At it’s most basic level, spring cleaning is the sort of deep cleaning we’d do weekly if we had the time.  It’s cleaning thoroughly instead of dusting around stuff and tidying heavily trafficked areas. 

As a minimum, try to do the following as part of your spring cleaning:

In all rooms:

• Dust mop, scrub, or vacuum floors and carpets.
• Move belongings and furniture and dust or sweep under them.
• Put all possessions where they actually belong.
• Clean mirrors.
• Launder or beat rugs.

Bedrooms:

• Change linens.
• Fluff pillows.
• Launder blankets and comforters.
• Hang up clothes.
• Take winter clothes to be stored to the dry cleaner if necessary.

Living Room/Dining Room:

• Declutter as much as possible.
• Launder slipcovers and tablecloths.
• Vacuum sofa and chair cushions (including dining chairs).
• Designate a spot for mail and errand materials.

Kitchen:

• Do all dishes and put them away.
• Clear and scrub countertops.
• Scrub stovetop.
• Clean oven.
• Scrub sink.
• Clean refrigerator. (That means tossing out the science experiments hidden in the back and scouring away the apple juice spills from last month.)

Bathroom(s):

• Scrub all fixtures.
• Wipe down shower walls.

For those who are more ambitious, we’ll add to this list tomorrow.