The ultimate spring cleaning checklist.
Spring cleaning works best as a plan, not a vibe. This room-by-room checklist takes a home from winter-stale to genuinely reset, and it is ordered so you can knock it out across a single focused weekend.
Effective spring cleaning works one room at a time, top to bottom, decluttering before cleaning. Start high with dust and cobwebs, move down through surfaces and fixtures, and finish with floors. Tackle one or two rooms a day across a weekend rather than trying to do the whole house at once, and open the windows while you work.
Whole-home, do these first
- Open every window and air the house out as you work
- High dust: ceiling fans, light fixtures, crown molding, corners
- Wash baseboards, trim, doors and switch plates throughout
- Launder curtains and wipe blinds in every room
- Replace HVAC filters and vacuum vent covers
Kitchen
- Empty, wipe and reorganize every cabinet and the pantry; toss expired food
- Clean inside the oven, microwave, and refrigerator
- Pull out and clean behind and under the stove and fridge
- Descale the coffee maker and run a dishwasher cleaning cycle
- Degrease the hood, backsplash and cabinet fronts
Bathrooms
- Deep scrub grout, tile and glass; remove hard-water buildup
- Wash shower curtains and liners or scrub glass doors and tracks
- Clear and wipe the vanity, medicine cabinet and drawers
- Wash the exhaust fan cover and replace anything expired
Bedrooms and closets
- Flip or rotate mattresses; vacuum and refresh them
- Launder comforters, mattress pads, pillows and shams
- Declutter closets and set aside a donation box
- Dust and wipe nightstands, lamps, headboards and sills
Living areas
- Vacuum under cushions and shampoo upholstery and carpets
- Dust electronics, shelves, books and decor
- Clean interior windows, sills and tracks
- Wipe down remotes, switches and door handles
An Ozarks spring note
Spring in the Ozarks means tree pollen and lake-season dust arrive early and settle everywhere. Window tracks, screens, porches and entryway floors take the brunt of it. Add those to your list, and plan to repeat a lighter pass in late spring once the oak pollen finally lets up.