Spring Cleaning!!!

Oh my goodness! I'm late for my annual spring clean-a-thon! Normally I divide up the house and clean for the two weeks leading up to the first day of spring. It sneaked up on me this year, so I'm going to have to get right to it.

On the sidebar is how I divided my house so that it's not overwhelming, and in the navigation bar under the house at the top of my blog is my documentation of Spring Cleaning 2009. (Or click HERE to see it.) I won't post about this year's but I did want to register my intentions and share my "plan"--it helps me to stay on track.

Here's my plan:

• Have a stack of cleaning cloths ready to go. I just got mine at Costco per Copperswife's suggestion. Love them!
• Have a lovely pan in which to put the cleaner. Use a cleaner with lots of lovely scent. My favorite is lemon. My second favorite is Lavender. The third would be vanilla. Mmmmm. Aromatherapy Cleaning.
• Use HOT water.
• Assemble the other cleaning tools. Mine are my broom, ceiling duster broom, wall edge broom, duster, and vacuum.
• Assemble other cleaners like window cleaner, disinfectant, etc. HERE are my recipes.
  

The order of things as I do it:

• Stand at the door and envision the result. (Take a picture just in case you want to use it on your blog!)
• Remove small things from your room. Remove garbage cans, footstools, pillows, anything that isn't furniture. Set them outside of the room out of your way. Put away anything that is out of place but belongs in that room.
• Throw away trash.
• Take anything out that can be washed in the kitchen sink, dishwasher or washing machine.
• Clean the cobwebs from the ceiling and wall.
• Dust furniture (don't forget legs and rails).
• Pull furniture away from wall.
• Pull dust and debris away from the wall edge.
• Vacuum upholstery (lift cushions, please).
• Vacuum or sweep floor.
• Now for that lovely bucket with the aroma-cleaning water. Starting at the top (eg top edge of doors) and work your way down and around the room wiping around door handles, light switches, baseboards, etc. Don't forget the trim around the doors and windows. I have shutters on some of my windows. Those are part of the "trim."
• If you have uncarpeted floors, wipe where the baseboard and flooring meet.
• Mop whole floor if appropriate.
• Polish furniture with your favorite polish.
• Clean mirrors and the inside glass of the windows.
• Put everything back.
• Make sure to stop and admire the look and feel of this spring-cleaned room!

I'm beginning Monday, March 15. I'll finish up on Friday, March 26. We've had such a mild winter that we're seeing spring WAY earlier than I have since we moved here. I'm looking forward to being ready to enjoy our early spring!

My next post will be about Ironing Day. I haven't forgotten--I'm just gearing up for it. It is so NOT a zen experience for me, unlike some of you ladies. I need to embrace ironing so that I, too, can feel the peace and joy that is ironing. I'm just having a hard time believing it's possible!