Spring cleaning

Of all the household tasks in the year, one of my favourites is spring cleaning. Don't ask me why. Normally I don't particularly like cleaning, so I tend to do as little as I can get away with on a weekly basis combined with sudden binges on specific bits when the mood takes me. As we don't have children, the place doesn't generally disappear until mountains of mess every day so the decline in cleanliness is slower and gentler :)

I've tried Flylady and while i had some success, a busy period at work combined with long hours puts me off kilter for that week, maybe even two weeks. That means not touching it again until the following month when the appointed zone rolls around. If I get another busy period, i end up missing it again. I just can't stick to the kind of routine. 

Anyway, this year I have my cleaning list at the ready, and have decided to spring clean over a couple of months, as oppose to my usual 2-3 weeks. March has been a bit of a loss so far, as the dull cold weather hasn't inclined me to do a great deal, but a few days ago the temperature soared to a whole 14oC, so I beavered away cleaning up the garden. Before I knew where I was, i had also dusted the bedrooms, landing and living room in a whole day. Unheard of! That's when I knew spring cleaning fever had arrived.

I've based my list for each room on this one from I Dream of Clean. I have eight areas to complete, which neatly ties in with about the number of weeks left of spring:

Kitchen

Utility room/porch

Main bathroom

Our bedroom

Our en-suite

Living room

Landing/lobby

Miscellaneous 

MIL takes care of her own room, as do Martin and I with our hobby rooms/study.

So, the kitchen is the first up for cleaning (as evidenced by the dreadfully untidy and cluttered corner of my kitchen in the main blog picture!), and by Sunday I will have completed the following:

• remove anything from the kitchen that doesn’t belong PART DONE
• clean and disinfect the rubbish bin
• clean worksurfaces and windowsill 
• dust and clean the light fitting/fan
• clean skirting boards and door frames
• clean the shelves either side of the log burner
• wash the back door mat
• clean the windows
• clean/replace the vertical blinds
• clean and polish the log burner
• polish the wood mantlepiece
• clean the microwave
• deep clean the dishwasher
• clean and organize the refrigerator
• clean and organize the freezer PART DONE
• replace refrigerator water filter
• clean the oven, hood vent and change filter if needed
• reorganize kitchen cabinets and drawers, eliminating the unnecessary PART DONE
• organize the pantry 
• clean out sink pipes 
• clean and disinfect dolce gusto machine
• clean under the sink and eliminate the unnecessary
• clean cabinet and room doors PART DONE
• clean upvc patio doors
• clean tile and touch up paint on walls
• deep clean the floor
• disinfect door knobs, light fixtures and pulls
• put a new door on the pan cupboard
• adjust the height of the breakfast bar and bolt back onto wall
• thin out cookery books

I tend to do things while the kettle in boiling or food is cooking, as I find that is quite useful 'dead' time. I have no problem doing things shelf by shelf if necessary. 

So, over to you. Do you spring clean and, if so, how do you tackle it?