By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern
The winter months are slowly but surely coming to an end, which means that it’ll soon be time for spring cleaning! A little bit of extra sunshine and the touch of warmth in the air is perfect for motivating you to take on some of those deep cleaning tasks that might have been overlooked or ignored during the winter. While you might want to just put your head down and tackle the mess, being mindful and methodical about your approach to cleaning can make the whole process smoother. Read on for some practical tips for effective deep cleaning! 
Split up chores: When it comes to deep cleaning your house, it might feel tempting to try to get the whole thing clean in only a few days. But that isn’t always the most effective approach, as you might not be as detailed in your cleaning to help speed up the process, or you might feel burnt out early on. So instead, try splitting up your chores over a week or so, and purposefully tackle certain rooms or areas and clean them thoroughly. Remember, it’s not a race!
One room at a time: If you’re anything like me, you might find yourself jumping around from room to room doing a little cleaning here, and a little cleaning there. And at the end of it all, you’re left with a couple different half-cleaned rooms. So, an easy way to avoid that is to make yourself focus on one room at a time. Don’t stop cleaning a certain area until it is completely clean to your liking!
Start with the most rewarding tasks: While it is said that it is better to save the best for last, that isn’t necessarily true for cleaning. By starting with the most fun task (if it is even possible for a cleaning task to be fun) or the most rewarding task, you’re setting yourself up for a more productive time cleaning, as you’ll be more motivated to continue.
Have supplies and keep them organized: There is nothing worse than going to clean something and discovering that you’re all out of your favorite cleaner or that you don’t have any more scrubbers. So, make sure that you’re well stocked up on all your go-to cleaning products and have them in a neat, accessible place to make your spring-cleaning efforts more enjoyable and productive.
Take care of yourself: Finally, take care of yourself and keep yourself in a good mood when tackling all that cleaning. Wear comfy clothes, make yourself a good cup of coffee, turn on some music. The moment you cease to be in a good mood your productivity is going to plummet, and things might not get as clean as they could be. So, just take a little bit of time to make sure that you’ll be in your prime!
Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be a super daunting task! Try out some of these tips to keep yourself motivated and to make your cleaning efforts as effective as possible!
For more articles like this, check out the Fill Your Plate blog!