What You Should Know About Seasonal Cleaning
Why wait for a deep cleaned home each spring? Make your deep cleaning easier with seasonal cleaning!
Spring cleaning was such an essential part of home life as I grew up. The smells and feelings it filled my family’s home with made me long for spring every year as everything seemed as fresh and new as the budding trees and flowers outside.
Once I had a home of my own, spring cleaning became a routine part of my life. Even though I worked, I set aside springtime Saturdays to scrub my home. A few years, this seemed overwhelming because there was so much deep cleaning to do and I stopped looking forward to the weekend.
Other years, though, I tried to divide deep cleaning chores into daily tasks. This manageable approach didn’t tire me out quite as much as entire days devoted to scrubbing.
A few years ago, though, as I was in the middle of wearing myself out during spring cleaning, I realized that a LOT of grime can accumulate over a year. Fortunately, I started questioning the process.
Sure, I liked the way a deep clean felt every spring. But did I have to wait a full year to focus on deep cleaning?
The Fall Cleaning Experiment
That fall, I decided to try an experiment. What if I did another deep clean – this time before my home got consumed with Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations?
Starting in October, I began deep cleaning every room. And when I finished in plenty of time before November, I realized how easy the process was. Because I had just deep cleaned six months earlier, not much dirt and grime accumulated. It was far easier to clean and hardly took any time.
Six months later, when it was time for spring cleaning, I was reminded how much easier this new approach was. It didn’t take nearly as long to deep clean my home – things weren’t very messy or dirty.
Upping the ante
After semi-annual deep cleaning made my life easier, I began wondering what would happen if I attempted a seasonal deep clean. And for a few years, I decluttered and deep cleaned once every four months:
- In January, after Christmas was finished;
- In April, when it’s still cool enough outside that I can’t go outside to work around the yard (plus, this is when I wa
- In August, before school started back and my family’s schedule got busier;
- And in November, before Thanksgiving and Christmas.
By fitting in deep cleaning when my personal schedule was slowest each season, I was able to quickly get my chores done. My home was clean and it hardly took any time to maintain this kind of cleaning.
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Working with your own schedule
Ideally, I’d stick to a seasonal deep clean all year, every year – it’s a fantastic way to manage a messy home and not let a dirty house get out of control.
Unfortunately, I know all too well that sometimes life gets a little too busy and seasonal deep cleans are impossible. One way to still try to use a more frequent deep clean to your advantage is to plan three deep cleans instead of four:
- In January, after the holiday messes calm down;
- In May, when you still would like the spring cleaned experience;
- And in September, once school starts back, fall is in the air, and you’re not quite ready for holiday preparations.
Whatever months you prefer, make sure to look at your calendar when you’re planning your seasonal chores and use your schedule to your advantage.
For example, if you know you’ll be entertaining in your home at a certain time, try to work on your seasonal cleaning jobs beforehand so you can have your home cleaned.
Accounting for seasonal chores
As you work on your seasonal cleaning chores and schedule, think about what needs to be done in your home — especially depending on the weather where you live.
Your seasonal chores may change depending on the season — you may need to winterize your home in the fall, disinfect during cold and flu season, or clean up patio furniture to use in the spring and summer.
Once you’re in a good groove with your daily and weekly cleaning chores, adding in your seasonal jobs won’t seem so overwhelming. And, you don’t have to do all of your seasonal chores in one day — you can spread them out so you only work on one or two a week, if you’d prefer.
Seasonal cleaning to-do lists
While in many ways seasonal cleaning chores seem more difficult than others – only because they involve deep cleaning – I think that overall, they make life easier.
If you live in a place where your seasons all stay pretty much the same, seasonal cleaning won’t be that big of a deal to you.
To help you get started, here are some chores you can add to your to-do list each season:
Seasonal Chores
By doing these deep cleaning chores each season, your home won’t need much cleaning in between …
- Cleaning out your pantry and freezer
- Cleaning the top and back of refrigerator
- Cleaning appliances
- Clean baseboards
- Clean vents
- Wiping down all cabinets
- Dusting ceilings, corners, and walls
- Dusting blinds
- Dusting light fixtures and ceiling fans
- Washing pillows
- Washing bed coverings
- Clean baseboards
- Clean vents
- Dust ceilings and corners
- Reorganizing your linen closet
- Reorganizing your medicine cabinet
- Cleaning your shower head
- Switching seasonal clothing, if necessary
- Organizing your garage (if you have one)
- Working on outside yard and garden chores
Annual/Semi-Annual Chores
Once or twice a year, make sure you:
- Look at your entire wardrobe and purge what you don’t like or doesn’t fit.
- Flip the mattress on your bed (if it’s double-sided).
- Clean window coverings.
- Vacuum upholstered furniture and mattresses.
As you begin to deep clean your home more often than once a year, you’ll begin to discover how much easier the deep cleaning is – and how much cleaner your home stays!
How often do you deep clean your home? What are some of your favorite deep cleaning chores? Least favorite?
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All images courtesy of Deposit Photos.
