You may find it next to impossible to accomplish any cleaning with the kids home from school. The only way this will realistically happen is with bribery and inclusion. Our checklist broken down looks like this : Hats – Mittens – Scarves – Flowers – Closets – Donations – Tidy – and Gratitude.

The Checklist:

1 – Start out small, like putting away all the hats, mittens, scarves

2 – Treat yourself to a fresh bouquet of flowers on your next grocery trip. These might just inspire you to put away the remaining winter items and bring a sense of Spring into your home.

3 – Involve the kids – Charlotte’s job is to clean out her closet (this will no doubt end in a fashion show and waste an hour of Spring Up time, but at least she’ll be keeping busy while we clean ;)) Insert your low expectations here; because things might get messy!

4 – Re-clean Charlotte’s room.

5 – Take all the clothing out from your closet and put it onto your bed. Seriously. Its time to KonMari. Anything winter-related; i.e sweaters, off season colours, AND anything that does not Spark Joy put away into home-storage.

6 – This year’s Spring clean-up will be different because there are few places that accept donations during lockdown, and its not an appropriate time to be selling on kijiji, so you can only focus on what can be accomplished in the house directly. Everyone grab one clear bag to fill with “future donations”. We are keeping our donations in large clear bags marked “Donate” in our rec room storage; ready to drop off when Salvation Army reopens. Everything that does not Spark Joy must be put into a clear bag.

7 – Tidy up. Its time to lysol every surface and clean every floor. Open the windows for this process to let fresh air in, and combat the lysol smell. This is also the portion of the day where bribery kicks in; set the kids up with a movie and some leftover Easter candy while you work your magic.

8. Gratitude. End your Spring Clean Up Day by thanking your space around you for all the safety it has provided you with throughout the last few months. This is a real step. Take a quiet minute to reflect on how lucky you are to have this space, and thank the space for existing in your life.

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We hope you enjoyed our short list and feel even slightly inspired to tackle a Spring Clean Up Day in your home!

Xoxo The McCarneys