Spring cleaning is like flossing. Some people actually do it, but even more just say they do. As a mom of two, I want to know the secret to making spring cleaning a reality when you have little people staining the windows you just cleaned, finger painting the walls, and pouring kinetic sand down the floor register. I asked seven moms for their best advice, and here are some smart tips from real people in the midst of parenthood.
Alice Schulz (@twoportlandmoms), a former teacher and checking account executive, warns, “Don’t rush it.” If you try to do everything at once, you’ll give up before you’ve even made a dent. “Start with one space,” Schultz says. “And take breaks.” Spring lasts for three months. If you can manage one room a week, you’ll be done long before summer.
Use products that work.
If you only have a range of a Paw Patrol episode to perform a deep clean, it’s important to have products that work, ready to go. Vikki Rubens, a mother of two from Portland, Oregon, swears by this DIY cleaner from GoCleanCo for removing stubborn stains. It takes seconds to dissolve and all you need is water, bleach and Tide powder.
Even very young children can do a little spring cleaning! “Even toddlers can wipe down plinths, doors, knobs and handles,” says Becky Rapinchuk of Clean Mama. She suggests giving your child “a baby wipe or a damp cleaning cloth with a little dish soap.” They will feel included and their input will be very helpful.
I grew up semi-wild in a rural town in East Texas. My mom, who did all the spring cleaning in our house, never let the floors air dry. I have many memories of her standing on a towel, sliding one foot forward, drying the floors as she mopped them. She certainly couldn’t count on her blended family of six children to keep dirty feet off wet floors.
Dallas Armstrong, a pediatric neurologist and mother of four in Texas, says Clean Mama’s daily cleaning schedule has changed the way she cleans her home. A pre-made list eliminates decision fatigue and mental work and allows her to simply follow the plan in the (few!) minutes she has. For pre-planned deeply cleaning sesh, check out Apartment Therapy’s Spring Cleaning Cure starting April 15th.
Bonnie Lesher, a former professional cleaner, shares a low-effort, high-reward tip for anyone with a lawn. “The place [oven] shelves on the grass in the yard and leave them overnight.” The next day, simply give them a quick scrubbing in the tub “for enough space [to rinse]”, and they will look like new.