Happy Wednesday everyone! Believe it or not, there are still 28 days left of spring, but the heat is kickin’ up. Are YOU ready for summer? One rewarding part of this season is “Spring Cleaning” and the sentiment behind clearing out the old to make room for the new. There’s still time to make it happen guys! While it may seem stressful and overwhelming, I wanted to give you some of my best spring cleaning tips to set you up for success. These have saved me and kept me on track with my busy lifestyle.

One of the best things I’ve ever done was to start creating a spring cleaning checklist every year. If you’re someone who doesn’t like to clean, try making this a fun activity! Personally, I write down all the things I want to accomplish throughout the month, rather than just trying to tackle everything on one weekend. Sometimes it even works best if you take the time to create a list of tasks with the number of days of the month so you only have to clean for an hour or two a day. You can use the same method if you’re wanting to create a more fun activity.

To make it interesting, you can use paper or popsicle sticks (for my example I’m going to use popsicle sticks). Gather 30 popsicle sticks, one for each day of June. On each stick write down one task you’d like to complete throughout the month of June. Starting on the 1st of the month you can pull a stick randomly from a bag or jar and that will be your task for the day!

Here are Spring Cleaning ideas for you to include:

• Dust & Vacuum
• Declutter Bedrooms
• Declutter Bathrooms
• Declutter the Kitchen
• Wash household linens
• Go through kitchen cabinets
• Clean out and organize the fridge
• Clean windows
• Go through cosmetics and wash makeup brushes
• Clean kitchen appliances
• Clean and organize the garage
• Get rid of any expired products you have in the pantry
• Go through junk drawer(s)
• Deep clean your car
• Go through your medicine cabinet
• Go through clothing, shoes, and accessories
• Clean furniture
• Donate and sell unused items

Once I finish cleaning, I love taking the time to restock and get some of my necessities in bulk like paper towels, toilet paper, and non-perishable foods. I also take this time to create some DIY, all-natural household cleaner! I love sharing this recipe because it really works! I also wanted to include one of my favorite DIY air freshener recipes to keep my house smelling fresh and clean.

All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe:
• 1 cup distilled water
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• ½ lemon (juices)
• 15 drops of orange essential oil

Fill a spray bottle, I recommend a glass bottle, with water, vinegar, and lemon juice. Choose the essential oil you would like to use, I personally love to use citrus scents! Once you have added all of the ingredients, shake to mix!

Bonus tip: Add fresh herbs into the mix for added freshness!
You can of course customize this if you want to use a different essential oil or even mix a couple of oils together to create a custom scent! Look for anything with antibacterial, antiviral, or antimicrobial properties.

Air Freshener Recipe:
• 2-3 sliced oranges, lemons, or limes (I love using oranges in the summer!)
• A handful of fresh herbs- rosemary, basil, or lavender (My favorite is basil!)
• 2-4 Cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp of whole cloves

Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Fill about three-fourths full with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer to infuse the house with a naturally fresh aroma. (Do not leave unattended.) The mixture can be stored once overnight: Place it in an airtight jar or container and refrigerate, then boil and simmer again the next day. Again, you can totally customize this to make your own scent, which I love!

I hope you take these tips and start your summer off fresh and clean with the smell of citrus! Give me a shout out over in the comment section of this post at @AskHeatherMariannaBlog on Instagram and share what you think, or any spring cleaning hacks you’ve found to help!

XOXO, Heather