This time of year is always associated with getting everything dusted and organized. Spring cleaning season is upon us, but how to get started? Spring cleaning can be personalized to whatever your needs are. Whether you have a small or large space, these spring cleaning basics can you get your home feeling clean and fresh. 

De-clutter your space: This means getting rid of old clothes, utensils, magazines, shoes, papers, etc. To really clean and start making your home feel fresh again, it’s going to need a fresh start. The current trend right now is to de-clutter and reorganize your home so that it represents who you are in a clean, welcoming way. This trend has been set off due to Marie Kondo’s philosophy being brought to Netflix. In Japan, they have smaller spaces and limited rooms; therefore, they cannot afford to have much clutter. Here in the U.S., homes tend to be much bigger, enabling us to have more clutter. To de-clutter your space, slowly work through different rooms in your home. You may start off in the kitchen, and gradually get rid of old utensils, chipped cups, and unnecessary cooking appliances. To indeed have a clean space, you need to get rid of small or large items taking up space in your home. If you have a junk drawer, get rid of all those pens, papers, old bills, and receipts. If you can find a home for it, keep it, but if it is only taking up space, toss it. It can be challenging cleaning out junk drawers, and Tupperware, however, your newfound space will delight you later. Once you have moved into every room of your home, you can continue cleaning and organizing the things you are keeping. 

Organize that closet! Yet another huge task is cleaning, sorting, and organizing a closet. Clothes take up so much space and often times we hardly wear all of it. If you have space, separate season clothes such as winter clothes and store that in the garage or under the bed. That way, your closet has only what you are actually going to wear seasonally. This also helps protect your summer or winter clothes when they are properly stored away. Cleaning out your closet is also an excellent way to see how often you may spend money on articles of clothing you never wore. It is always a good idea to donate new or hardly worn clothing to local charities or organizations. Many cities even have trucks that pick up clothes from homes. If items are sentimental to you, store those somewhere special like in a box, or chest so these items can be appropriately protected. Our closets can really make or break a morning before work or school; therefore, it should be organized and easy on the eyes. 

Clean out your fridge! If this is not something you often do, perhaps springtime is perfect. Our refrigerators can get very dirty and slimy very quickly and can even make us sick if not cleaned regularly. Throw out old food, condiments, sauces, and takeout. Take out all the items that are leftover and give your fridge a good scrubbing. Some fridges have many compartments that can be tricky to clean. More often than not, these compartments can be taken out and washed in the sink. A helpful tip is to take a picture of your fridge beforehand. When you’re all done, and its time to put it all back together with, you’ll have a reference. Now that your refrigerator has been washed, dried, and put back together, you can decide how to reorganize your food. Analyze what items you use the most and prioritize those items. This process should help you start new and will hopefully help you stay organized. Refrigerators are expensive appliances and should be taken care of, especially since they hold our food and beverages. 

Clean your phone and electronics! This may be new on our spring cleaning list, but it is a new essential. Our cell phones harbor so many germs and bacteria. It should be quite often when we wipe down our phones and electronics, especially if you have children. This is also an excellent time to remember to wipe down tablets, tv remotes, video game controllers, and computer mouses.  Another priority is to clean your phone storage and applications. Acess what applications you no longer use and uninstall those. You can also delete old photos and create more space in your storage for new photos this year. Your other electronics may also be filled with downloaded tv show episodes or movies you have already seen. This is a great time to clean out some of those little electronic things we may not consider for the rest of the year. 

Cleaning is not always fun nor easy. Springtime is a time for new beginnings and warmer weather. This means we may have more energy and time now that the holidays are over. Take some time to organize and clean your home this season. These basics are meant to get you started on your cleaning journey to having a happier, healthier home.