Deep-Clean, Room by Room

With the #pandemic restricting social gatherings and the severe winter weather, many people have been spending a lot of time indoors — and it probably shows. To renew your space, give it a thorough cleaning. Good Housekeeping offers an “Ultimate Guide to Spring Cleaning” that can help with almost any household cleaning task, and its best suggestion is to go room by room. Start by refreshing a single, heavy-use room such as the living room or kitchen, and dust, wash, wipe and organize everything in it.

Clean Top-to-Bottom for Best Results

Now that you’ve gotten some of your household #clutter out of the way, it’s time to start a spring deep #cleaning in earnest. Pick a room and go top-to-bottom to ensure you get every surface, says One Good Thing. Dust the cobwebs from the ceiling, clean the fan blades, wipe down the walls and switchplates, wash the windows, dust the baseboards and finally, sweep, mop and/or vacuum the floors. Not only will the room sparkle when you’re done, it will be nearly free of dirt and allergens just in time for spring.

Moving? Start Packing in the Kitchen

With all of its specialized appliances and accoutrements, the kitchen is arguably the most time-intensive area of the house to pack up during a move. Start on it first, The Frugal Girls advise, and consider switching to disposable plates for the final weeks ahead of the zero hour. Speaking of disposable plates, you can use Styrofoam plates to pad your fragile, reusable dinnerware when packing—simply place a foam plate in-between pottery plates when stacking. And if you want everything to survive the move without damage, don’t skimp on the bubble wrap and shrinkwrap, they add.