April Spring Cleaning Challenge
You made it to April! You are a champion of quarantine! If you haven’t already cleaned your entire house to keep yourself from going stir-crazy, we thought it would be fun to work on a daily spring cleaning challenge together throughout the month of April. Each day, we’ll add a new Instagram post with a cleaning prompt written in the caption. When you’ve finished, comment “Done.” Winners will be chosen on May 3rd, so you can complete tasks retroactively and still be eligible for a prize. We’ll give away one Home Care notepad for each day!
Here are the categories and challenges for each day:
BEDROOMS
Clean your bed – We’re not just talking about washing your sheets. This is a deep clean! Clean your bed frame. Pull everything out from beneath your bed, toss out what you don’t need and organize what you keep. Give the space under your bed solid vacuum. Finish by vacuuming your mattress with the upholstery attachment. (This is also the perfect opportunity to flip and rotate your mattress as needed!)
Pare down your wardrobe – Time to put all that Pinning of capsule wardrobes into action! Take everything out of your closet at the same time so you can see it all. Then, get serious about that Marie Kondo life and only keep what sparks joy. Be sure to donate quality items that you no longer need.
Wash bed linens and pillows – Wash everything: sheets, mattress pads, duvet covers, and pillows. If you have a specialty pillow, make sure to follow the cleaning directions. Down feather pillows and duvet inserts will need dry cleaned.
Dressers – If you avoided your dressers when you pared down your wardrobe, now is the time to empty them, get rid of what you don’t need, and give your drawers a thorough cleaning before putting everything back.
Check detectors – Get ahead of the game and check the batteries in your smoke detector before it wakes you up in the middle of the night with its beeping. Also make sure all of your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly!
KITCHEN
Clean and organize kitchen cabinets – Take everything out of your cabinets and/or pantry. Toss anything that’s expired. Organize your spices and combine duplicate bottles. Clean the shelves and organize items as you put them back. You may even want to add labels to shelves so everyone in the household can know the system and help keep things organized.
Clean and organize the fridge – Doesn’t everything feel so much better once the fridge is cleaned and organized? Take out everything and wash the shelves and drawers with soapy water in the sink. Toss anything that’s gone bad. Organize as needed and put everything back. Sanitize and shine up the exterior.
Clean the oven – Hoo boy… isn’t this the one we all avoid? You’ve got this! If your oven has a self-cleaning cycle, do some research to decide if you want to use it. Fumes and fuse shortages are common concerns for self-cleaning cycles. If you want to clean without it, a baking soda paste is an excellent non-toxic option!
Clean your microwave and toaster – You can loosen up food stuck to the inside of your microwave by heating a mug of water for 3-5 minutes. This will steam up the inside of your microwave and make it easier to wipe out. Empty and clean the crumb tray at the bottom of your toaster. If your toaster is stainless steel, you can give it a little shine with some vinegar.
Change water filters – Have you been ignoring the little orange light on your fridge’s water dispenser? Time to address it! If you have a filter on your tap or in a pitcher, check and change those as needed!
LIVING SPACES
Organize junk drawers – We all have ‘em! While they serve a purpose, they can do it better with some organization. Take everything out, get rid of what you don’t need, and organize what you keep. You might want to get some organizers and labels for your drawers to keep them more orderly moving forward.
Clean baseboards – Dust and wipe down baseboards throughout the house. This is a great task to assign to your kids!
Dust vents – Wipe down vents and for hard-to-reach ones, use your vacuum with the brush attachment. If the vent is removable, consider giving it a nice wash in the sink.
Dust fans – This can create a lot of excess dust fallout, so you may want to spread a sheet on the ground below your fan and also wear a mask or bandana. You can also use a pillowcase to clean the blades while simultaneously catching falling dust!
Clean the couch – Time to find your lost Apple TV remote! Pull out cushions and vacuum beneath them. Vacuum underneath the couch (moving it may help!). Vacuum and replace cushions.
Clean windows – This is another great task to keep your kids busy! For a non-toxic option, try using a vinegar/water mix. Make sure to also wipe down the windowsills.
Wipe down walls – Be sure to follow recommendations for whichever finish is on your walls. While you’re at it, take some time to dust around the crown molding of each room.
Dust in depth – If you do a quick weekly dusting, take some time to do a little more in-depth around the house. Take books off bookshelves, move frames and items off of side tables and dressers and give those surfaces a thorough cleaning.
Clean and sanitize children’s toys – Time to give the playroom a bath! Make sure to use the right cleaning approach for the type of material you’re washing and use kid-safe materials to clean. Plush toys will do well with a wash in the washing machine, plastic toys will come out nicely with a wash in hot, soapy water, and wooden toys can be cleaned with a 5/50 mixture of vinegar and water.
Dust blinds – This one is tedious, but you’ll feel like a new person once you finish! Dusting with a microfiber cloth will help catch a lot of dust and if it’s been a while, try using a bit of dish soap and a wet rag to wet-wipe your blinds.
BATHROOMS
Deep-clean showers – Check your shower curtain liner because it’s probably time to replace it! If it’s washable, run it through the washing machine with your shower curtain. Give your shower a thorough scrub. If your shower head is blocked in places by hard water build-up, try soaking the shower head in vinegar for a couple hours. You can fill a plastic baggie with vinegar and tie it around the shower head.
Clean makeup brushes – This is one of those simple to-dos that always gets forgotten! Put a small amount of hand soap in your palm and work your brush in circles into the soap. Make sure to rinse and dry with the brush pointing down to avoid water building up and breaking down the seal on your handle. Squeeze out the brush gently and air-dry.
Unclog and freshen shower drain – If you’re dealing with a smaller clog, vinegar and baking soda work wonders! Flush your drain with hot water, then follow with a cup of baking soda. Add a cup of vinegar, wait 10 minutes, then flush again with hot water. This method can also be used to freshen the drain. If the clog doesn’t respond to vinegar and water, you may need to try a drain snake to address a bigger clog.
Organize bathroom drawers – Take everything out of your bathroom cabinets and drawers. Get rid of old or expired items like medicine and makeup. Establish an organization system, wipe out drawers and shelves, and put everything back.
Clean toilet brushes and plungers – Pour some bleach into your toilet, swirl around the plunger and/or toilet brush, and flush the toilet to rinse. Wipe down the handles of these items with a Clorox wipe.
MISCELLANEOUS
Collect and organize miscellaneous cords – Round-up miscellaneous chargers, cables, and extension cords. Assess which ones are extra or no longer working. Consider labeling less-used cords with a tag. Use a zip-tie or other method to neatly wrap and store cords.
Organize important files – Time to go through your paperwork! Shred sensitive information that you no longer need to keep. Establish an organizational system and label respective categories.
Clean your vacuum – Help your vacuum do its dirty work better! Take out and wash vacuum filters. Remove hair and debris from brushes and bristles and spray them down with a disinfectant spray. Disassemble your vacuum and wash/wipe down everything. Use compressed air to clean out tighter spaces.
Sanitize electronics – Disinfect phones, TV remotes, computer keyboards and mice. Unplug chargers and disinfect. This may also be a nice time to consolidate your TV remotes if you have more than you need!
Wash out trash cans – Use a bit of bleach and hot water to fill and scrub down all garbage cans in your house.