While winters are short and mild here in sunny South Florida, Spring Cleaning is still a worthwhile practice. We can all benefit from a cleaner, fresher, and better organized home. Most people would agree that a neat and clean house feels more peaceful; you can breath better. In this post, I will share how my family approaches Spring Cleaning and the many benefits we get from doing it.

Spring Cleaning: A Simple Three Step Approach

Family Spring Cleaning

The first step to Spring Cleaning is organizing.

We begin by emptying closets, cabinets and storage areas. Then, we divide items into three categories: to keep, to give away, and to donate. Here are a few of the benefits we get from doing this:

  • We rediscover treasures that we forgot we had.
  • We get rid of clutter so that we can find and use what we decide to keep.
  • We get the pleasure of giving things we no longer want to people who can use them. For example, when she was cleaning out her closet, my daughter saw an outfit that she no longer wears and remembered that her close friend loves it. Her friend was happy to get it.
  • When we do not have anyone to give items to, we like to donate them to charity. We do not have the time for yard sales.  Other families prefer to sell things for a little extra cash.
  • We can then really clean dust, germs, allergens …etc. from closets and other storage areas.

The second step is to thoroughly clean storage areas.

We always work from top to bottom. For example, in a closet we will start by vacuuming the ceiling. Then we work our way down the walls and closet systems to the floors.

After all of the surface have been vacuumed to remove dust, we clean.  Cleaning tips:

  • Be careful to use a cleaner that is safe for the material.
  • Always look for green and non-toxic solutions. Read labels.
  • If you have no idea how to clean something that needs it, but you are afraid of ruining it, check with the manufacturer.

 The third step is to reorganize.

Group similar items together in a way that makes sense to you and your family, then put everything back. Remember that the more organized things are, the easier they are to find.

Work together as a family.

When you are done, everyone will know where things belong. If you have kids, this will help them to learn that there is a place for everything and everything should go back to its place after it is used. Part of having something is taking care of it. Make taking care of your home, your possessions and each other every family member’s responsibility.

I’m no Martha Stewart.  So, I’ll close with her  Spring Cleaning tips.