10 Spring Cleaning Hacks for a Fresh Start

These spring cleaning hacks will help you declutter and refresh your entire home. The best part of spring cleaning is the new season, fresh start, clean slate feeling. These hacks will make it all easier and more enjoyable.

Even though spring cleaning (or any cleaning) might not be your favorite way to spend time, with the right intention you can actually enjoy it. The idea of a fresh start and working towards that is much more appealing than just a clean sink. Adding a few spring cleaning hacks to your routine will help make it all less of a chore and more of an experiment. This approach will reduce feelings of overwhelm and infuse a sense of joy and fun into your cleaning endeavors.

10 Spring Cleaning Hacks for a Fresh Start

These spring tidying tasks will make your overall spring cleaning easier and more enjoyable. Even if you generally don’t looking forward to cleaning your home, there is something special about cleaning to welcome a new season. That might be a season like spring or fall or a new season of your life.

This piece isn’t an all-encompassing spring cleaning guide, and you aren’t required to follow the ideas in a specific order. Instead, think of this article as a starting point. And don’t forget to explore the resource list at the end of the post. For more spring cleaning tips and tricks, check out these 30 spring cleaning tips and resources.

1.) Experiment with The 6/10 Cleaning List

“The 6/10 List is a simple, straight forward method of cleaning. It is in depth enough to keep your home clean, but not so detailed that you get overwhelmed and give up,” says The 6/10 List creator Audrey Barton. On the list you’ll find daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly tasks. Barton’s list will help you establish a regular cleaning schedule, prevent clutter from building up, and enable you to break down cleaning tasks into management chunks.

2.) Stop following old laundry rules

Patric Richardson – self-proclaimed “Laundry Evangelist,” host of The Laundry Guy on Discovery+, and author of Laundry Love – encourages people to stop following old laundry rules. He also says, “it’s okay to put ‘dry clean only’ clothes in the washer.”

In a recent interview, Richardson explained that we need “to stop following generations-old laundry rules. Over the past few decades, washing machines and dryers have become more efficient. And the dyes in our clothes today aren’t as prone to bleeding. So some of the guidance from our parents on how to do laundry — like washing dark-colored garments in cold water or using a super-long cycle to get your clothes clean — may not be necessary.”

Last spring, I started to follow Richardson’s tips and advice. As a result, I’ve saved time sorting and doing laundry. Plus, I use less laundry soap.

3.) Declutter your cleaning routine

“To most effectively declutter your spaces, you have to first declutter your cleaning routine itself,” says Brittney Ho, a writer with Wirecutter. I agree! I no longer buy single use cleaning products. Instead, I buy multipurpose cleaners. This change has saved me money, space, and time. Plus, my spring cleaning kit is paired down and it’s customized to my needs. As Ho said, “In a #CleanTok-driven world, where there’s so much noise—and where so many viral products make big promises—there is something comforting about paring down to the basics.”

4.) Disinfect your sponge

If you’re faced with a big cleaning task and only have one sponge on hand, rejuvenate it midway. Squeeze out the sponge in the sink, then microwave it on high for a minute or two. Also, it’s essential to keep your sponges clean. Otherwise, you risk spreading bacteria in your home. To disinfect a sponge you can use vinegar or bleach. Check out Better Homes & Gardens’ sponge cleaning guide.

5.) Temptation bundle your spring tidying

Spring cleaning is a perfect candidate for temptation bundling! While you are cleaning and spring tidying, listen to your favorite podcast, audiobook or playlist. I highly recommend the Gentle audiobook, If you prefer fiction, this is wonderful listen. Don’t forget to use the Libby App if you want to borrow audiobooks from your local library.

6.) Remove your shoes

“Dust is made up of a lot of things: fibers from clothing and rugs, hair, dead skin cells and even chemicals from the grime that your shoes pick up from the street,” explain LifeKit reporters Becky Harlan and Malaka Gharib. To minimize the dirt entering your home, take your shoes off before opening your front door. I’ve followed this practice for the past decade, and it’s reduced the amount of dirt that sticks to my carpet. It’s also helpful to have a designated place to store your shoes. Otherwise, your shoes might get discarded in a pile by the front door.

7.) Take five minutes and clean your hairbrush

Most of us aren’t doing this enough and cleaning your hairbrush only takes about five minutes. You can find a detailed hairbrush cleaning tutorial in this video (right at the beginning) with other spring cleaning hacks This should probably be a monthly task!

8.) Wash your reusable bags

My reusable grocery bags are handy because they help me cut down on plastic waste. However, they can get dirty quickly. Luckily, most of our reusable bags are machine washable. After I come back from the store, I put them in my laundry. This spring tidying hack has helped keep our bags tidy and ready for reuse.

9.) Spring clean your mental health

When it comes to spring cleaning we are often thinking about our sinks, baseboards and closets but what about our minds and hearts? What about our mental health? That requires regular tune-ups too. Courtney recently wrote, 8 Gentle Ways to Spring Clean Your Mind. You’ll enjoy the list and some of the items may surprise and interest you.

10.) The 10-10-100 Decluttering Challenge

Decluttering is a big part of my spring cleaning routine. For example, I like to declutter in short bursts because it helps me stay focused, build momentum, and avoid procrastination. “Procrastination will fight our intention to spend a full day decluttering, but 10 minutes? We can do anything for 10 minutes.

Choose a space, set a timer for 10 minutes and put 10 items from each space in a box or bag. By the time you finish, procrastination won’t know what hit him. Use the momentum you create by tackling another space, or going for 10 more items in the space you are in,” Decluttering challenges are a great spring cleaning hack. Try the 10-10-100 Decluttering Challenge. It’s fun (and effective)!

Spring Cleaning Resources

Give yourself time to clean and tidy your home. Spring cleaning isn’t a race so go at your own pace. Overtime, you can create a clean and clutter-free living space.