A summer cleaning checklist to keep your home organized

You’ve already completed your spring cleaning, but that doesn’t mean that you’re done decluttering and organizing your home. After all, it’s important to keep your dwelling clean and tidy for when guests come over for fun summer get-togethers. I know it’s easy to let chores fall by the wayside – after all, it’s summer and we’re all focused on relaxation. But with this simple cleaning checklist, your home will always look organized and ready for warm-weather entertaining. Before you send out your party invitations, start on this easy-to-follow list:

Music
Because cleaning without listening to your favorite tunes is just plain boring.

Pick up clutter
It’s going to be very difficult to clean your floors and countertops if there’s a big mess sitting on top of them. As you’re tackling the clutter, you might find that you don’t have a place to put some items. You may have to come up with organizational solutions as you go.

• Instead of keeping all of your herbs and spices on your kitchen countertops, organize them in a Lazy Susan in your cabinets. This will keep them out of sight but easy to reach when you need them.
• Place a decorative bowl on a table in your entryway to act as a catchall for keys, mail and any other small items that would otherwise end up in a pile on your kitchen counters.

Dust
Dusting not only improves the look of your home, it cleans out unwanted pollutants to improve the air quality throughout your dwelling.

• Use a microfiber cloth to dust, which will trap and lock in the allergens instead of letting them escape elsewhere. Start from the top and work your way to the bottom of each room to ensure effective cleaning.
• Don’t overlook often-forgotten about spaces, like ceiling fans, door trim, light fixtures and picture frames.
• When dusting slatted blinds, close your blinds and use the microfiber cloth to clean them. Then close the shades the other direction and repeat. This is a much more effective alternative to individually cleaning each slat.

Vacuum
Nobody likes dirty floors, so get to work on making them sparkling clean with your vacuum. Be sure to hit every room in your home.

• Empty out the bag before you start vacuuming – chances are, it’s full. Doing so will give you maximum suction as you clean your home.
• Vacuum not only the floors, but furniture as well. Make sure to choose the right attachment when you’re vacuuming upholstered furniture – a small upholstery brush will do.
• Make several passes when you’re vacuuming your floors. Sometimes a single sweep of the vacuum isn’t enough to pick up all the dirt and debris.

Clean your patio
Chances are, you’re going to be spending lots of time enjoying the beautiful weather on your patio this summer. Here’s how to go about organizing and cleaning your outdoor space:

• Start with your windows and gently wash them with some mild soap and water. Use squeegees to dry the windows and ensure a streak-free finish.
• Next, work on your patio furniture. Whether the pieces are wood, plastic or metal, you should start by brushing off any loose dirt and debris. Then wash off the surface with soapy water and rinse.
• Clean the cushions of your patio furniture by following the basic cleaning directions on the manufacturer’s care tag. If that is no longer attached, you would be safe simply using a general cleaning solution of soapy, lukewarm water.
• Tend to your light fixtures and bulbs on your patio by wiping them clean. This will ensure that your patio is properly lit when summer parties continue after the sun goes down.
• Finally, sweep away any debris on your deck and restain the wood if necessary. If you have concrete flooring on your patio, use a pressure washer to make the surface look like new.