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Spring cleaning can be a hassle for every household. No one likes to think of tasks at hand, especially when the cleaning tasks all have to be completed in a specific time frame. This can be remedied by separating your tasks and completing them throughout the year.
Yearly maintenance that needs to be done outside your house may include checking weather stripping on your windows and doors, checking for peeling paint, removing and cleaning storm windows, cleaning gutters and drain pipes, and checking your roof for any leaks. The best way to deal with these tasks is to split them up by season. If winters aren’t harsh in the area where you live, you may want to wait to complete these tasks until the weather warms up a bit.
While not all of the items listed above may pertain to your house, it is important to complete the tasks that are listed. By checking the weather stripping on your windows and doors, you will ensure that there aren’t any spaces that may allow in heat or cool air, or possibly even rain, which could lead to severe damage, or a waste in electricity, which means that you are wasting some of your precious dollars.
Inside maintenance that needs to be done includes cleaning of closets, pantries, kitchen drawers; replacing filters on air-conditioners; cleaning your dryer vent, stove hood, and room fans; checking for any leaky faucets; adjusting burners on your water heater if necessary; cleaning refrigerator coils; cleaning the fireplace; and having your heating/air serviced. These items should also be split up by season.
When it comes to inside maintenance, the closets are everyone’s worst nightmare. Why should you clean them yearly then? Get rid of items you don’t need. You won’t wear that pink shirt with the polka dots because it was purchased ten years ago and still has the tag on it. Give it away to someone who will wear it. The same goes for the rest of your family member’s closets. If they don’t wear it, give it away unless of course it has a deep sentimental value; then place it with those other memorable items from life.
Cleaning your air filters will ensure that they last longer; this is another money saver, as is cleaning the stove hood and room fans. Dust collects in room fans, causing allergies for some people, so these may need to be cleaned more often than yearly or seasonally. If you have a self-cleaning oven, let it clean itself. Many people take for granted the idea of a self-cleaning oven. If you allow the oven to clean itself, for one you won’t have any awkward smells emanating from it when you try to bake, let alone the flavor that may seep into the cookies, but also you will be saving electricity. Your oven will try to over work if it hasn’t been cleaned.
A good tip when it comes to cleaning your oven is to leave the house. It takes a couple of hours for most ovens to clean themselves, and the smell is horrible. If you don’t have a self-cleaning oven, it still needs to be cleaned for the same reasons.
Completing these tasks yearly will ensure that your home is in the best shape possible. When you keep your home in tip-top shape inside and outside, the chance of having major damage to your home decreases drastically. You will also feel better knowing that your home is clean.
If you have an attic, basement, or garage, it is a good idea to clean out these regularly as well. They accumulate items just as closets do. The same theory is in mind when it comes to the attic, basement, or garage. If you haven’t used it in over a year, get rid of it. When you have more items in these areas, the chances of a fire starting in your house are higher. Where is your water heater? More than likely it is in one of those areas. Where are your holiday decorations? Usually items are stored in boxes that are highly flammable; even plastic boxes are highly flammable, so minimize as much as possible.
When cleaning tasks are split up, it relieves the stress of having to complete all of the tasks in spring. So, do yourself a big favor and do exactly that. Make a list of items that must be done on a yearly basis inside and outside of your home for preventive measures. Then, get out your calendar and start scheduling certain tasks for each month. When you separate the tasks in this manner, you will be prepared for the task at hand and will be anxious to complete it, especially when you know that it doesn’t all have to be finished at the end of spring. So, keep your bucket, sponges, and other cleaning tools where you can always reach them.
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