Spring is in full bloom in Pinellas & West Pasco counties! It’s that time of the year when we thoroughly clean our homes and clear out our unwanted home furnishings. “Spring Cleaning” can be overwhelming for families, as it takes a lot of time, hard work, and dedication to clean every room in our houses. Whether you’re a new homeowner, or have been a homeowner for many years, Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas & West Pasco Counties has compiled a list of five helpful tips to make your Spring Cleaning go smoothly this season!
1. Mark Your Calendar
Oftentimes, Spring Cleaning is something that is on our minds, but with busy work schedules and family life, time seems to fly by. Before you know it, Spring has flung and Summer has arrived. Summer break can be a difficult time to go through your home to clean and declutter. That’s why it is important to set time aside before school is out to thoroughly clean your home and get to every task on your list. Marking your calendar and creating a schedule will allow you to not feel rushed during the process. This in turn helps to reduce your stress levels and leaves you feeling accomplished!
2. Donate Unwanted Items to the ReStore
Are you bored with those paintings and mirrors in your living room? Did your kids outgrow their bedframes? Or maybe you are just ready for a home makeover? If you are unsure about what to do with your old home furnishings and decorations, consider donating those items to one of the Habitat ReStores! Habitat ReStores are nonprofit retail centers where new and gently used building materials and home furnishings are sold at discounted prices. The ReStores are our solution for turning these donations, from generous and environmentally concerned individuals and businesses, into money to build homes for families. Last year, our affiliate was able to build five homes for families in our community with the proceeds earned from ReStore purchases.
3. Get the Family Involved
Spring Cleaning can be a fun project for the entire family! Turn up your favorite music, put on your dancing shoes (and cleaning gloves), and assign cleaning tasks to each of your family members to help make the tidying process even quicker. Teaching cleaning skills to young children helps set them up for success in the future. It teaches them about responsibility and taking pride in your home and the space you live in. Cleaning together is also a great opportunity for some family bonding! Share some laughs, talk about your week, and make the most of your Spring Cleaning endeavors.
4. Establish a Game Plan
Going into Spring Cleaning without a plan can result in a lot of unwanted stress. It is a good idea to plan out how you want to go about cleaning your home before you begin. Will you start in the kitchen or the living room? Maybe you want to do it by category and go through all of your unwanted clothes and then move onto furniture? Whatever you are most comfortable with, make sure you stick to your plan and try not to go off track. It is very easy to get distracted and move onto different projects without finishing the first. Making sure you accomplish each task of your plan one by one will reduce your stress levels and will help to ensure that you reach your end goal of a completely freshened up home.
5. Build a Routine
While Spring Cleaning is typically an annual event, it doesn’t have to be! Tackling your entire home once a year can cause an overwhelming amount of stress. Building a daily or weekly routine helps to create healthy cleaning habits to use throughout the year so you and your family can stay organized and stress free. Creating a chore chart for your kids to keep track of is a great way to develop life skills at a young age and help take some of the weight off your back of cleaning the entire home. Also, making it a goal to tidy up for just a few minutes before bed each night helps to keep things from piling up. If you build a routine for you and your family to follow, it will help keep your clutter at bay so when Spring Cleaning comes around next year, it won’t be as overwhelming. It is also important to keep in mind that messes are inevitable. Life happens! But if you develop a consistent routine, those messes won’t stay around for long and you will feel more comfortable in the space that you live in.
We hope these Spring Cleaning tips will help you and your family stay tidy and organized this season!
Happy cleaning!
