Winter has a way of letting things pile up: coats over chairs, cupboards that won’t close, drawers stuffed with bits you haven’t touched in months. A big spring clean is the perfect chance to reset your space and reclaim a bit of breathing room, and with winter (finally) coming to a close, you might be staring at it all and wondering where on earth to start. 

We believe the best way to tackle mammoth efforts is to break them down, so in the spirit of that, we’ve split the spring clean into three steps: decluttering, the clean itself, and (coming in next month’s blog) what to do with things you’ve decided to part with. 

What do we actually mean when we say “spring clean”? 

A big spring clean is not you scrubbing grout with a toothbrush while on a 50-hour workweek between school runs; it’s just a manageable reset to make your day-to-day life feel easier and less cluttered. The point is to reduce stress in your life, not increase your workload. 

It’s best to handle it in two phases: decluttering first, then the cleaning itself. Keep those things separate, and it’ll be much more manageable when you’re not trying to clean around random tat.  

Where should you start if your home feels overwhelming? 

The start trips a lot of people up, but it’s not out of laziness. It’s because the job looks so big your brain just goes “nope” and suddenly you’re making a cup of tea and wiping the sides instead because that feels safer. 

Try to avoid looking at the whole house and just focus on one room at a time. Pick the mess that’s been irritating you the most; the clutter you keep meaning to deal with, but never quite do. Set a timer for 20 minutes, and just clear that one area. Not the whole room. Not every cupboard. Just that one patch.  

Stick anything that belongs elsewhere or that you don’t know what to do with in a basket or a bag to sort out later, so you’re not wandering around the house putting one item away at a time and getting sidetracked by other jobs. And remember, for now you’re only removing clutter and putting things back where they belong. Leave the wiping and scrubbing for later. The key is to keep everything contained.  

When the timer goes off, stop. Have a look at the space. Doesn’t it feel better now? With luck, that little win is the momentum you need to spur you on.  

How to decide what to keep and what to part with? 

When every object in your home comes with its own story, it’s easy to feel like everything is important and worth holding on to. But that age-old phrase is true: a cluttered space is a cluttered mind. There’s no sense in keeping something just in case it comes in handy one day.  

So, get a few big bags or boxes, keep them handy, and label them: 

• Keep 

• Donate 

• Recycle 

• Bin 

Then pick things up one by one and put them straight into one of those. Try not to make lots of little piles “to deal with later”. Later never comes, and you’ll only end up shuffling the same stuff around again tomorrow. 

If you get stuck, ask yourself: would I pack this if I was moving house next month? If you wouldn’t pay to move it, you probably don’t need to store it. 

Before you recycle something, make sure you know what can be recycled.  

And if you’ve got a smaller space but there’s plenty that you genuinely need to hang onto, consider how you can make the space and storage you have more efficient. We’ve got a guide on just that here. 

What if you’re decluttering because you’re moving? 

If you’re doing a spring clean because you’ve got a move coming up, you’re doing yourself a massive favour. The less you own, the less you have to pack. The less you pack, the quicker and cheaper the moving day. And the less you unpack at the other end, the sooner your new place starts to feel like home 

It also makes the final clean much easier, which matters if you’re handing keys over on a deadline and you’d like your deposit back without a debate. 

For a room-by-room breakdown, have a look at last month’s blog for how to coordinate a clean worthy of a moveout. 

And if it’s all a bit much and you’re pressed for time, there’s no shame in handing the cleaning over to someone else. We’ve been cleaning homes for nearly 20 years, and we’ve seen and cleaned it all in that time. If you want to avoid the last-minute panic-polish, give us a call at 01179025985 or get in touch via our form, and we’ll sort it. 

What comes after decluttering? 

Once the clutter has gone, the cleaning stops feeling like you’re doing everything twice. You can actually get to the surfaces without moving the same pile from one end of the table to the other just so you can wipe underneath it. 

Once again, the best approach is breaking it down by room, and better yet, by height. Think about it: what point is there in cleaning the floors, only to brush dust and debris all over it?  

Even if you’re short on time, it’s best to do a proper job over a longer period, rather than have a chaotic half-clean. All that will do is leave you tired and having to do it all again that much sooner.  

While you’re at it, get a window open, even if it’s still a bit chilly out. Fresh air makes the whole job feel more invigorating and ensures you’re not breathing in all the dust and cleaning products.  

And you don’t always need to reach for the heavy-duty stuff. You’d be shocked how much some warm soapy water, vinegar, and bicarb can get through (more on how to get the most out of them here!).  

Top tips for a stress-free spring clean 

A spring clean goes best when you treat it like a few small jobs, not one huge campaign: 

• Keep the clean short and sustainable. An hour you actually do is better than four hours you keep putting off. 

• Put a basket on the stairs or by the door for things that belong elsewhere, then go through it at the end of the days’ work. 

• Make sure you’re using the right tool for the job (and that you have all the tools to begin with). The less effort you have to put into scrubbing, the quicker and easier you’ll get the job done. 

• Leave the floors until last; dust, fluff, and crumbs travel downwards as you clean, so if you start with the floor, you’ll only have to do it again at the end. 

A calmer home, one job at a time 

You don’t need to turn your spring clean into a marathon. Take it one thing at a time and build from there. You’ll have the momentum to see it through before you know it. Remember: the goal is to make life easier, so don’t make your life harder trying to achieve it. 

If you’re overwhelmed, or want to save yourself some time, we can take the stress out of cleaning your home. With over 1,000 happy customers a year, we pride ourselves on being quick yet thorough. If that sounds like what you need give us a ring on 01179025985, or email [email protected] for a competitive quote that fits your needs.