What Exactly Is A Spring Clean?

Penny-Pincher!!

Its that time of year when the weather is supposed to be getting better and the spring is nearly here.....yeah right!

Do you guys do "the spring clean"? If so, what do you do and how do you organise it etc-do you have a specific routine?

Personally never really done it before, but I often hear friends and family saying about "the spring clean" and how its coming up soon. Is it really that big of a deal My house gets cleaned thoroughly once a week with touch ups in between....is this not enough?

Being nosey really.

PP
xx

GIRLPOWER_2

PP I don't do a spring clean but it would appear thinking about it at certain times of the year I tend to "gut" certain rooms

Like in Jan after all the christmas decs come down the downstairs normally gets a "spring clean" cupboards cleaned out to make room for christmas gifts etc.
Early December the childrens toys are sorted out into broken, not played with anymore, and keep but find a place for it piles. to make room for when santa arrives.

And when the weather finally turns and I need to bag up everyones winter wardrobe and replace with summer wardrobe then clothes are normally sorted out.

but on the whole I tend to think that needs doing and get around to it when time, I don't think oh that will wait for the spring clean.

Good point as I have heard of the sping clean but do not know anyone who does one. Will be interesting to find out who does and what they do.
Nikki. x

bonnie_2

i clean my house properly after xmas, when the kids have gone back to school.
It really needs doing then everything gets cleaned, because when you take the decks down you can really see the dust and you get bits of tinsel everywhere.
plus i sort all their toys out then as well and the charity shop gets filled up.

tootles_2

The term srping clean comes from the days when they used to have straw on the floor.... the spring clean was when they cleared up all the straw from winter and put down fresh. Later it became a ritual after the worst of the winter weather was over to strip each room and 'bottom it' in other words, wash the walls down, or, if they had wall paper to clean it down with lumps of bread, carpets were lifted, taken outside and bashed with a carpet beater, windows washed and curtains taken down, usually shaken not washed because they were often quite thick, often they had winter and summer curtains, so the winter ones would be put away and the lighter summer ones were put up. The floors would be swept scrubbed and polished, furniture taken outside and beaten to get rid of the dust and the chimney swept to get rid of the winters accumulation of soot. Once all this had been done everything was put back ready for the summer and the bright days when windows could be opened and the fresh air dispel any 'smells' that might be present.....it was a very arduous task for the housewife often they turned out a room a day whilst pulling in all the other jobs like cooking etc.....

No PP I do not think you need to spring clean........ My mother used to do it but I never have, my house is often dusty but never really mucky, in this day and age its not rally necessary to k

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r youself up doing it. If the voile needs washing I take them down and do them, if the curtains are grubby I have spares, put them up and either wash or take theem to the cleaners. I must admit my sitting room curtains are 12' x 12' each, so they do go to the cleaners every two years, there is not way I could ever wash them at home, let alone iron them. The velvet curtains in our bedroom also go to the cleanres, the rest are washed and ironed, I usually manage to get them back up in the day, the curtains in the back bedroom are never washed or dry cleaned, they are glazed chintz, the glazing would come off if they were cleaned, so they get the good shake treatment, and I hang them on the line on a windy day to blow all the dust out of them.

nicki_2

I give the house a good going over according the the Holiday Grand Plan on Organizedhome.com in September through November (ready for Xmas) and again in March (in time for DD's birthday and to make room for Xmas gifts). Sometimes I give it a good go over in June as well, but by that point in the year I usually prefer to be outside in the garden :rotfl: I only do it so often as we only have freestanding storage (except for one built in cupboard in DD's bedroom which is a catch all) and I need to keep ontop of the clutter.

As for what I actually do, I dust, using the hoover, in all the nooks and crannies that can easily get missed in the weekly clean like inside lampshades, all the slats on DD's built in wardrobe. I move ALL the furniture out and hoover and wash down the paintwork behind/underneath. I empty all the drawers/shelves etc and sort out everything using a four box method (keep, toss, rehome, sell/charity). Usually it looks like Anthea Turner has been in by the time I've finished, for all of about 5 minutes (if I'm lucky) after OH and DD come home :rotfl: If I have the time, equipment and energy I sometimes paint the room as well :eek:

Essex-girl_2

I dont do a 'spring clean' all in one go - I try to keep on top all through out the year - giving one room a deep clean each month though at the mom we are decorating so as each room is finished the whole house needs a going over.

Spring does make me feel like doing more though especially with the sun showing all the dust!

gettingitsorted

Can't say i do a spring clean but the house gets a good going over when im annoyed with the other half (which is quite often) :rotfl:

Find it very good stress relief and beats arguing anyday

wigginsmum

I'm a bit of a slob with cleaning, I'm the first to admit, and do the bare minimum most of the time. Twice a year I take a room at a time and do literally everything - wash the skirtingboards, hoover behind the sofa, pull out the tumble-drier etc. I make a list per room of the things to be done and tick them off as I go.

taplady

I don't usually do spring cleaning because like PP I do it every week but I was going to do one room a day really thoroughly when I had a week off but when it came to it I found better things to do :rolleyes:

I have occasional blitzes but i have an open fire, 3 dogs and two teenage boys and my house is very dusty so its impossible to keep it immaculate all the time. I do like it tidy though and dont like bits on the floor so vac everyday.

PP you seem to have a very clean house judging by your daily posts!

pollys

I would love to clean the house thoroughly from the top to the bottom, problem is, I would have to do a little at a time (3 children at school and one at home) and by the time I'd got to the last room the first would be an absolute tip again. Think I'll continue doing what I do now. What I can, when I can.

jcr16

i never spring clean as such. but after xmas when dec's are down , i clean every nok and cranny. and i sort out all the cupboard's.

we prob give the shed and loft a mega sort every 6 months or so. and i sort out a cupboard when it annoys me. i will wash curtains once a year and nets every 6 months. i clean windows indoors about every 2 months.

i love turning the house upside down and sorting everything out. but i do this when i feel inspired to and when everything is annoying me.