I LOVED spring cleaning with my mom when I was a kid, and now that I'm a big kid I still love it. Mind you every spring for the last three years I've been in a new place (I'm a gypsy!), but there’s still nothing like opening up the windows, letting the fresh air in and doing a big décor and home cleanse.

You might not know this about me, but one of my first jobs was a cleaning lady. I was always about making extra money when I was a kid so I cleaned my boss’ house (he was a golf pro) and also the house I was a nanny for. I also was a janitor for the golf course and took on odd jobs. When I moved to Calgary, a friend and I started up a business called SPIC and SPAN and made business cards (I was 19) and I cleaned houses to put myself through school.

Doing a big clean means you spend LESS on new décor, reinvent what you have and hopefully end up with a few new look… for less! So I don't get distracted, it’s my style to put aside a day or two and tackled EVERYTHING in those two days. Crank up the music, shut off your phone and get to it.

Here are some of my simple tips to keep in mind.

Tip 1.  If you have more than one person living in the house, make a big list of things to be done, cut them up and put them in a bowl and pick your items. Whether you’re a big kid or little kid, it adds an element of fun into the dreaded clean.

Tip 2. Baskets are your best friend. Pick up some matching baskets and different sizes of Tupperware containers beforehand- buy more than less. Whatever you don't use can be returned. Start organizing your clutter into sections and use baskets to store, instead of just piling your stuff on a counter or in a cabinet.

Tip 3. If you haven't looked at it or used it in 6 months, it likely needs another home. Recycle, donate or store. 
 

Tip 4. Pick up fresh flowers. When you’re all done, nothing will complete your space like a few loose arrangements of cut spring flowers. The smell of Hyacinth is AMAZING!

Tip 5. CLEAN the blinds, CLEAN the windows and let FRESH air in! This will naturally clean the air in your space and make it feel shiny and new again. And speaking of natural – don't forget to go green with your cleaning products :) 

Tip 6. Use old newspapers instead of paper towels (it actually works BETTER) and the juice from one lemon, a teaspoon of vinegar and a half gallon of water instead of Windex! Trust me!

Have any spring cleaning tips of your own to share? Leave them in the comments below!

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