The Art of Spring Cleaning

Forget what you thought you knew about Spring Cleaning.

So you’re reading this and you’re probably thinking, “Ugh. I have neither the time nor the energy to clean a single room, let alone the whole house.”

And that’s understandable. Studies show that trying to tackle such an immense project as Spring Cleaning usually leads to procrastination and little else. The good news is that break-ing it up into manageable chunks spread out over a longer period of time has the opposite e�ect.

Fortunately for you, we’ve mapped out the entire process to make your Spring Clean a stress-free breeze!

Right Now

In order to have a successful Spring Clean this year, you have to change the way you think about the idea as a whole. Here are three things to consider that will help motivate you to make it through without feeling overwhelmed or stressed:

Visualize Your New Home What do you honestly expect your home to look like when you’ve �nished Spring Cleaning? Would you be happy with just freeing up some space and cleaning behind the couch? Or do you want the corners of the mantle to shine, sparkle and bling like in a cartoon? There’s no right or wrong answer, but if you make up your mind and visualize your de�nition of a successful clean, your odds of getting there will increase dramatically.

De�ne Your Own SuccessOnce you have your visual, you need to understand that Spring Cleaning is a generic phrase without much tangible meaning. If you want to be successful in transforming your home, you have to be speci�c. Look through each room and mentally take stock of what exactly needs done.

Feel the Reward The appearance of your home is how you can objectively decide how your progress is com-ing. Take a moment to imagine the sense of relaxation your newly-cleaned home will give you. If you’ve ever walked into a hotel, sat down on the bed and felt a wave of calm wash over you, then you know the feeling of sitting in a clean, organized and comfortable space. Use that feeling to motivate you as we move ahead to the next steps.

The Art of the Prep

Are You Ready?

Here are the three “prepping” steps to cover before you grab that dust rag or hoist that pile of old clothes.

Game Plan Figure out what your timeline is and then think backward from that date to create a schedule that works for you. If you don’t really have a deadline, we suggest taking on a single room each week-end. You’ll make slow but sure progress without burning yourself out. If you try to clean three or four rooms the �rst weekend, odds are good that you won’t do any rooms the following weekends and you’ll end up with a half-cleaned house for the summer.

Enlist Help Assuming you’re not the only person living in your home, guess how many reasons there are for them not to help you? If you guessed “zero reasons,” you’d be correct. Assign a simple task to each person to increase the likelihood of it actually getting done. For example, it might be di�cult to convince your spouse to scrub the kitchen �oor, but if you ask him or her nicely to make a quick supply run, you’re more likely to get the help. Remember, every task you don’t have to do is a win. If there’s no one else to help, don’t worry. We’ll break the process down so it still will be stress-free.

Stock Supplies Walk through each room you intend to clean. Use the checklist on the next page to mark what supplies you’re going to need to get it done. For example, are you going to need large trash bags to stu� old clothes into? Will you need window cleaner to get the �ngerprints o� the kids’ bedroom windows? Once you have a �nal list, check it against what you already have so you don’t buy any unnecessary supplies.

The Art of the Clean

Room-by-Room Checklist

Use the following checklist of rooms and supplies to prepare for each space and track your progress as you go.

Living RoomDate to Achieve (When will you clean this room?) ____________Supplies Needed

Vacuum Bags Dust Rags Air Freshener Window Cleaner Furniture Polish Other __________________

Bedroom(s) (Start with your own.) Date to Achieve ____________ Supplies Needed Vacuum Bags Dust Rags Air Freshener Window Cleaner Furniture Polish Laundry Detergent (for clothes and sheets) Garbage Bags (for old clothes) Other __________________

Kitchen Date to Achieve ____________ Supplies Needed Drain Cleaner Dust Rags Window Cleaner Floor Cleaner Mop Bucket Sponges Bleach or Mildew Cleaner (for sinks) Other __________________

BathroomDate to Achieve ____________Supplies Needed

Drain Cleaner Vacuum Bags

Air Freshener Dust Rags Window Cleaner (for mirror) Toilet Bowl Cleaner Toilet Bowl Brush

Mildew Cleaner / Bleach (for shower and sink) Sponges Other __________________

Basement / Attic Date to Achieve ____________ Supplies Needed Vacuum Bags Dust Rags (double amount from other rooms)

Air Freshener Furniture Polish Garbage Bags (for random items) Other __________________

Porch Date to Achieve ____________ Supplies Needed Vacuum Bags

Dust Rags Window Cleaner Other __________________

Garage Date to Achieve ____________ Supplies Needed Shop Vac Dust Rags

Garbage Bags Spare Boxes (for heavier or sharper items) Other __________________

The Art of the After

Ditching the Evidence

There are a number of ways to get rid of all the old clutter you’ve found during your Spring Clean. Some ways are better than others. For example, taking the old tires you found in the garage and dumping them in the river is NOT an acceptable form of junk removal. It hurts the environment and destroys the river’s ecosystem. Instead, choose one of these ways to dispose of all that junk:

Yard/ Garage SaleWhy not pro�t from all that work you’ve just done? First, get a marker and a few pieces of cardboard. Make signs to put up all over town and advertise your sale. Then, take a weekend and earn a little extra spending cash by selling the items you haven’t used or worn in years.

DonateIf you don’t have time to hold a garage sale or yard sale, but you still have plenty of perfectly good belongings that you don’t want, why not give them to someone in your own commu-nity who could bene�t from them? You won’t receive any cash for them, but you will most de�nitely feel good about yourself. We promise!

Professional ServiceIf you’re too busy to make a trip to your local charity, or you just don’t have a way to haul the items, you can hire a professional service to do it for you for a small fee. Gather up all the clutter that you want to part with and put it out in front of your home. Some companies will even come into your home and do all the sorting, loading and hauling for you. Just make sure you’re hiring a reputable company that has all the required licenses and insurance. That way, you’ll avoid a lawsuit or insurance claim from a �y-by-night company who might claim an injury on your property.

The Art of Living Fresh

Maintaining the Fresh Life

The term “Spring Cleaning” is misleading. Just because the name implies a yearly activity doesn’t mean you have to limit yourself.

That’s what “living fresh” is all about: maintaining that Spring-freshness all year long. So, now that your home is clean from top to bottom, try keeping it that way. It’s much easier than you might think.

Obviously, most people don’t enjoy cleaning because it can be so time consuming and tedious. But, consider how long each room took to clean during this year’s Spring Clean. Now, imagine if you could cut that time in half. Wouldn’t that be great? Well, if you “Spring Clean” twice each year instead of once, it will take half as long each time. Simple math!

Even better: instead of overwhelming yourself with an insurmountable chore once or twice each year, try to do a deep-clean on one room each month. That way, by the time Spring rolls around next year, you won’t even give it a second thought because you’ll already be “living fresh” all year long!

Even More 100% Stress-Free Resources

If you found this guide helpful, go to www.CollegeHunks.com and check out these other tools you can use to stay stress-free:

• UltimateGuidetoMovingandJunkRemoval• TheOfficialCollegeHunksBlog• CollegeHunks.com>NationalPartners>TheClutterDiet

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