Okay, so spring is over and spring cleaning has either happened or you missed it (been there!). Not to worry, here is everything you need to help you with summer cleaning and making cleaning simple! I myself, take each season to clean up my space and tackle different parts of my house each season. The reason I do this is it helps keep it manageable and it doesn’t have me feeling overwhelmed with spring cleaning! Do you currently do summer cleaning in your house? If so, I’d love to hear in the comments what you include in your summer cleaning checklist! Let’s dive into my cleaning tips for summer cleaning!
Summer Cleaning Checklist
Here are some helpful items to gather before summer cleaning to help you! These items are suggestions, please ensure you have the correct cleaning tools to match your space and the tasks you’re going to be tackling.
- Garbage bags
- Microfibre Cloths
- All Purpose Cleaner
- Paper Towel
- Donation Bags
- Cleaning brushes
- Baking Soda
- Vinegar
- Lemons
You can read my blog post on the 6 best essential oils for cleaning your house here!
Garbage Disposal/Sink
One of my first summer cleaning tips for you is to deep clean that garbage disposal and your sinks. While you’re likely cleaning this weekly if not more often this is a time when we want to do a deep clean! This is a great time to really give it a good scrub and reset your sinks (yes I mean all sinks!).
For myself, I first take some baking soda and sprinkle it around my sink. I think take half of a lemon and use it as a scrubber to give my sink a good scrub. From there I pour half a cup of baking soda down my sink and follow it with 1 cup of vinegar. This helps clear away grime, and naturally, removes any particles stuck near the top of the drains. Lastly, I take my cleaning brushes and my cleaning products and really get into all the little crevices and lips on the counter.
I repeat this process on all my sinks from the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room. This gives me a clean and fresh start and ensures any sneaky grime is tackled. If you have a garbage disposal this is also a good time to do a deep cleaning. Similar to cleaning your sink you can use half a cup of baking soda and then coup a cup of vinegar after. Allow it to sit for up to 10 minutes and then run the garbage disposal with hot water to rinse it away.
Cleaning your plants
Did you know you need to clean your plants? Well not all plants, but yes some do need cleaning. Dust and grime on leaves can limit the plant’s ability to absorb C02 and release oxygen and can harm the plant’s health. If you have a plant with waxy leaves, rubbery leaves, or a fake plant it’s important to remove the build-up dust off the leaves. You can do this by getting a gentle microfibre cloth and wetting it with damp warm water. You can then run it along the leaves gently.
This is also a great season to repot plants that have outgrown their current pots, ditch dead plants, and clean up your pots and plant areas in your house! You can use a microfibre cloth and some water and gently take the dirt off any pots, and rinse and clean out unused pots to be put away until their needed.
Jewelry Summer Cleaning
Summer cleaning is a great time of year to give all your jewelry a good cleaning! From engagement rings, and wedding bands, to everyday earrings and your favourite necklace. This is simple and is honestly something that can easily get forgotten even though we wear them every day!
Grab a Tupperware dish and fill it halfway with warm water. Add in a drop or two of dish soap. Allow the jewelry to sit for up to 5 minutes in the solution. Pick up each piece of jewelry and with a soft toothbrush gently brush the piece. Once you’re satisfied with cleaning it then rinse it under warm water (ensure your drain stopper is in to catch the items just in case!). Dry as needed and you can repeat as often as you would like!
BBQ / Outdoor space
Who doesn’t love summertime for being outside? It’s time to clean off the BBQ and patio furniture and garden area. Early in the summer is a good time to use your microfiber cloth, some dish soap, and warm water. This will help with getting rid of pollen, dust, and debris with a good wash of your outdoor items. This not only helps these items be looking clean for summer but also will likely lengthen the life of your items! You can also add this to your fall cleaning list as well before winter to clean your items before they go into storage or get put away.
Cleaning your BBQ and summer cooking items are helpful cleaning tasks for later in the summer. Grab a bucket of warm water and a dirty rag and scrub off the gunk on the bbq. If you have lots of stuck-on food and grease you can heat the bbq up (safely) and let it come to a high temperature for about 30 minutes. This should help singe off food particles and grease, once cooled you can scrub the grates.
Laundry Room
If you’re like me you use your laundry room often! It’s a space I always do a quick tidy in but I rarely do a deep clean and for me, my summer cleaning time is the perfect time to dive into this space! If you live in a space without laundry in your living area such as an apartment or complex you might want to skip this section. For those who have a laundry room or laundry space in your living quarters here are some simple cleaning tips to help you!
In the warm weather, one of the first things I do is open the windows in my laundry room. Getting some fresh air in there can make it feel so much better! Next, I unplug both my washer and dryer and pull them away from the wall. I then take my vacuum attachments and vacuum all the nooks and cranny spaces behind the machines and on the back of the machines. Now, take a microfibre cloth with warm weather and some mild dish soap and then wash off both machines. I ensure to clean out any dryer lint in the dryer vent duct with my vacuum. Then I push back both machines and hook them up again.
Lastly, I move my shelves, clothing hanger, and my laundry sink basin away from the walls and give everything a good nice vacuum and the room a mop. I then take a couple of minutes to reorganize all the items on my shelves and then before I know it the laundry room is clean and refreshed!
Are you looking for natural fresh smelling laundry? Check out the best essential oils to add to laundry here!
Refrigerator & Freezer
When it comes to house cleaning one of the most overlook places I hear from folks is their fridge and freezer. Things go in and out of it daily, but how often do you take everything out and give it a good clean? Every couple of months I do a good solid clean to my refrigerator but once a year I give it a really deep cleaning.
If you’re not in the habit of adding this to your cleaning list, feel free to mark on your calendar twice a year to clean your fridge (at minimum). This can be on your clean summer list and your winter cleaning list!
First, you’ll want to remove everything from the inside of your fridge and discard any expired products. Then you’ll want to clean every shelf, door, and drawer inside your fridge. Once clean you return all your items to the fridge. You can do a similar process with your freezer. If you want an in-depth guide to cleaning your fridge check out my fridge-cleaning blog post here!
Summary
There you have it a simple summer cleaning list! What are you going to add to your cleaning chores for your home this summer? I hope this list was helpful and sparked some sparkling home clean ideas for you! Happy cleaning.
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