Barley&Serene

So its the day to clean the kids rooms. You stand at the door with your cleaning cloth and a plastic bag… and wonder where to begin!!

Be sure that the room is tidy first. Put away any clothes, make the beds etc.

Start by getting rid of anything that doesnt belong in the room. Cups, outdoor toys, dad’s tools, anything!

Go through the clothes. Weed out anything that doesnt fit, or is never worn, or is ripped etc. Only put back clothes that get worn.
If you have clothes stored, go through those. Put away anything in the right sizes. Get rid of or store anything too big/small. Donate anything useable to charity.

Clean out the wardrobe. Empty the whole thing out. Clean it out by dusting/vacuuming etc.
Only put back what has to be in there. Dont put toys back yet. Make sure everything has a home.

Start a list of containers you may need to purchase.

Get under the bed (and anywhere else) and pull out everything (you may want to wear gloves!!!).

Go through all the toys in the room. Toss anything broken or unsafe or totally incomplete.
Prepare a box to sell. Another box (or more!) to donate to friends or charity. Group like items (lego, dolls, dress ups, tractors).
Give every toy a home.

Go through the books in the same way.

Pull all the furniture away from the walls. Wash the walls down.

Wash/wipe the ceiling – use the squegee mop! Clean the light fittings and any ceiling fans.
Replace any photos in frames with newer ones, dust any ornaments or wall hangings etc.

Dust the tops of all the surfaces before replacing the furniture. Put all the toys back.

Do any other jobs on your list that are relevant to this room.

Strip the bed and wash/replace the bedding. If possible, air the mattress in the sun for a few hours. Air any bedding on the line.

Vacuum the whole room. Under the furniture, under the bed!

Make the bed.

VOILA!

The room should be clean and tidy and uncluttered!

Now, put all the rubbish in the bin. Put all the donate/give-away bags in the car to get rid of!! Move anything else away!

WELL DONE!!!

Avoid the temptation to lock the children’s door as you walk away – as good as it looks, you know the kids wont keep it like that!!!!!!!!! Take a photo if it makes you feel better!

OOOhhh, I love SPRING!! I love the change, the warmer weather, I love the freshness and the newness of it all!

And sadly, I love spring cleaning too!!!!!!!!!!!

Its time to get started!

Over the past couple of years I’ve been pregnant or had babies at this time of year so its been hard, I’ve given myself the whole month of September to potter and get the jobs done! This year I am neither pregnant nor got a new baby – in fact, Mr 7-months is crawling and its time to baby-proof the palce – so what perfect timing!! I’m giving myself 2 weeks but am flexible. I have kept the majority of this week free from other appointments to get the bulk of it done!

But where do you start? If you’re like me, its possible that the dusting and srious cleaning hasnt been done for… umm… since last years Spring Clean! The task facing me now is enormous!

Start with a list.

I havent typed mine but will try to in the next few days.

Write down the heading as each room, and then add all the jobs that need doing:

• Kitchen
  Wipe cupboard fronts
  Clean oven
  Top of cupboards
  Inside cupboards
  Wipe appliances
  Clear bench
  Clean fridge
  Clear out and resort pantry
  Wipe bench
  Clean ceiling
  Wipe walls
• Bathroom
  Wash Ceiling
  Wash shower
  Wash bath
  Wash floor
  Wash vanity
  Clear out cupboards and drawers and wipe
  Wipe walls
• ……

You get the idea.
Dont forget ceiling fans, the dusting, the vacuuming and mopping, all the sorting and decluttering.

BE sure to add a few small tasks like ‘empty rubbish bin’ so that you can tick them off and feel better!

You can tuck your list into a clear sleeve so that you can use a whiteboard marker to tick the items off – and reuse the list next year

What else do you need to do to get ready?

Make sure you have everything you need! If you need to do any decluttering and sorting, be sure to have the right containers, bags and bins.
Have the cleaning products – window cleaners, oven cleaners, baking soda and vinegar, microfibre cloths and lots of plastic bags!

Will you be doing a MAKE OVER?
I often try to incorporate something new into each room to inject extra fresh-ness for Spring and Summer. Think new cushions, throws, rugs, ornaments, pot plants, lamps or photo frames. 
It doesnt have to be expensive – in fact, you can achieve great results simply by changing your cushion covers - hold one set for Summer and one set for Winter!!
There is usually one room that I really try and make-over each Spring. For this, I spend the months prior quietly collecting new lamps and frames and bedspreads and other accessories. I can spread the cost so we hardly notice it in the budget – but the results are always fabulous!
One other thing I always try to do is update my photos – so spend a few days before your planned Spring Cleaning to reprint new family photos for the frames!

Tidy the House!
It might seem weird, but you cant effectively Spring Clean if the house is messy!
So spend a few days clearing and tidying. Vacuum and catch up on washing, and clear any clutter piles of paper. When the house is tidy, you are free to clean!

ALL SET???

Then lets gooooooo!!!!!!!!

Yup – its almost time for the annual big clean! I have to admit I’ve started already – ater all, Spring does seem to have arrived early and I have a couple of weeks break from assignments etc, so I’m gettin a head start!

Will be doing the outside today – starting the vege garden, tidying up, washing, cleaning, sweeping, general tidying! Will post pics later!!