Well, it’s almost spring! Here in North Carolina, the weather is FINALLY starting to warm up and it’s starting to feel like spring. So I guess, we are starting to officially “Spring Clean.” If you haven’t already, read my Deep Cleaning Schedule for Your Whole Home post. There I divide tons of deep cleaning jobs around the home into the twelve months. Feel free to start with January and catch up, or just jump and tackle the March deep cleaning with us!
March Deep Cleaning:
Here’s what we having going on this month:
- Wash doors and trim.
- Wash all bedding.
- Turn and clean mattresses.
- Check and replace smoke detector batteries.
What You’ll Need:
- All Purpose Cleaner/Concentrate – I use my homemade all purpose cleaner or one of my favorite non-toxic cleaning concentrates – Branch Basics and Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Liquid Soap
- Bucket or large bowl of warm water
- Microfiber cloth
- Laundry detergent – One of my favorite non-toxic laundry detergents is Molly’s Suds, but the great thing about Branch Basics and Dr. Bronner’s is that they can be used for SO many things, including laundry detergent.
- Wool dryer balls (like these)
- Vacuum cleaner with brush attachment – I use and LOVE this one!
- Batteries for smoke detector
March Deep Cleaning:
1. Wash Doors and Trim
There’s two ways I’ve done this.
- Fill a bucket or large bowl up with warm water and a few teaspoons of your cleaning concentrate. Dip your microfiber cloth into the soapy water, and wring it out.
- Spray the door or trim directly with your all purpose cleaner (if it’s not a harsh one and is safe to use on wood. Branch Basics is perfectly safe to do that with!).
Then wipe the entire surface of the door. Make sure you get in all the grooves, the top of the door, and the trim all around the door.
Do the same for each side of the door. Go room-by-room cleaning all the doors in the house. Concentrate on scrubbing any scuffs or other stubborn markings. If you have any tough marks that aren’t coming out right away, try putting some undiluted cleaning concentrate onto them and scrubbing.
2. Wash All Bedding
This one is pretty easy. Laundry is one of my favorite household jobs because I can put a load of clothes or bedding in the washing machine and forget about it for a while. Just let the washer and dryer do their thing! This can be done WHILE you are working on cleaning the doors.
I recommend just washing all the bedding in 1-2 rooms a day. My washer and dryer each take about an hour; so, I usually don’t have time to wash all the bedding in the house in just one day.
For each room, you are going to strip ALL the bedding off the beds – sheets, blankets, pillowcases, mattress protectors – everything! Separate your white and colors. Wash with your favorite non-toxic laundry detergent. Like I mentioned earlier, my favorite is Molly’s Suds.
Not only are you going to wash all the sheets and blankets, but you’re also going to wash the pillows.
Depending on the size of your pillows, you should be able to wash 1 or 2 at a time. For king-size and regular size pillows, you’ll need to wash one at a time (although you can throw a few extra pieces of clothing in with them). For throw pillows, you’ll be able to wash two at a time.
I wash my pillows with hot water and on the low-spin setting. Then put them in the dryer. I use these wool dryer balls. Not only are they non-toxic, unlike most dryer sheets, but they also reduce drying time and help to fluff up the pillows while they’re drying. Feel the pillows after the dryer is finished. You may need to complete another cycle to make sure the pillows are completely dry.
3. Turn and Clean Mattresses
Before you place all the nice clean sheets back on the bed, you’ll need to turn and clean your mattresses.
For non-pillow top mattresses, flip them upside down (get your hubby, a friend, or your kid to help you with this). Also turn them 180 degrees, so that the end that your feet were on become the end where your head will go. Pillow top mattresses cannot be turned upside down; so just turn them 180 degrees.
Rotating and flipping your mattress will prevent it from getting worn down in the same spot. It will even out the wear and will help your mattress last longer. Sleeping on a flat surface, rather than a somewhat caved-in one, will also make it more comfortable and better support your spine.
Sprinkle some baking soda on the mattress to eliminate any odors. Let is sit in the open air for about a few hours (I do this as soon as I start washing the sheets). Then take the hose of your vacuum cleaner with the brush attachment and vacuum the mattress.
Once your mattress is clean and all the bedding is clean, go ahead and make your bed again. There’s nothing like freshly cleaned sheets. This is my son Jase’s bed. I got all his bedding cleaned right before his nap time, and he slept like a baby for almost 3 hours!
4. Check and Replace Smoke Detector Batteries
For your last deep cleaning job of the month, you’ll need to check your smoke detector batteries.
According to my firefighter husband, smoke detectors should be checked at least twice a year. A good way to remember when to check them is – check them every Day Light Savings day. So, I have checking smoke detectors on my deep cleaning schedule in March and in November.
To check them, hold the button on your smoke detector down until it beeps and makes the other smoke detectors in the house go off. If it does – the batteries are working properly. If not, go ahead and change the batteries (ours use 9 Volt batteries).
That’s it for March! Let me know how the deep cleaning went for you. Which job was the hardest for you to get done? Was there a job that you enjoyed doing?
Watch the video below to see my March deep cleaning in action.
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