Break down the overwhelming amount of work that your home needs into small daily tasks.
It's about 30 days of consistent work, each day targeting a specific area- but good news is if you miss a day you can pick up right where you left off. Follow along with my spring cleaning series on TikTok, Instagram, and Youtube for some serious inspiration and hopefully motivation!
Click the image above to print your own calendar and if a certain day doesn't fit your home simply cross it off and have a FREE day OR replace it with a space in your home that needs some extra attention.
Want to jump to a specific day? Click on the number below.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.
17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30
I chose the common problem areas and places that typically get forgotten, because those are what need some good lovin'!
See a breakdown of each space below:
Coat Closet:
With the changing seasons this is a great place to start. Move your spring jackets to the front for easy access and store away your winter apparel. In Illinois you never know when you'll need a pair of gloves so I don't like to pack things away, but simply modify the system to fit the season!
These baskets are great for storing items on shelves or up high, these matching hangers will clean up the space, these command hooks are perfect for your go to coats or kids items, and this door organizer is perfect for all your closet needs!
Living Room Furniture:
As much as this space needs to be cleaned, we often neglect under the furniture. So take a day to move the couches and get all that built up dust/dog hair/ and any other fun surprises from underneath (and don't forget under the cushions!)
This is the vacuum I love to use of along the baseboards and on the couch, and the tineco floor cleaner will cut the time in half. You can wash the cushions by removing covers and using your washing machine, spot cleaning with a microfiber towel and a 1:1 mixture of water and dr. bronners soap, or use a nifty machine like Bissell!
Living Room Drawers/Tables/Baskets:
Open things up, toss the trash, donate the clutter, and give it a nice good wipe down. You would be surprised what can get stashed away in basket or behind closed doors!
These baskets are perfect for storing throw blankets or kids toys!
Up High:
You may been extra diligent about cleaning frequently touched spaces this past year with the pandemic... but a little extra love won't hurt!
Find all these in your home and get to Cleaning!
light switches
door knobs
vents
buttons
For this tasks my #1 recommendation is force of nature, because its EFFECTIVE and NON-TOXIC. Meaning you aren't spreading harmful chemicals all over your home.
Throws/Pillows:
In a perfect world your throw pillows will have a removable cover, but that isn't always the case. Check the tag to see care instructions, most are machine washable. Add in some essential oils for a fresh smelling home!
My favorite detergent that is safe for the whole family is branch basics and distilled white vinegar is a perfect non-toxic and cheap fabric softener (so skip that chemical filled store bought crap!)
Blinds/Drapes/ Windows/Window Sills
This might be the absolute worst space for me because I will admit, this is a place I neglect with my weekly... and monthly cleans. To be honest, I'm not sure how often I do clean... at least once a year? Yikes!
Blinds: Start with dusting, you can use a mitt, wand, vacuum or microfiber cloth! Then use a multipurpose spray on a microfiber towel to wipe clean (or remove and wash in the tub).
Drapes: Your best bet is using a vacuum cleaner with an attachment.
Windows: I swear by E-Cloths Microfiber glass cleaner and polisher, just add water so no harmful chemicals!
This pack of brushes can be helpful too!
Baseboards
They might not look dirty from a distance but believe me when I say dust and dirt get caked up on your baseboards. Grab a sponge, cloth, or mop and get to washing!
Depending on your method you can use a multipurpose cleaner like branch basics or use the solution in your mop bucket for sparkling clean baseboards.
Kitchen Cabinets
Inside AND out. Grab a rag and a good multipurpose cleaner and wipe down the cabinet doors, if necessary remove contents from inside to wipe down shelves, and tidy it up in there! Tops of cabinetry are another nasty place that you may want to give some attention to, and this is going to need a good degreaser so try using dish soap and water for a soapy mixture!
Here is my favorite multipurpose spray and my favorite degreaser!
Pantry
When organizing any space you should start by taking everything out... and I mean everything! While doing so, toss any garbage, set aside donations, and put things into categories based on type. Then you can get a better picture of what you have stocked up and how you want to go about putting everything back.
If your pantry is already pretty organized this will be a quick process and a nice speedy clean of the space before putting everything back.. but if not you can invest some time (and possibly money) into some good organizers to keep things tidy for longer!
Here are my favorite decanting bins.
My favorite baskets to store snacks in.
