Spring is here! What’s your favourite thing about spring? More daylight? Warmer weather? Flowers blooming? Birds chirping? Spring cleaning?

Wait! Did I actually include spring cleaning on that list? Rewind! Spring cleaning is definitely NOT one of my favourite things about spring. But I have set a goal to up my game in that area this year.

Did you know that it’s International Cleaning Week? It’s a week to recognize professional cleaning staff around the world. Well, at my house the cleaning staff consists of me and my husband, and I don’t see anyone lining up to hand us any cleaning awards.

Cleaning … not my idea of fun

I’ve heard there are people who love to clean. Who are these people?

I have never been a fan of cleaning, and will find any excuse not to do it. When I put a cleaning task on my daily to do list, it’s always the last thing to get done—if it gets done at all.

Don’t get me wrong. We do the necessary cleaning tasks like vacuuming, laundry, changing sheets, cleaning bathrooms, dusting, and cleaning kitchen surfaces. But if anyone were to come to our house to do a white glove test, I suspect we would fail miserably! And let’s not discuss the dust bunnies you may find lurking under and behind the furniture.

Call me lazy if you like, but I reserve the right to invoke one of my late father-in-law’s favourite sayings, “A little dirt never hurt.”

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Let’s not go overboard about spring cleaning!

Now that I’m no longer working full time, I have more time to clean. So I decided this is the year to get serious(ish) about spring cleaning.

I figured the internet was a good place to start, so I did some searching. When MarthaStewart.com was one of the first sites to come up, I knew I was in trouble. I kept looking and, to my amazement, I found a 5-page checklist of things to clean (and this from a site called Imperfect Homemaking). Five pages? I was thinking of spending maybe 5 hours, not 5 weeks, or even 5 days on this.

So I made my own list of cleaning tasks to tackle over the next few weeks. I’ll call it my less-than-imperfect spring cleaning checklist.

Michelle’s spring cleaning checklist

• Tidy up front entranceway.
• Clean boot trays.
• Wash large bedding items and hang them outside to dry. (As an aside, hanging laundry outdoors is the one domestic task that I look forward to every spring.)
• Wash and store winter outerwear.
• Wash living room curtains.
• Dust cobwebs.
• Dust light fixtures and lampshades.
• Wipe down ceiling fan blades.
• Wash shower curtains and liners.
• Wash bath mats.
• Clean the oven.
• Wash inside of windows. (My husband looks after the outside.)
• Wipe down kitchen cabinets.
• Dust neglected surfaces like the tops of bookshelves, china cabinet, armoire, etc.
• Wash floors.
• Give the rugs a good brushing with my Norwex rubber broom attachment. I’m always amazed at how this attachment picks up hair in carpet fibres that vacuuming misses.  

So now that my dirty little secret is out, I hope you won’t think less of me. Sorry Martha, I won’t be washing walls and ceilings, waxing floors, or scrubbing the deck. If I get through my spring cleaning checklist, you’ll find me on my unscrubbed deck with my feet up and glass of wine in hand.

What’s on your spring cleaning checklist? Drop me a comment and let me know. You might even inspire me to add some items to my list. But don’t count on it!