The Ultimate Spring Cleaning Checklist
March 15, 2022
It’s almost springtime and you know what it is–time for spring cleaning! Every year, we hear this term as almost an alarm when we check the news and weather of the new season. Spring cleaning has long been established as a ritual and tradition. However, how and when did it become an institution in the cleaning biz?
But first what is spring cleaning? By definition, spring cleaning is the “thorough domestic cleaning of your entire home – room by room and top to bottom.” It means that you are to wipe and dust off every surface from your ceiling all the way to the floor, declutter and throw away all the stuff that you do not need. You inspect every nook and cranny – from lighting fixtures to the top and corners of your bookshelves to beneath the carpets and furnishing. Basically, everything that your eyes see and beyond.
Spring cleaning isn’t entirely a concept of the modern world. It goes far back in time – way far back, dating to old traditions in ancient times, around up to 3,000 years B.C. The ritual of spring cleaning, where the entire house is wiped and polished or locally practiced as “shaking the house” can trace its roots to the Ancient Iranian Festival of Nowruz. The festivities last for two weeks, during which people visit each other’s homes.
In the modern sense of tradition, spring cleaning can be associated logically with human biology. The last season, that is winter, the cold weather hinders us to be active and motivated due to the lack of sunlight, which is responsible for the production of larger amounts of melatonin in our brain. Melatonin is the chemical responsible for making us sleepier. So it means to say that the less sunlight exposure we get, the more we produce the hormone of sleepiness. And thus, by spring cleaning, it metaphorically means that we wake up from the slumber of spirit and mind.
For more practical reasons, spring is the best time to dust and wipe the house because the weather is warm enough and cool enough. We do not need to heat our homes, while chilly enough to keep out any insect infestations.
Here is the garage spring cleaning checklist that may help you get the job done more efficiently and faster.
1. Work in zones. Remove the items from your cabinets and shelves, from top to bottom.
2. If possible, transpose these items outside of your garage to free up and brighten the space. This will help you when cleaning every nook and cranny in the area.
3. Sort these items and create piles according to “keep” or “toss” categories. Again, it would be much easier if you will work in zones so as to not be overwhelmed too much.
4. If you are having a hard time discarding items in your garage, a rule of thumb is to put in the toss or for donation category all the items that you have not used in the past year. There is a reason that you have not put them out in their respective boxes and that would most likely continue for the rest of the year. It is time to let them go.
5. For the chemicals that are for disposal, always check how to responsibly dispose of them.
6. Going back to the garage, clean the shelves, cabinets, boxes, and bins before placing the “keep” items back in their storage. Also, inspect if the storage systems are in pristine condition.
7. Clear the cobwebs hiding behind storage systems and on the corners of your walls.
8. Clean the garage door thoroughly. Also, inspect if the garage door is functioning perfectly. Check the door hinges for early signs of rust, especially since the winter season has passed, the moisture build-up is inevitable.
9. Sweep the garage floor. It would be better if you also vacuum every inch of the floor. Then, mop, scrub, or apply water pressure with a degreaser. Oil stains from car leaks or workshop tools may be forming on your garage floor.
10. Organize the items that you decide to keep by storing them into boxes, pegboards, wall shelves, and overhead garage storage racks. Also, designate a space for your lawn equipment and sporting gear. There are storage systems such as wall shelves and overhead garage racks that allow the hanging of hooks where you can place your equipment. Otherwise, you can also create a space by assigning a separate storage for them. And that goes the same for the tools and other commonly used items, which are perfect for storing on wall shelves as it is easy to locate with just a look around the garage space.
Spring cleaning isn’t entirely a concept of the modern world. It goes far back in time – way far back, dating to old traditions in ancient times, around up to 3,000 years B.C. The ritual of spring cleaning, where the entire house is wiped and polished or locally practiced as “shaking the house” can trace its roots to the Ancient Iranian Festival of Nowruz. The festivities last for two weeks, during which people visit each other’s homes.
In the modern sense of tradition, spring cleaning can be associated logically with human biology. The last season, that is winter, the cold weather hinders us to be active and motivated due to the lack of sunlight, which is responsible for the production of larger amounts of melatonin in our brain. Melatonin is the chemical responsible for making us sleepier. So it means to say that the less sunlight exposure we get, the more we produce the hormone of sleepiness. And thus, by spring cleaning, it metaphorically means that we wake up from the slumber of spirit and mind.
For more practical reasons, spring is the best time to dust and wipe the house because the weather is warm enough and cool enough. We do not need to heat our homes, while chilly enough to keep out any insect infestations.
Here is the garage spring cleaning checklist that may help you get the job done more efficiently and faster.
1. Work in zones. Remove the items from your cabinets and shelves, from top to bottom.
2. If possible, transpose these items outside of your garage to free up and brighten the space. This will help you when cleaning every nook and cranny in the area.
3. Sort these items and create piles according to “keep” or “toss” categories. Again, it would be much easier if you will work in zones so as to not be overwhelmed too much.
4. If you are having a hard time discarding items in your garage, a rule of thumb is to put in the toss or for donation category all the items that you have not used in the past year. There is a reason that you have not put them out in their respective boxes and that would most likely continue for the rest of the year. It is time to let them go.
5. For the chemicals that are for disposal, always check how to responsibly dispose of them.
6. Going back to the garage, clean the shelves, cabinets, boxes, and bins before placing the “keep” items back in their storage. Also, inspect if the storage systems are in pristine condition.
7. Clear the cobwebs hiding behind storage systems and on the corners of your walls.
8. Clean the garage door thoroughly. Also, inspect if the garage door is functioning perfectly. Check the door hinges for early signs of rust, especially since the winter season has passed, the moisture build-up is inevitable.
9. Sweep the garage floor. It would be better if you also vacuum every inch of the floor. Then, mop, scrub, or apply water pressure with a degreaser. Oil stains from car leaks or workshop tools may be forming on your garage floor.
10. Organize the items that you decide to keep by storing them into boxes, pegboards, wall shelves, and overhead garage storage racks. Also, designate a space for your lawn equipment and sporting gear. There are storage systems such as wall shelves and overhead garage racks that allow the hanging of hooks where you can place your equipment. Otherwise, you can also create a space by assigning a separate storage for them. And that goes the same for the tools and other commonly used items, which are perfect for storing on wall shelves as it is easy to locate with just a look around the garage space.