Some risers, turntables, and bins for canned goods
Adhesive organizers for on the door or wall
Under Kitchen Sink
I can't resist saying it..... you don't need all that shit. (especially the toxic filled, artificial smelling garbage). Invest in some beautiful glass bottles, buy a bulk concentrate and make your own non-toxic/family friendly/baby safe/pet safe cleaners. If you want a disinfectant I recommend force of nature which is again, a much better option than bleach products.
I'm not suggesting these because I make $$ of the affiliate links (but I do so thank you for using them) but I promise you they are worth it. Less clutter under your sink and better products in your home and around your family.
Get rid of clutter and bam, under the sink is so much easier to clean.
Click here for my favorite under the sink organizers.
Fridge/Freezer
Again, this can be as easy as taking everything out, tossing the garbage, cleaning the surfaces and neatly putting everything back in... or you can make it a bigger challenge by adding in some organizers to help utilize the space better.
Here are my favorite fridge/freezer organizers that you see in this photo
Kids Room
If you have kids old enough to help, get them involved!! Take the some time to give this room extra love. If you don't have it included in a regularly cleaning schedule than this might be a more intensive task but check the things below and anything you feel isn't done regularly or needs some attention you'll want to tackle now.
-wash bedding
-clean under bed
-go through toys/books for donations & tidy up
-go through clothes/shoes for donations & tidy up
-dust/wipe down surfaces (including lamps and fans!)
-wash or spot treat walls/baseboards
-vacuum and wash floors
-go through and tidy storage
Oven
If you are a frequent cook you may do this more than once a year but regardless let's tackle the oven.
1. Clean stovetop and grates
I damp my E-Cloth Range Cleaning Cloth to tackle both and it works miraculously with just using water!
2. Clean inside of oven (and inside the bottom drawer!)
I'm all about avoiding toxic chemicals and fumes so while there may be easier methods.. this is the one I choose to use.
Make sure oven is turned off and completely cooled.
Mix together baking soda and water to make a paste and then spread this over the entire oven. Let it sit for a long time, like HOURS and as many as you can. I like to spread it over in the morning and sit all day and then tackle it at night (or better yet spread it over the night before!) Don't forget to include the racks and glass door as well.
Use a damp cloth to wipe it off and most of the grime will go right along with it. I wipe with any old cloth. Then spray some distilled white vinegar over the surface (you'll see some fizzing which is a totally normal reaction) and then wipe clean. I like to finish it off with my Range Cleaning E-Cloth and polisher and it will leave it sparkling!
3. Wipe down/polish outside of oven
I damp my E-Cloth Stainless Steel Cleaning Cloth to tackle both and it works miraculously with just using water!
4. Pull out the oven to get sides and behind
You most likely will need a vacuum or broom and dust pan.. it can get nasty back there!
Dishwasher
The more consistent attention you give your appliances the better they will function, so depending on how much you use your dishwasher will change the amount you clean it.. but manufacturers encourage monthly cleaning. (Also the more you clean it the faster and easier the process is)
Here is a video that shows how to clean the inside of your dishwasher, and for the outside I love using these stainless steel E-Cloths.
Garbage Cans
Be careful when washing your garbage cans that you are using products safe for stainless steel, otherwise you may get rust! I love using my stainless steel E-Cloth on my indoor cans, and good old dishwashing soap and the hose for our outdoor garbage and recycling bin!
Bookshelves
It's pretty gross how much dust accumulates on book shelves... I really wish they would come up with a solution for that. But until then every once in a while you have to put a good chunk of time into dusting off the entire thing. I recommend removing all the books and dusting each individually as you put them pack on to the shelf.. I also recommend listening to your favorite podcast or watching your favorite YouTube while doing this to help pass the time (shameless plugs, but thanks for the support :)
Place of Clutter (Monica closet)
Even professional organizers has spaces in their home that need attention (or a lot of attention). Mine is filled with organizers, baskets, and bins that aren't currently in use. Yours may be a storage closet, toy room, or front entryway. Whatever the space, spend some time tackling it and get it checked off your list! It's okay if this takes a few days, you can pick up with the challenge after its complete!
Laundry Room
I'm assuming there is some type of cabinets, storage, or clutter taking over your laundry room because its easy to hide behind closed doors! (I know mine needed some love and attention) So take some time to declutter and get things back to the homes they are supposed to be in.
Condense products and get rid of garbage.
Find the matching missing socks or repurpose for something else.
Anything else that you can do to make laundry a little more appealing.
Washer/Dryer
The E-Cloth dusting wand is the perfect size to fit under appliances and catch all the dust without having to move things completely. You will have to maneuver things around to get behind the appliances, you may get lucky and find some lost sock