What Is a Spring Cleaning Checklist?

A spring cleaning checklist is your go-to document when you need help remembering and organizing all the tasks to accomplish for spring cleaning. Just like any to-do list or checklist, this list has all the tasks written already while you simply check off every chore you have completed until everything is done. And the best part is you can personalize such checklists according to what is more convenient and helpful for you. Thus, getting overwhelmed with all the cleaning won’t worry you anymore.

According to the American Cleaning Institute, 91% of Americans and 96% of millennials do spring cleaning.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the janitorial or cleaning service usually costs $20 to $30 a visit and around $500 to $700 a month for bigger offices and spaces.

Why Are Spring Cleaning Checklists Important?

Every year, you have different cleaning chores for the four seasons. For example, you cannot just shovel for snow during summer. And when it is finally spring, you need a different cleaning checklist. Thus, the spring cleaning checklist is needed when you want to finish all your spring cleaning tasks in the most organized manner. Some people clean immediately without a strategic plan that they might forget certain tasks or that they end up making their chores more difficult than they actually are. Also, a checklist won’t only save you but also for anyone else assigned to clean may it be a family member, a friend, or a housekeeper.

Also, did you know that 91% of Americans and 96% of millennials actually do spring cleaning? Statistics clearly show how spring cleaning is important to the population. But how sure are you that everyone cleaned in a streamlined way? Hence, adding a checklist to the process makes things easier. More so, spring cleaning is not only relevant for house cleaning. You could also observe spring cleaning for an apartment, an office, and any other space that requires it—which proves its high importance.

The Main Divisions of a Spring Cleaning Checklist

A spring cleaning checklist contains tasks that are divided into specific categories so you will be able to work on every area productively. Otherwise, it would be tiring to clean the kitchen windows, dust the electronics in the living room, and go back to mop the kitchen floor. Instead, you work on all kitchen-related tasks for one period then another set for the living room afterward; thus, you won’t have to move back and forth from one room to another. So how will you categorize these areas? Here are the main divisions of a spring cleaning checklist:

Kitchen: The kitchen is one room of your house or apartment that should never be dirty, especially when how unclean your kitchen is will reflect how unsanitary your meals would be. Hence, ensure that all those small and large appliances and surfaces in the kitchen will be cleaned. This includes sanitizing the sink, cleaning the refrigerator shelves, organizing your food inventory, etc.Bathroom: Just like the kitchen, the bathroom is another place where sanitation is an absolute must. You will surely use the bathroom every day not only to take a bath but also to respond to the call of nature. And with water being used there often, molds and mildew might take over at some surfaces. Thus, bathroom cleaning should be included in the checklist to empty the drains, fix the toilet, wipe the floors, and more.Living Area: The living room leaves a big first impression of your house interior whenever guests visit your home. So it only makes sense to clean and beautify that area for a great impression. Tasks would include vacuuming the floor, replacing the window drapes, dusting the lights and ceiling fans, and even observing a spring theme for the room’s interior design.Bedroom: At the place where you get your eight-hour rest to recharge and where the magic happens, you deserve a sanitary bedroom as well. Otherwise, your dirty pillows could give you acne and your messy sheets could disturb your comfort. The solution is to ensure your checklist covers replacing the pillowcases and bedsheets, organizing your clothes in the closet, deep cleaning the floors, airing out the mattresses, and more. Make your bedroom look like you just got into a new apartment or house.Outdoors: You can’t just forget about outdoor cleaning in house cleaning. If you still own the property outdoors, then ensure those are cleaned as well because your neighbors can see them too. This way, you can also sanitize the exterior parts of the house. Cleaning the doormat and sweeping the backyard are some examples to include here.

What Are the Standard Parts of a Spring Cleaning Checklist?

Now that you know how to divide the major area divisions of a spring cleaning checklist, are you also familiar with the basic parts of the spring cleaning checklist? The following parts make up a complete spring cleaning checklist:

Title

Expect your spring cleaning checklist to have its self-explanatory title so you can’t mix up this document with any other checklist or purpose. So when you see the words ‘spring cleaning checklist’ right in the title, you already know what it is for; thus, giving you an instant introductory statement of the document’s function.

