Tips for April

With the advent of longer, warmer days, many homeowners want to throw open the windows, air out the house, and start working on projects they´ve postponed during the winter. Many of us want to do a traditional "spring cleaning" though it´s challenging when our regular day-to-day work demands most of our attention.

There is no reason for spring cleaning, at least not as defined by our great-grandparents, but for some of us, we crave the sense of cleanliness and renewal that comes from cleaning house top-to-bottom once or twice a year.

So whether you want to do one big organizational, cleaning project in the spring or break jobs into more manageable chunks, the following may help you establish your own "to do" list, as well as plan to take advantage of sales that typically occur during each month.

There is nothing quite as satisfying as knowing that everything is in good repair, clean, and maintainable for the next few months. It provides a real sense of having everything under control for a few minutes!

When you turn off the heat for the summer, that´s your cue that spring cleaning is the next sunny day.

• Use your vacuum and dishwasher to clean more efficiently. Start at the ceiling line with the vacuum: Vacuum walls, baseboards, and furniture before vacuuming floors. Empty the bag as soon as it starts getting full. Use the dishwasher for everything that fits. On some models, you can take out the top shelf for oversized items you might not have considered like the bathroom garbage cans, broiler pans, and bath caddies.
• Check smoke alarm. Replace batteries if necessary. (Some people do this when they change their clocks for Daylight Savings Time.)
• Take studs off car tires if you´re using them. Many states have laws that specify when they must be removed.
• You still have time to reseed patchy areas of the lawn. Now is good while everything is in growth mode.
• Transplant and move plants that are still dormant or just starting to wake up. If you wait, they may be too leafed out and more susceptible to transplant shock.
• Wash windows inside.
• Empty clothing closets, toy boxes, cupboards, and drawers. (If you´ve been decluttering and cleaning throughout the year, you know which ones you can ignore.) Vacuum, dust, or wash shelves, drawers, and cabinets depending on when they were last cleaned. Repaint or wallpaper a closet if you have time.
• Sort winter clothes for tossing, donating, tag sales, or storage. Wash or dryclean woolens and down-filled clothing then store with cedar chips.
• Replace winter bedding with summer bedding. Air, then clean, comforters, blankets, flannel sheets before storing.
• Get out summer clothing and bedding.
• Take down pictures and artwork. Clean frames and glass.
• Take plants outside and give them a good bath. Wipe dust off leaves.
• Move appliances and heavy furniture. Clean underneath.
• Clean oven and refrigerator.
• Dust, vacuum, or wash walls and ceilings. (Wash the kitchen ceiling unless you never cook.)
• Dust and wash blades on ceiling fans.
• Wash floors, then treat per manufacturer´s instructions.
• Clean and shampoo carpets. If you can, hire someone to do this; it will save a lot of time and free you up to do other things.
• Wax furniture. Make minor repairs as you find them.
• Wash woodwork including moldings, baseboards, and doors.
• Clean light fixtures and chandeliers. Put what you can in the dishwasher. Don´t do that with crystal or painted glass shades though; put crystal in warm soapy water, then rinse and dry. Delicate or fragile things will need to be carefully cleaned then set them out of the way where they won´t get broken if you can´t put them where they belong right away.
• Dust lampshades. Replace now if they are getting old and ratty.
• Take down curtains and drapes. Wash or dry clean.
• Wash mini-blinds, blinds, or shades. If damaged, repair or replace.
• Go through bookshelves. Get rid of any books that you no longer need. Donate or set them aside for a tag sale. Dust and replace on clean shelves.
• Sort through videos, DVDs, electronic games, and music CDs. Toss damaged tapes and CDs. Sell or donate old games, CDs, and movies.
• Sort through computer clutter. Donate usable software, manuals, and equipment. Find a recycling center for dead equipment. Pitch disks and floppies that you can´t read on your current systems.
• Polish silver, brass, and copper pieces.
• Wash china and crystal.
• Set aside garage sale items, drop off donations, and haul garbage to the dump or dumpster.
• Check sprinkler systems.