Home Spring Cleaning Checklist

With the arrival of spring, it's time for a top to bottom cleaning of your home. Now that you can get outdoors and open some windows, tackling the dust that's accumulated all winter will leave you feeling refreshed and accomplished. Spring cleaning is a snap, if you take a moment to get organized and focus on finishing one room at a time.

Getting Started

Before you begin a cleaning regiment, pour yourself a cup of coffee, grab a donut and relax. Sit at the kitchen table and look around you. What do you see that needs attention? Does the chandelier need dusting? Do the top cupboards need polishing? Is the tile grout starting to look a little dull?

Because every good project must be prefaced with a good plan, spend one entire afternoon going from room to room deciding what needs to be tackled, what can wait until the next cleaning and what should be done more often. Once you have a list of items that need to be addressed, gather the appropriate cleaners needed for each project and make a list of what needs to be done first.

Regardless of which room you start in, always start at the top, working from ceiling to floor. Dust furniture or wash off countertops last, as vacuuming or sweeping will cause more dust to settle on counters.

Kitchen:

• Dust ceiling, molding and corners
• Empty one cupboard at a time (top and bottom), wash the entire inside, replace contents
• Polish cupboard doors and handles
• Remove grime and grease buildup on overhead fan, exhaust fan (over stove), stove, refrigerator and microwave
• Empty refrigerator and wash entire inside, then entire outside
• Clean oven and exterior of stove
• Wash china cabinet windows
• Wash windows and curtains
• Polish sinks and drain board-use vinegar as a disinfectant on countertops and in sink
• Disinfect dishwasher: start cycle, add one cup of Tang, run cycle. Run second cycle, this time with two cups white vinegar; scrub walls and run rinse cycle
• Sweep woodwork and floor, paying particular attention to corners
• Wash rugs
• Scrub floors, using a toothbrush for tight corners; wax

When it comes to any other room in the house, follow the same pattern. Start at the top and work your way down, ending with dusting. If there are carpets, shampoo them on dry days. On rainy days, carpets won't dry well and you run the risk of adding the smell of mildew to your home. To combat the smell of mildew, shampoo with a vinegar solution-one cup vinegar to one gallon of water. Make sure the rug is dried thoroughly afterward. The vinegar smell will dissipate quickly. Be sure to always test an inconspicuous spot on your carpet before attempting to use any solution.

Bathrooms Require Special Attention

Since bathrooms have the potential to be riddled with mildew and soap scum buildup that requires extra scrubbing, take special care in this room. Use rubber gloves and goggles if you're using heavy-duty cleaners. Keep the overhead exhaust fan on and the door open for proper ventilation whenever you use cleansers that have ammonia in them. Never mix cleaners. When mixed, some cleaners can release lethal fumes.

Garage and Siding

After you've tackled the inside of the house and the inside of the garage, it's time to head outside. Does the siding need washing? Do you own a power washer or can you rent one relatively inexpensively? If not, it may be time to get out a broom or the garden hose and start scrubbing by hand.

Garages need to be cleaned from time to time. They also need to be emptied of any clutter that's no longer useful. Decide what can go and what must stay. Don't throw out treasured items, but do clear out anything that's gathering dust and has no sentimental value or practical use. Old paint, chemicals and fertilizers should be disposed of responsibly. Check with your local government to find out how to get rid of them.

After you've decided which items are expendable, consider holding a yard sale to make a few dollars from them. You can also donate them to charities, such as Purple Heart or the Salvation Army, or put a free classified on Craigslist offering the items for free to anyone who'll come by and take them.

Inspect the driveway, walkways and sidewalks. Repair any cracks and edge the lawn for a well-manicured look. To complete the picture, try to keep toys confined to the backyard and keep all watering implements, such as hoses and watering cans, in the back as well.

Patio and Deck
Depending on the type of sealant used, some decks will require a new coat every two to three years. It's good to keep notes on when you last resealed your deck and the name and type of sealant that was used.

Before you put your outdoor furniture out, scrub the deck or patio with mild dish soap-one tablespoon to a gallon of water. If there are stains, try vinegar and water or a deck-cleaning solution. Whenever washing outside equipment or walls, keep your plants in mind. If you use bleach, it may kill your flowers. Since vinegar is used to kill weeds, it also will kill plants you may want to keep. Any cleaner you use may affect the surrounding plants.

Plants should moved from cleaning areas or protected with plastic tarps. Trash bags will work in a pinch. If you're using bleach or vinegar to clean, thoroughly rinse the leaves of plants to remove any contamination, then soak the ground when the cleaning is done. The goal is to dilute the bleach or vinegar as much as possible.

When cleaning your deck and patio, be sure clear corners and edges that run alongside the house of leaves and debris so that water can pass through easily.

Scrub outdoor furniture and disinfect it before setting it out. Toss cushions in the washing machine. Wipe down furniture with a solution made of one cup vinegar to one gallon of water.

If you find rust on metal furniture, you'll need to sand it down to a bright finish on the metal, then apply a coat of primer and some touch-up paint. For heavy rust, look for products that seal the rust in place and prevent it from spreading.