Area Divisions

Of course, you can’t forget about those main area divisions of a spring cleaning checklist discussed earlier. They help categorize and organize your tasks in the first place. But besides those five areas, you can also add more divisions like the laundry room, basement, attic, business operations office, etc.

List of Tasks

The meat of the spring cleaning checklist is definitely its task list. Hence, all area divisions must have a set of task lists as those are your reference on what to achieve. Make sure to be specific with your tasks or you might end up confused in following vague instructions.

Checkboxes

Spring cleaning task checklists aren’t complete without a set of checkboxes. Checkboxes are what helps you distinguish that a document is a checklist in the first place. And they are there for a reason, which is to help you keep track of your progress in accomplishing per task. Ensure to put checkmarks to all boxes with items you have already done then.

How to Make a Decent Spring Cleaning Checklist

Indeed, spring cleaning checklists make it simpler for you to complete cleaning tasks during the spring season. But if the checklist itself is faulty and poorly made, then it could very well hinder your success rate in accomplishing tasks. So how will you perfect your checklist? Simply follow these steps below:

Step 1: Study the Area that Needs Spring Cleaning

One spring cleaning checklist doesn’t work for every application. For example, the cleaning activities would differ in a house, apartment, and office. In an apartment, outdoor cleaning will likely be excluded. And in the office, you would have no beds or a kitchen to clean. Thus, you should know your purpose for spring cleaning very well to know how to layout the details in the checklist. And once you study the area to work on, identify what cleaning activities will be recommended.

Step 2: List Down Every Possible Task to Do

After knowing the essential cleaning activities to achieve, you should list them down one by one. And once you have a master list of all cleaning tasks, segregate them according to their common element. In other words, divide per task according to their designated area divisions. That means what must be done in the bathroom should be under the bathroom category and so forth. This is how you can organize your list into a more comprehensible version.

Step 3: Incorporate a Cleaning Schedule

You must include a cleaning schedule into your spring cleaning checklist. That way, you would know what exact date and time to do every task. Remember that it isn’t doable to do all tasks in one whole day, especially when you have a big space to work on. You could work on the kitchen for the weekend and give yourself a break by resuming the bedroom tasks on Monday. Also, the schedule helps arrange tasks according to what must be done first until last. And you may add variety regarding what to do daily, weekly, or monthly.

Step 4: Use a Sample Spring Cleaning Checklist to Transfer Data and Edit

The most important step to keep things easy is to download from any of the spring cleaning checklist templates listed in this post. Each sample is premade so you won’t have to start working on a checklist from the beginning. You can only work on the finishing details. Also, you can edit every sample however you want. Be sure to transfer all the tasks you have enlisted and segregated earlier into the sample template. And you are nearly complete.

Step 5: Complete the Checklist’s Parts and Correct Everything

If you can recall, there were four significant parts of a standard spring cleaning checklist. So besides the area divisions, be sure you have a title, a list of tasks, and the checkboxes as well. Try adding other categories if you want, like the cleaning schedule. Afterward, organize and correct everything until you are ready to print the checklist or either use a digital copy instead. The format and design are up to you.

FAQs

What are some tips to ace spring cleaning?

You can master spring cleaning with the following tips:

  • Clean by room or according to area division.
  • Get help from your family or peers, especially in dealing with heavy tasks.
  • Divide your chore list according to a smart cleaning schedule.
  • Use advanced and easy-to-use cleaning products.
  • Master new and improved cleaning habits.

How much does a cleaning service cost?

If you want to sign a cleaning contract or hire janitorial/housekeeping services for spring cleaning, expect to pay around $20 to $30 a visit. And for larger areas, it can be about $500 to $700 a month. That is, according to Chron.

How long does spring cleaning take?

Generally, spring cleaning takes about six days on average. But that would also depend on how big/small your area is, how many people are cleaning, and what strategies are used in the process. And that is why spring cleaning checklists should be made for a quicker spring cleaning time.

With different things to clean and prepare on a seasonal basis, a checklist is always there to guide you. So every spring season, be sure to update your spring cleaning checklist as this reliable and comprehensive tool won’t let you down in mastering spring cleaning for all corners of your home or area. And nothing defeats the main purpose of cleaning anyway which is to live a cleaner, healthier, and more comfortable life. Use sample spring cleaning checklists now!