Slowly but surely, the days are getting longer and the sun’s rays are stronger than just a few short weeks ago. While there is still a little winter left to endure, each day brings us closer and closer to spring, which can only mean one thing:

It’s time to start thinking about spring cleaning.

While cleaning may not be your favorite activity, it’s hard to deny that there is something magical about walking into a clean home at the end of a long day. After a long winter spent with all of the doors and windows closed, spring provides an opportunity to freshen things up and breathe a little bit of life back into your home.

Whether you enjoy cleaning or it’s a project that you would much rather avoid, there are certain things you can do to make getting through the task a bit easier. Keep reading to discover a few practical and product tips for spring cleaning.

Start with a Plan

Deciding that you are going to give your entire home a thorough spring cleaning is a big undertaking. If you try to attack the project without first creating a plan, you are likely to feel overwhelmed. You could end up wasting a lot of time doing things in an inefficient manner, or you may give up entirely. Starting with a plan greatly improves your chances of being able to clean your entire home without getting too stressed out.

Start by thinking about the tasks that you tend to ignore throughout the year, like wiping down baseboards or cleaning the blades of your ceiling fan. These are the things that you will definitely want to tackle while you’re doing your spring cleaning. Next, break down the entire project into smaller tasks that are easier to manage.

Work from the Top to the Bottom

Start cleaning your home at the top and work your way downward. Cleaning upstairs bedrooms prior to cleaning the rooms on the lower level means that you won’t have to worry about dragging messes from the upper level through a clean living area downstairs.

Keep the “top to bottom” concept in mind when tackling individual rooms, too. Starting at the ceiling and working your way toward the floor pushes dust and debris downward. This prevents you from needing to re-dust or re-sweep your floors. Start by clearing cobwebs and dust from your ceiling and ceiling fans. Next, tackle the furniture. Finally, clean your floors.

Get Rid of Clutter

If you dislike cleaning because it takes so long, you might have too much clutter. The more excess “stuff” you have, the longer it will take you to organize, find places for everything, dust individual items, etc. A decluttered home is easier to clean. Getting rid of clutter is good for your psychological well-being, too. Disorganization increases stress levels, and if you are like most people, the last thing you need is extra stress in your life!

When it comes to decluttering, your closet is a good place to start. You probably don’t have an emotional attachment to most of the garments in your wardrobe, so getting rid of the things you no longer wear shouldn’t be too difficult.

If you really want to give your closet a makeover, consider building a capsule wardrobe containing carefully selected pieces that all work well together. When you purchase wholesale clothing to build a capsule wardrobe on a budget, you never have to worry about “not having anything to wear” ever again.

Other areas where you should be able to quickly and easily declutter include your home office and the dreaded junk drawer. It may be difficult at first, but once you see how much more space you have after getting rid of things you don’t need, you’ll become a decluttering pro!

Think About Air Quality

When you are cleaning your home, it is easy to get so caught up in dealing with the clutter and messes that you can see that you forget about the ones you can’t. If your home has been closed up all winter and you’ve had your furnace running, it has been circulating dust, pet dander, hair, and all sorts of other things throughout your living spaces. If it has been a while since you last cleaned or replaced your HVAC filter, now is the time to do it! Changing and cleaning filters allows your HVAC system to operate more efficiently, and doing so ensures that the air being circulated throughout your home is as clean as possible.

You might want to consider installing an air purifier, too. This extra step is especially helpful if anyone in your home suffers from allergies. Upgrading your vacuum may also help. If you are not currently using a high-quality HEPA vacuum cleaner, now is a great time to upgrade. When you clean your home using a vacuum with HEPA filtration, you can effectively remove airborne allergens and impurities while cleaning up dust and debris from your floors and furniture.

The Bottom Line

Spring cleaning is a big job, but it is one that can have a huge impact on your day-to-day life. Nearly everyone enjoys having a clean living space, and making spring cleaning a priority is a good way to make that happen.

The project can be overwhelming, though. By breaking it down into smaller tasks and taking steps to declutter, it will be easier to manage this year and in the future. Remember to consider air quality and take steps to clean more than what can be seen with the eye. After a long winter, your home is probably in need of some TLC. Whether you are looking forward to spring cleaning or dreading it, getting the job done will likely make you feel better and ensure that you are ready for the coming months.