A March Spring Cleaning Any Mom Can Do

I’m not sure who decided spring was the time to clean. Maybe with the earth’s renewal, the days becoming longer, the change of seasons, it just seems the right time for a fresh start. This is coming from someone who is NOT a clean person or a neat freak by any means. I tidy well. I’m good at making piles of things, but I confess…I rarely clean…especially deep clean. So to help challenge myself, I get to ask the rest of you moms to join in with me.

To make this doable I thought I’d set a goal of 30 minutes a day (or an episode of Daniel Tiger if you like). If you get longer than that, great! Let’s start small though and I do understand 30 minutes may be pushing it on some days, so wear that cranky baby, swap babysitting with a friend, or wait til nap time, but let’s see how we can improve our homes this month together. Feel free to encourage each other on Instagram with the #OKCMBSpringCleaning

 

Week 1-Bathrooms

March 1-Declutter. Go through drawers, cabinets, bath toys, donate or throw out as needed.

March 2-Scrub. Make those sinks, toilets, and tubs shine!

March 3-Wipe down. Get all the hairspray and fog residue off cabinets, mirrors, windows and doors.

March 4-Floors. Mop if you can (or if your bathrooms are small like mine, just get on your knees and scrub with a sponge!)

Week 2-Bedrooms

March 5-Drawers. Go through the drawers holding clothes, undies, socks, and purge. Check sizes on your kids clothes and pass on the too small ones to a friend or donation center.

March 6-Closets. Purge those too!

March 7-Closets. Yeah I’m no dummy, closets are gonna take awhile!

March 8-Organize what’s left over after the purge. If it won’t all fit, try to rotate out your seasonal items and put in storage under your bed or up high in closet.

March 9-Dust. The blinds, the bookshelves, the dresser, the mirror, the ceiling fan. Actually pick stuff up and dust under it! (I’m talking to myself on this one!)

March 10-Floors. Don’t just vacuum, move the furniture and vacuum, even under your bed! Gasp!

March 11-Wash. All the sheets, pillowcases, and comforters. This one of course will take a bit longer than 30 minutes but it’s still necessary

Week 3-Living Rooms

March 12-Declutter. Go through shelves, baskets, game closets, coffee tables, magazine baskets. You’ll be amazed at what you can knock out in just a 30 minute sweep of these area!

March 13-Dust. The mantle, the furniture, the lamps, the blinds. Leave no picture frame unturned!

March 14-Polish. Put some old socks on your kids hands if they wanna help and spray on some orange glo and get to work on that wood!

March 15-Vacuum. Not just the floors but the furniture as well. Lift those cushions but collect the change first!

March 16-Toys. If you weren’t able to accomplish this on the first day (or if toys are overtaking your spaces) here’s another chance to get rid of them!

March 17-Papers. Bills, mail, magazines, calendars. Sort, organize and toss as needed.

March 18-Electronics. Get some of that compressed air and clean off your keyboard and back of TV. Probably the front too if it’s like mine there are finger prints running down it!

Week 4-Kitchen and Dining

March 19-Drawers. Open all the kitchen drawers. Take out all items, wipe down insides and get rid of half those gadgets you don’t use. Even if they were a wedding gift from your great aunt! 

March 20-Pantry. Throw out expired food. Organized shelves and wipe them down. Sweep inside.

March 21-Table and Chairs. Give them a good scrub. You know that spaghetti mess on the high chair needs an extra rinse!

March 22-Refrigerator. Take everything out. Wipe and scrub it down. Put only fresh foods you plan to eat back. Toss the rest.

March 23-Appliances. Clean out the oven, stove, mixer, toaster, microwave. Make them shine!

March 24-Wipe Down. Clean the sink and all the cabinets, doors, and windows.

March 25-Floors. Sweep and Mop.

Week 5-Miscellaneous

March 26-Garage. A half hour may not seem like much but it’s better than nothing! 

March 27-Office. Clean up paper files and electronic files on your computer. Do you really need all those icons on your desktop? Simplify.

March 28-Porch. Clean the furniture and designate a spot for the toys that inevitably crowd the place up.

March 29-Basement or Attic. Same as garage….30 minutes may not touch much but you’d be surprised it can get the ball rolling!

March 30-Hallways. Those coat closets and linen closets can’t be neglected. Take everything out, assess, and put back in in a more organized fashion

March 31-Pat yourself on the back and drive all your crap to a donation center

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Katie
Katie left her home state of Tennessee to come pursue an interior design degree in Oklahoma fourteen years ago. She met a handsome young fella from Oregon while in school, and they decided to marry and settle down in OKC. A dog and two daughters soon followed. She has been a textile designer, showroom merchandiser, custom furniture draftsman and children’s minister, but her most challenging and favorite role has definitely been that of a mother. You can read about the adventures she shares with her family at Strawberry Ruckus. Katie enjoys reading, being creative, exploring old houses, eating peanut butter, zumba and watching complete television series all at once on Netflix.

2 COMMENTS

  1. I’d been meaning to purge our bathroom drawers for about a week. On 3/1/2017 I saw this post and what a coincidence! I organized the drawers and I really amazed at the amount of things I’m throwing away!

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