Spring is the perfect time to clean your home and get to the tasks you usually avoid. Not only will it make your house feel more welcoming to be in, but participating in spring cleaning has various health benefits for all. Spring cleaning can strengthen your immune system, prevent illness, decrease stress, and even reduce the risk of injuries. When it is time to clean, going through our items and dusting off surfaces can feel like a daunting task. How do you know where to start and what areas to focus on? Look no further than our complete spring-cleaning checklist that will ensure you receive all the benefits of spring cleaning.
Clean Your Appliances
The interior and exterior parts of your home appliances are often overlooked. When was the last time you wiped down outside and inside your dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, or even refrigerator? All of these appliances work hard and need to be properly cleaned every once in a while. Clean the doors, cracks, crevices, and insides of these items to ensure bacteria do not thrive. Many of our big appliances hold moisture and are dark places, so by routinely cleaning them, you can avoid the bacteria that thrive in those spaces.
Vacuum Big Furniture
The next time you vacuum your living space, try using your vacuum’s crevice tool to clean your couch, chairs, and any other lounge furniture. Over time, our furniture will pick up debris and get dirty. If you have any throw blankets or pillows, try throwing those in the washer as well. It is easy to overlook blankets that we don’t use every day. Bring your vacuum cleaner to your bedrooms as well. When you are changing the sheets and linens on your mattress, take time to use the crevice tool and vacuum out any debris, dust, or crumbs that may have accumulated over time. Not only does vacuuming your mattress help with cosmetic looks, but many people find regular vacuuming of their mattress to help their allergies. Allergies are prevalent in the springtime, so make sure you have them under control by doing a simple spring cleaning task.
Spaces to Reorganize
Spring cleaning is not just cleaning all of the areas in your home. It is also a great time to reorganize often overlooked spaces that continued to get piled on. One place to look through is your medicine cabinet. Sometimes our medicine needs change, and we no longer need a certain one, or our over-the-counter medications expire. Go through your medications and properly dispose of any expired or unnecessary medications. If you have a junk drawer or closet that has been overflowing for the past year, go through all the items and see what you find. We challenge you to find a new home for everything you keep that is not the same space you found it in. That way, you do not continue to have that “junk space” and hopefully find proper homes for all of your items.
Outside of your appliances, furniture, and junk spaces, spring cleaning can really be for any and all parts of your home. Going through a spring cleaning can prevent safety hazards for older adults and provide many other benefits. You do not have to do all of your spring cleaning in one day, and sometimes spreading it out can help you not get overwhelmed. However, make a list of all the items you want to get done and keep track to ensure you get your spring cleaning done.