their wardrobe (offer them this printable to help!)

Teens:

• Take charge of cleaning their own room 
• Clean a common room
• Help with the physical tasks (moving furniture, outdoor cleaning, etc.)

The game plan

To make sure you stick to the plan, create a list and display it where everyone can see it; simply check off each task as it's completed! Want a list that's easy to edit and that every family member can easily access? Create it in our Octave app, which also lets you assign each task to someone specifically, so that everyone pitches in!

Accepting imperfection

Your home will never be perfect like the ones you sometimes see on social media, and that's completely normal! The goal of spring cleaning isn't to reach a perfect level of order and cleanliness, but to create a space that's cleaner, better organized and therefore more pleasant to live in.

If you only manage to get through 80% of your list, give yourself a pat on the back! And if some weeks you can't find the motivation or your schedule doesn't leave you time to work on the plan, don't worry; spring is here to stay for a few months! So take your time, go one bite at a time and celebrate every small victory! 

Would you rather do your deep clean over the course of the months instead of all at once in the spring? Check out our “One Room a Month Challenge”, which gives you a concrete game plan and practical tools to help you clean and declutter one room of the house per month, over a full year.