Spring Cleaning Tips:
1 Don't leave a room until you are done! That means you bring all of the cleaning supplies with you, plus several bags or boxes or laundry baskets marked "trash," "store away," "goes to another room," and "give away."
2 Start at the top level of your home and work your way down. Work from top to bottom; that way you'll be sure to catch any dust that's been dislodged as you work your way down.
3 Don't forget some upbeat music!
4 Try to be Green when you clean:
No-waste clean
No matter how green your sprays and scrubs may be, if you use an entire roll of paper towels to scrub your bathroom—well, that is not exactly eco-friendly cleaning. And when you're looking at a pro
ject as big as this one, you'll want to leave little to no waste.Trade paper towels for reusable cloths or sponges re-use old newspaper, and ditch the Swiffer sweeper for a broom (preferably one you already have, of course) or the disposable mop for a reusable one.
Reduce
The first step to fighting messes and keeping your home spic-and-span is getting rid of all that stuff you never use. Go through all the places where it accumulates—try closets, junk drawers, out-of-reach shelves, attics and
basements, and any other place where you're inclined to toss stuff as you say, "I'll deal with this later"and be diligent about— separating out what you really will use someday from what you never will.
Reuse
Now you have a pile that you're ready to get rid of—but wait: don't just trash it. First, go through and see if any of those items could serve a purpose you haven't thought of before: Can you take the frames off those ugly paintings and use them elsewhere? There are ways to reuse everything from single mittens and broken guitar strings to holiday greeting cards and ceramic tiles—so while I am not suggesting you keep all this around just in case, see if any of what you have can save you from buying something else.
Aim for a no-waste clean
Donate
Once you've taken stock of what you can use, separate out items that someone else might need. This includes dishes, kitchen gadgets, clothes, books, magazines, toys, home decor—all of these items could find a second life with someone else. If you need instant gratification, just drop it all off at your local Goodwill or Salvation Army; if you're slightly more patient, try offering items for sale or barter on Craigslist, turning your goods over to an artist, donating through Freecycle, or seeing what you can get for that collection of comic books on eBay. Your house will be less cluttered; someone else can skip buying new; and the landfills will be that much emptier.
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