Outsmart your Spring cleaning blues with these simple tips and tools

Got the I-don’t-want-to-do-this Spring cleaning blues? Check out these tips and tools to make life easier when you just can’t live with the built-up gunk any more.

Half the effort of Spring cleaning for me is just hopping the psychological hurdles of doing something I’d rather not do. Another big chunk is simply getting organized. By the time I’m ready to do the actual cleaning, I’m a zombie. So here’s a few things I do to take the sting out if it:

– Set a schedule, of sorts. Cleaning ALLLLLLLL the windows in the house just makes my eyes glass over and I want to binge-watch my favorite show until the windows clean themselves. So instead, I make a plan to do two at a time. Or one room per day over the weekend. This does does two things: It tricks me into thinking the job is smaller than it really is and it gets me moving. Once the train is cruising down the tracks it’s easier to keep moving.

– Organize first, then clean. A huge fraction of the unpleasantness with Spring cleaning for me is collecting all the stuff I need. So, rather than making that part of the cleaning task, I try and do it the day before. I gather all the stuff in one place and get it ready to go—which also shows me if I’m missing things which I now have time to go get. Then, cleaning the next day.

– Hyde’s Quickly Clean Glove. Somewhere between science and magic, the Quickly Clean Glove is ideal for cleaning things that other ‘tools’ simply can’t clean. It’s a micro-abrasive that—when coupled with soapy water—breaks down the schmutz on cabinet doors for example or the coffee spills that have made it to the kitchen backsplash or hand and pet residue on woodwork. It’s gold for cleaning window screens, which are dirtier than you think. And it goes wherever your hands go so it is ultimately flexible. I use it for everything from annual cleaning to cleaning up after DIY projects.