Now that the cloudy, snowy weather has passed by you can start to feel that Spring time is upon us! Although Spring officially began last month, it hasn’t exactly felt like it recently. The moisture is great, but we are ready for sunshine and warm weather! Are you? Well, probably mentally, but maybe not physically so that is why we searched through hundreds of spring cleaning lists and sorted out the top 10 tasks to tackle this spring; 5 inside and 5 outside.

Of course there are a million projects to do inside and outside of the home, but we wanted to be realistic and pick 5 that could be tackled in one weekend- or even one day if you’re really feeling up to it!

Outside:

1- Garage door scrub down
This is probably the most overlooked spring cleaning spot for anyone’s home. The garage door is a huge focal point for passerby-ers looking at your home, so don’t skip cleaning your garage door! This task is incredibly easy and can be fun for anyone; so get the kid’s involved to save some time. All you need is a bucket of water, soap and some wash cloths or terry rags. Scrub the door just like you would wash a car and make sure to rinse with the hose or a power-washer at the end.

2- Wash the patio and lawn furniture
No one wants to sit on crusty, dirty and cob-web infested patio furniture. Use the hose to do a thorough spray down to remove all the nasty stuff accumulated during the winter months. Be sure to set out in the sun to dry fully before you have your next neighbor gathering so no one’s pants get soaked. If you’re feeling extra motivated, refinish or repaint the furniture to give it a nice new touch.

3- Clean the exterior windows
YES, the outside of your windows need to be cleaned, too- not just the insides. Living in a state with serious rain and snow showers your windows are left with serious streaks and water spots. The exterior of the windows will be far more dirty than the interior so glass cleaner and paper towels may not do the trick so try this 8 Steps to Cleaning Windows checklist!

4-Rake debris in all yards
Just like your garden needs weeding, so does your lawn. Sort of. This job is super easy and can make a world of difference, especially for those who have tons of bushes or trees in their yards. Grab a rake and simply rake all of the dead stuff out of your yard! Branches, trash, leaves, dog droppings, whatever. Rake it all! This will make your yard feel and look so much better! Be sure to not place any of the debris in trash bags and recycle it if possible!

5- Freshen up the porch
The biggest thing to make sure you do is clean the corners of the porch from all spider or cobwebs. Try spraying the entire porch with your hose to make sure all bugs and dirt are gone. Sweeping works just fine too, but might take a little bit longer. Add some fun, new, vibrant colors with a door hanging, new pillows on the bench or the flowers and pots! It’s time to brighten things up with the colors of Spring.

Inside:

1- Prioritize and list
Though this isn’t a specific cleaning item, making a list will only help you tackle more things within the home. Plus you’ll be a lot more organized and who doesn’t love accomplishing a list and striking out things when they are completed!? That being said, make the list for the whole family to enjoy. Organize and divide the tasks either by person or by room, whatever works best for you and your family.

2- Clean out the drawers
Try to tackle every drawer in your house and remove all things you don’t want or need. This includes the common “junk drawer”, clothes drawers, silverware, bathroom, etc. Removing things from drawers will help with clutter and staying organized by resetting what is in them. You’ll probably find yourself finding missing household items, too, which is great.

3- Wipe down baseboards and doors
Usually the baseboards aren’t something we clean regularly, nor as often as we should. Same with doors and high-grab areas, such as cabinets and door knobs. Wipe down these areas with a clean cloth and hot water or anti-bacterial wipes, whatever you prefer. Don’t forget to get behind the furniture because dust still accumulates there. You can also use this same time to wipe off light switches and cover plates, which are also high-grab areas that are probably harvesting lots of bacteria and grime.

4- Clean and scrub bathtub/shower grout
Clean the kitchen appliances. Ugh, yes this is one of those things that we should probably be doing far more often than we are admitting to actually doing. What’s great is most things will actually clean themselves, or pretty close. The oven is easy to clean, may just take awhile and we suggest doing it early in the morning or late at night when you are home and the air is cooler- that way you’re not battling with the A/C in trying to keep your house cool. There are tons of tips and tricks to cleaning out microwaves and don’t forget the refrigerator! This is a good time to wipe down all shelves and reorganize the food, if you’re feeling up to it!

5- Replace light bulbs and batteries
Take a walk through the entire house and check all light bulbs to make sure they are working and not burnt out. This is also a prime time to replace them with LED bulbs to save money and energy costs in the future. Be sure to check appliances and remotes for anything that may need batteries.

Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be a long, drawn-out, weekend-long thing. This short list of 10 things probably covers the things that aren’t done by most people every week or two. Modifying your list and keeping track of what you clean, or don’t clean, on a regular basis will help when this time of year comes. The more you put off, the more there is to do in the future. For more ideas and tips for Spring Cleaning items and lists visit Pinterest.com.