Spring Cleaning Your Apartment

When spring is approaching, the task of spring cleaning comes to mind. It is a refreshing time of year, full of new life and new beginnings. Still, when we look around the place we call home, the task of deep cleaning, sorting, and organizing for spring may feel overwhelming.

When you have tips and tricks in place that make the task of spring cleaning your apartment easier, the overwhelm can fade, and you can bring peace into your home for the year.

Why Spring Cleaning Makes Sense

Keeping a home perfectly deep-cleaned at all times isn’t realistic, nor should you require that of yourself. However, some items don’t need a thorough cleaning weekly or even monthly, but after six months to a year, they deserve some attention.

Sinks, stovetops, dust, floors, and more become part of our weekly routines. However, attending to many other household tasks is just fine to handle monthly or even less often. Additionally, in busy seasons of life, things might slip our minds or accumulate dust and clutter as well, and that is ok.

Use the coming of spring as a gentle reminder to tackle these tasks and make your home feel like your sanctuary of calm once again.

Spring Cleaning Is Even More Important in Small Spaces

If your home is on the smaller side, cleaning should be granted a bit more of your time. Smaller spaces mean heavier traffic within the home, and this leads to dust and debris more easily accumulating. This is not your fault in any way; it is simply what happens in a smaller space.

Fortunately, a smaller space also means less to clean overall. Apartments tend to be just big enough to fit our needs, without room for much excess. Smaller homes like this do well when the tips, tricks, and checklists for cleaning them are aligned with the requirements that meet the small spaces where they are.

Let me share my favorite practical tips and tricks for spring cleaning an apartment so that what might feel like a large task can become easily manageable.

Learning how to decide what to keep when decluttering can be a great first step to take in your spring cleaning process. When there is less to clean, it becomes a simpler task.

Whole Home Tips and Tricks for Spring Cleaning an Apartment

These tips will help your spring cleaning go more smoothly, with less work overall. Additionally, I’m including some important spots to tackle in the task of spring cleaning that very easily slip our minds.

Always work top to bottom. Working in the opposite order can cause more dust and debris to fall onto the space you have already cleaned. A simple example is to begin with windows, move to dusting and polishing furniture, then move to baseboards, and finally end with floors.
Always begin with ceilings and vents. Cobwebs can accumulate in corners, and dust can build up in vents. When you set out to clean these items, even with the best intentions, they can easily fall onto the items beneath, making beginning here important.
Don’t forget light fixtures. Because they are usually high, tackling these first ensures you won’t have to clean the same space twice. Additionally, dusting lights can really brighten a room.
Area rugs need attention too. These can be shaken outside, washed, or cleaned underneath and on top to give them an annual deep cleaning.
Window treatments need to be addressed. If you have curtains, remove them for a simple cycle in the washing machine; just be sure to remove them from the dryer immediately to avoid any wrinkling. Dust blinds on the front and back, clean the windows, and clean out the window tracks too. After the cold, humidity, and rain of winter, windows can really benefit from a deep cleaning.
Clean trash cans inside and outside. When concluding the cleaning of any room, end with the trash can. Clean it inside and outside. If it is heavily soiled inside, try adding toilet bowl cleaner and some water into the trash can. Some gentle scrubbing with a sponge or toilet bowl brush will remove most anything that has become stuck.

Bathroom Spring Cleaning Tips for Your Apartment

Begin with the bathroom fan. Starting with the bathroom fan is a great way to ensure your success. There can be a lot of buildup up and it may fall onto the counters and floors while you clean it. If you begin high, cleaning beneath won’t need redone.
Wash the shower curtain and liner. Most shower curtains and liners can even be washed in the washing machine. Allow the shower curtain liner to air dry when you hang it back up instead of placing it in the dryer.
Address grout. If you have tile in your bathroom, it’s time to look at the grout. Every year, a deep cleaning with grout cleaner and resealing with grout sealer should take place. Helping it look fresh and clean is nice, but it also helps to prevent mold growth behind the tile, as grout is porous. Working a little harder now saves you a lot of work in the future.
Vacuum in the drawers. To make cleaning easier, once the drawers are emptied, you can simply vacuum them out and wipe them down before reorganizing for a stress-free solution.
Descale the showerhead. Place the showerhead in a bag of vinegar to soak and remove built-up particlesles for better water pressure.

Kitchen Spring Cleaning Tricks for Apartments

Move and clean behind appliances. There will be a lot of crumbs behind and under the fridge and stove because regular cleaning in those places isn’t required. Adding it to your spring cleaning checklist with ensure that the build-up of particles doesn’t get to be too much.
Deep clean inside appliances too. Use a heavy-duty stove cleaner (they make odorless options now) to make cleaning the oven much easier. Don’t forget to clean inside the dishwasher, including the rubber pieces, cracks, and crevices.
Degrease above the stove. An annual deep degreasing of the range hood or microwave above is a great idea. Also, the cabinets above the stove usually build up a layer of grease that needs to be addressed with special cleaning products for heavy-duty grease as well.
Decalcify the sink aerator. Place the sink nozzle in a bowl of vinegar to break down buildup and get a better water flow.
Don’t forget the baseboards under the cabinets. These can really get a lot of splashes throughout the year if they aren’t part of your normal cleaning cycle. Don’t worry, for most of us, it isn’t part of the normal cleaning routine.

Other Apartment Spring Cleaning Tips and Tasks You Might Not Think Of

Vacuum and flip the mattresses. These two simple things can help you get a better night’s sleep, extend the life of your mattress, and remove dust and debris that has accumulated.
Clean the legs of the dining room table and chairs. Though the tabletop gets cleaned daily, the sides and legs of it aren’t typically in a regular cleaning routine. Taking time to wipe down and polish the less-used parts of your tables and chairs will bring longer life and a new shine to them this season.
Wash pillows and stuffies. Some can be washed, some need to be tumbled in the dryer on low to remove dust and dust mites, and others may need to be spot-treated. Checking the tags on pillows and stuffed animals will help guide you to the proper cleaning protocol for each.
Vacuum the full sofa. The cracks and crevices, sides, everything can use a good vacuuming to remove dust that has accumulated.
Magic Erasers are your best friend. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers (or melamine sponges if you want to order in bulk for the best deal) clean what most things won’t without much elbow grease. Walls, baseboards, sinks, trash cans, window crevices, really, almost any streaks or scuffs can be easily wiped away with these. Spending a little extra for these sponges can really lighten your load overall.

Wrapping Up Apartment Spring Cleaning Tips and Tricks

When you remember these cleaning tips and often forgotten places to tackle, your apartment will feel refreshed before you know it. Spending a little extra time now will save you a lot of frustration later when everything is decluttered, sorted into its place, and clean beneath it. My hope for you is that these tips and tricks reduce your work load, while helping your apartment feel fresh and peaceful once again.

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