Spring Cleaning Head Start: What To Do In The Winter

The idea of spring cleaning always sounds like a good one, but when it’s time to do it, you’d rather be doing anything else. Most likely, it’s because you’ve put things off all year, envisioning pushing this giant reset button in the spring. But that’s when things become overwhelming, so why not get a head start?

Decluttering during holiday prep and paring down paper reduces future chores. Assess the status of your cleaning supplies and make an organized list for spring cleaning. Take advantage of staying indoors during cold weather to tackle nagging repairs and research professional cleaning services that can help lighten your load.

There’s no reason you have to wait until spring to start your spring cleaning. Instead, set yourself up for success by starting early. Put things in motion during the winter to make the springtime cleanout easier.

Why Should You Start Prepping For Spring Cleaning In The Winter?

Winter provides some ideal opportunities for slowing down and tackling tasks. Although the holidays are notoriously busy, they don’t take up the entire winter season. Take advantage of being stuck inside during snow days or simply enjoying the cozy warmth of a fireplace instead of battling frigid temps. Use these moments to plan your spring cleaning projects and create a game plan for what you can do now.

After all, for many of the items on your list, there likely isn’t a reason to wait for warmer weather. Why not check off a few to-dos ahead of time, so you’re not trying to accomplish everything at once? Prepping for your spring cleaning when it’s still winter allows you more time to make thoughtful decisions and work at a calmer pace. You can spread the workload out over more months, so it’s not overwhelming.

Seven Things To Do In The Winter To Lighten Your Spring Cleaning Checklist

It’s important to remind yourself that you’re not trying to do all your spring cleaning in the winter. You’re simply getting a head start, so that springtime isn’t so stressful. Here are seven things you can do before the spring to lighten your load and avoid a frantic cleaning frenzy.

1. Declutter As You Go

Getting rid of stuff seems to happen almost naturally during the winter as we receive holiday gifts and pare down decor to make room for decorations. Therefore, don’t worry about undergoing all-day purge sessions or massive clean-outs. Instead, concentrate on being more intentional about letting go of excess as you move through the winter months. For example, setting up for a holiday party? Perhaps you realize you don’t need to hang onto those extra serving platters you never use. 

Focus on spaces you naturally use more in the winter. Storage spaces tend to become dumping grounds, especially during busy seasons. Winter is an ideal time to edit what’s in them. Assess areas like linen cabinets, coat closets, entryways, and meal prep zones. Remove anything that doesn’t belong, toss broken and damaged items, and donate duplicates. As you consider getting rid of things, ask yourself if you would still buy the item today. If the answer is no, let it go.

To make decluttering more accessible, try these tips:

• Always keep a donation bin at the ready to make decluttering an ongoing event.
• Declutter one drawer or shelf at a time instead of trying to do the whole house.
• Set a 15-minute timer and stop when it ends instead of going full-speed ahead.

Getting a head start on decluttering means that by the time spring rolls around, you won’t have as much stuff. Having fewer things means an easier and faster time cleaning and organizing. It turns spring cleaning into fine-tuning, not overhauling your clutter situation.

2. Conquer Paper Chaos And Get Organized

Paper has a sneaky way of piling up, especially during the winter. Holiday cards, catalogs, receipts, junk mail, and end-of-year documents add to the heap. If you ignore everything until the spring, you’ll be facing a mountain of paper clutter instead of a manageable stack. Winter is a great time to shred outdated documents, file important paperwork, and go digital wherever possible. You can also use this time to get a jump on organizing your financial documents to ease the burden of the upcoming tax season. If you don’t already have one, implement a simple system for incoming mail. Toss or recycle junk mail immediately. For the rest, a few labeled folders or bins can work wonders. The goal is to streamline your mail, so it doesn’t get out of control.

3. Gather And Replenish Cleaning Supplies

Realizing you’re out of your favorite cleaning products when you’re in the thick of spring cleaning can be a real motivation buster. During the winter, take stock of your supplies and make a list of what you need to replenish.

This is also a great time to simplify what you use and cut down on needless products. Inventory cleaning sprays, cloths, mop heads, vacuum filters, and sponges. If you use homemade cleaners, such as baking soda and vinegar, check on these, too. Also, examine your cleaning tools, like dusters, mops, and brooms, to make notes about any that need replacing. Get rid of damaged ones and duplicates. Streamlining your supplies makes cleaning faster and more efficient, which translates into less chaos.

4. Start Making A Spring Cleaning List

One of the biggest reasons spring cleaning feels overwhelming is decision fatigue. When everything needs attention, it’s hard to know where to start. Of course, conquering some tasks during the winter will help lighten the load, but you also don’t want anything to fall through the cracks. Create a simple, realistic spring cleaning list based on what you still need to do after your winter jump start. Be thoughtful, prioritizing items that need the most attention and the things that will make the most difference in your day-to-day life.

Concentrate on including tasks that you tend to avoid every year and areas that always seem unfinished. Think about what would make your home feel noticeably fresher the fastest. Start with these chores to make the most impact on your home and mood. Plus, when you realize rewards quickly, you’ll be more motivated to continue with other projects.

5. Tackle Small Repairs When You’re Stuck Indoors

Spring cleaning often reveals little problems that have been ignored all year. But there’s no reason you can’t start knocking these out earlier. When you’re stuck inside on a snow day, why not handle that loose cabinet hardware or those squeaky doors? Fix leaky faucets, replace burnt-out lightbulbs, and touch up spotty paint jobs. Handling these issues now prevents your spring cleaning list from being overrun by endless repairs. As well, when everything works properly, cleaning becomes easier.

6. Set Up Routines And Involve The Household

Unless you live alone, you shouldn’t be the only one handling cleaning, repairs, and other tasks. Even younger children can take on smaller chores, like light dusting or toting trash bags to the curb. Use winter as a time to build habits as a household, introducing small, consistent responsibilities, like weekly tidy routines or rotating chores. Eventually, these habits should carry into the spring and beyond. When everyone is used to pitching in, spring cleaning becomes a shared effort that everyone expects to do. It becomes much less daunting than if you approach it as a solo mission.

7. Research Potential Cleaning Services

Depending on your budget, you might decide you want to bring in some professional help. It could be a cleaning service, yard care, professional organizer, or someone to steam clean your upholstered furniture. Look over your spring cleaning checklist and see what items you either dread the most or aren’t able to do yourself. Research potential services to handle these tasks.

Gather references, read reviews, and set up quotes. Even if you don’t intend to use them come springtime, at least you’ll have the information ready to go in case something goes awry. You’ll have a short list of professionals to call in for backup if time (or your patience) runs short. 

Spring Cleaning Doesn’t Have To Start In The Spring

The best way to think about winter prep isn’t as extra work but as a gift to your future self. Every cabinet you declutter, or leaky faucet you fix, is something you won’t have to do later. When spring arrives, you can focus on refreshing your home instead of resetting it, so your spring cleaning efforts aren’t exhausting. A little winter planning goes a long way to making spring chores feel more manageable, maybe even, dare we say, enjoyable.

Related Guides:

• How To Keep A House Clean With Kids
• 14 Household Cleaning Tasks You Should Perform Every Day
• Home Cleaning Checklist For Pet Owners