Spring Cleaning: The Be Moved Method
The other day, the sun was shining, the temps were topping 40 degrees, and Jessie mentioned that it was a good time to fling open the windows and let the wind take care of the spring cleaning. You know, when the air currents in the house change and all the dust-and-fur bunnies come rolling out from where they've been hiding all winter. We're all pet owners here in the office, so we knew exactly what she was talking about.
So that got us talking: How does Be Moved do spring cleaning? Do we have any insights that we could offer you guys? Jessie's list of tips was pretty short: 1. Set a goal, such as, “Clean until the champagne is gone.” 2. Start with the outdoor furniture, so you have a nice place to sit when the champagne is gone.
Matt, of course, doesn't even have to do spring cleaning. Because being Matt, he is organized enough to stay on top of it all year long. His once- a-week routine includes waiting until the kiddo is in bed, opening a bottle of wine, turning on the iTunes, and giving the whole apartment a once-over before tackling one bigger project, such as closets or baseboards. By planning ahead and having a routine (and listening to his wife when she tells him which bigger project needs to be done), he manages to avoid the year-long accumulation of chores that the rest of us mere mortals struggle to overcome each spring.
Amanda, however, turned out to be a real treasure trove of spring cleaning know-how. (There's a reason she's our home-staging expert.) So without further ado, let's pick Amanda's brain for some of her tried-and-true spring cleaning tips!
When is the best time to start spring cleaning? When the time of year comes to switch out your flannel sheets for the regular ones, that's the green light.
Where do you start? Start with the soft stuff. Once the flannel sheets are all back in the closet, I take the curtains down and wash them too. I take the rugs to Zerorez, and I wash all the blankets in the house. I don't know why I'm obsessed with washing curtains, but I just feel like they are one thing in the house that hold a lot of dust and they rarely get the attention they deserve. If you've never washed your curtains, you will be shocked at how much cleaner they'll look. Of course, check the tags to make sure they're washable before throwing them in the washer!
What's the most important project you tackle? Fertilizing the lawn. First impressions are important – that's curb appeal! And we live in a neighborhood now where our neighbors seem to actually care that we have grass and not weeds. So we turn the sprinklers on as soon as we see our neighbor across the street do his. He's our guide in the lawn care department.
What's your favorite project to tackle? Window washing! It's so gratifying to see your windows go from spotty to clear in a matter of seconds. Of course, it never lasts past a rain storm, but I do love that one day when all my windows are sparkling.
Any other tips you want to share? Hire out what you can't do yourself. For instance, we have someone come out to take care of our gutters for us, because neither Will nor I are about to get on a 2-story ladder. Hiring the professionals means it gets done a lot faster and saves us all the hassle. Totally worth it!
So there it is, folks: the Be Moved Group's take on spring cleaning. What's yours?
