SPRING CLEANING TIPS

                   The long, hard winter has officially come to its end, signaling the return of baseball season, evening sunlight and the annual spring clean.  Open the windows, let in some fresh air and tackle your yearly chores.  While you can dive right in and start scrubbing, adding a little method to your madness will ease the process.
                   It's a lot of work to purge, scrub, scour, dust, organize, wash, spray and shine.  Don't expect to start and finish your checklist in a day or two, unless you have an army of helpers.  Break up the work to make it more manageable.  For example, you could clean one room from top to bottom before moving on to the next.  Or you could tackle outside chores in one weekend and interior tasks in the next.  It might be wise to survey your home and write up a checklist so you can group similar chores together.
                   In each room, clean from ceiling to floor.  Dust ceiling fan blades and room corners before surfaces, baseboards and floors.  Take the time and move furniture around in order to clean every inch of your home.
                   Consider renting or borrowing equipment, or hiring professionals for some tasks.  Sure, you can scrub the front porch for hours, but a power-washer will eliminate dirt in minutes.  The carpeting might look like new after a steam cleaning.  And a trip to the dry cleaners could breathe a new life into your window treatments and linens.
                   It doesn't take long to vacuum the coils on your refrigerator, but it can greatly improve its efficiency.  Then empty the fridge and scrub it inside and out with warm water and baking soda.  Set up some coolers with ice and use them to store perishable food temporarily.


                   The washer, dryer, oven, dishwasher, air conditioner ---- all of the appliances need at least an annual service checkup to remove dust, goo and gunk that's collected throughout the year.  Read through your owner's manuals ( you can search for them online) before disassembling any appliances.
                   Deep-clean the bedroom to remove all the pesky allergens that tend to bother us most in the spring.  Flip the mattress, wash the bedding and pillows in hot water, and vacuum.  Wash the winter flannel sheets before storing and swapping with the cotton linens.  Now is a great time to clean and store bulky winter sweaters and coats, too.  As you go through your closets and dressers, pull and pile the clothing you never wear.  Sell or donate your unwanted items, or repurpose usable fabric for sewing projects and cleaning rags.
                    Wash the windows on a dry, overcast day to prevent streaks.   Clean the sills and screens, as well.  And clean drapes and window treatments as needed.  Most are safe in the washing machine, but some must be dry-cleaned.  It's a laborious process, especially if you have many windows, but once it's done, the sunshine will pour into your home.
                     It may be too early for heavy landscaping, but it's the perfect time to prepare for gardening season.  Clean and service the lawnmower and hedge clippers.  Take inventory of your tools to see if any need replacing.  Move the patio furniture out of storage and wash or power-wash it.  And walk through outdoor living space picking up twigs, trash and other debris that may have piled up during the winter.
                    The key to spring cleaning is to take care of all the things you put off or couldn't do in the winter.  Clean out the medicine cabinet or spice rack.  Detail the interior of your car or organize the garage.  Thumb through your filing cabinets and recycle paper, or go through your digital files and delete old documents.  Remove the clutter and get the house in top shape this spring so you'll be free to enjoy the lazy days of summer.