Nothing gives me more pleasure then a clean home especially when I return from a summer vacation. Have you ever come home with a suitcase of dirty laundry after a family trip only to feel overwhelmed by a household mess?
Cleaning isn’t always fun and often drops to the bottom of your to-do list. (I confess that I enjoy cleaning thanks to growing up with a mom who was a professional residential housekeeper. I spent my summers cleaning houses and weekends at office buildings.)
Use this Ultimate Summer Housecleaning Checklist to return your home to a spic-and-span space where you’re proud host family and friends. Simply print this post and check off each item as you complete it. Maybe you don’t tackle all thirty-five items, but set your goal and seize the day!
- Pull out your cars from the garage and pitch broken, aged, and unused items. Don’t forget to sweep or run the Shop-Vac over the garage floors. Organize!
- Go through those boxes in the unfinished portion of your basement. Haven’t touched it in over a year? Pitch or donate it.
- Recycle. Some animal shelters even collect cans and the money they raise goes directly to helping puppies and kittens.
- Clean the inside of your oven. Line the bottom (under the coil) with foil to catch future food drips.
- Scrub the inside of your microwave. Don’t forget the inside top area.
- Use the solution in #2 and a sponge to refresh the inside of your dishwasher.
- Shop-Vac your dryer’s lint trap. Prevent a possible house fire by keeping it clean.
- Do the laundry but also include bed linens, bathroom rugs, and guest bath towels.
- Wash your dog. It’s probably been awhile and your pup deserves a spa day, too.
- Deep clean the inside of your washing machine by scrubbing that dirty agitator. Make a solution of baking soda, white vinegar, dish washing soap with hot water to use with a heavy-duty non-scratch sponge. Then run a small load rinse cycle.
- Use glass cleaner to shine your windows inside and out. Vacuum the windowsills afterward.
- Attack those closets and donate or toss any out-of-date clothes and accessories.
- Open every bedroom drawer and get rid of shrunken shirts, old sweaters, and/or faded clothing.
- Go through your purse collection and empty any contents. If possible, turn the bag inside out to remove any little trash.
- Sit down at your desk with a recycling bin or paper shredder nearby and pitch any old bill statements.
- Buy few dollar store bins and organize your bathroom vanity contents so you don’t waste time looking for items each morning.
- Wash the pet bed.
- Use a broom and run it around the wall corners of each room to catch any cobwebs.
- Use a dry cloth to clean ceiling lights and fans. Make sure to cover your bed with an old bed sheet before you clean that dusty fan.
- Run a moist cloth over dirty vents.
- Clean dead bugs from overhead light fixtures. Replace any dead light bulbs.
- Dust all furniture. Don’t neglect your furniture’s legs.
- Run your dust cloth over the items sitting on tables, ledges, and countertops.
- Don’t forget to use a cloth or handheld duster to clean up those window blinds.
- Run the vacuum. Move the furniture first.
- Trash old condiments bottles from the refrigerator, remove remaining contents, and clean the inside with soapy water and a sponge.
- Run a wet cloth over inside kitchen cabinets shelves. Face your spice cabinets showing the labels out. Organize them by type.
- Scrub any cutting boards with coarse salt, a halved lemon, and rinse it with hot water.
- Deep clean the bathroom. Run a wet cloth over vanity items, which often get overlooked but they get dusty too.
- Empty the trash around the house and place a new dryer sheet and an extra bag in the bottom of each can before re-lining it.
- Head outside and grab the hose to spray down the front porch steps or deck. Careful to not remove deck stain with too much water pressure.
- Spray for wasps or hornets and remove their nests from eaves or under the deck.
- Use a degreaser spray to clean the outside of your barbecue grill.
- Clean and refill any bird feeders.
- Wash and refill any pet feeders.
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