A Vintage Spring Cleaning Checklist + Printable

Who knew how to clean the old fashioned way? The 1950's mom! Today, I am sharing A Vintage Spring Cleaning Checklist + Printable straight from my favorite vintage housekeeping book, Making Housekeeping Easy.

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Vintage Spring Cleaning Checklist

Overview

I am excited to share this comprehensive list, one, in which, will most certainly get your home clean the vintage way!  We will look at:

1. Gather Cleaning Tools
2. Schedule Your Work
3. Clean One Room at a Time
4. Jobs to be covered in seasonal cleaning
5. How to make a room-by-room seasonal cleaning schedule
6. Get Moving - a simple action plan
7. Resources (Vintage Spring Cleaning Checklist for Any Room Printable)

First of all, let me share that there are 3 Seasonal Cleaning Methods:

1. Monthly Clean (Clean one room each month.  This is the method we use here at Total Home Makeover -it's very doable!  Your're invited to join us.)
2. Spring Clean (Clean all rooms in the spring.) or
3. Fall Clean (Clean all rooms in the fall).

​When do you want to seasonally clean?

Now, let's hear the exact words (with a few inserts from me) from Dorothy Lois Abel:  
"As a bride or other beginner you will need to do little of the old-fashioned scrubbing kind of seasonal cleaning.  You've probably been keeping your home spotless right along.  Spring and fall cleanings for you, therefore, will take the form of seasonal check-ups clothes, closets, bureau drawers, the discarding of old magazines ...

   However, because some day you may want to know how to do a complete seasonal cleaning job, here is a routine."

#1 Gather Cleaning Tools

Make sure all tools are in good working order. Lay in a generous supply of soaps, polishes, rags, cleaners.  (I use an all-natural Cleaning Kit.)

#2 Schedule Your Work

Schedule your work, listing jobs to be done, time to be allowed, days for accomplishment.  Keep a record of the actual time each job took so you'll know next time. ​  (I use two resources for this:  Monthly Homekeeping Calendar  and Vintage Spring Cleaning Checklist for Any Room -free download below.)

#3 Clean One Room at a Time

Doing one room at a time creates the least housekeeping upset.  In large homes, doing the jobs which require the same tools while these tools are out -as washing all windows on one floor-saves time for some housekeepers.  (I clean one room each month.  This allows me to also organize and refresh decor as needed.)

#4 Jobs to be Covered in Seasonal Cleaning

1. Cleaning of bureau drawers
2. Cleaning of closets . . . washing of walls and shelves, moth-proofing in spring.
3. Checking, mending, cleaning of clothes.  Storing of unseasonable ones . . . takig out of seasonable ones.  Brushing and airing of all clothes going back into closet without prior cleaning.  Mothproofing of clothes in spring.  Disposal of unwanted clothes.
4. Washing and storing of blankets after mothproofing.
5. Sending of rugs to be cleaned.  Mothproofing of others at home in spring.  Putting down of cleaned rugs in the fall.
6. Taking down of curtains, their washing or cleaning, their putting back up after the whole room, including windows, has been cleaned.
7. Washing of walls.  Cleaning of wall papers.
8. Washing and waxing of woodwork, if not done in weekly or special cleaning jobs.
9. Cleaning of window shades.  Cleaning and waxing of Venetian blinds, cleaning or replacement of tapes as necessary.
10. Polishing of metal in light fixtures, switch plates, doorknobs.
11. Special polishing of furniture.
12. Washing of enameled furniture.
13. Cleaning of lampshades or their replacement.
14. Cleaning of upholstery, if necessary.  Mothproofing in spring.
15. Vacuuming of fireplaces, hot air registers, radiators.
16. Scrubbing of fireplace bricks.
17. Washing and waxing of floors.
18. Cleaning and clearing out of all cupboards and cabinets.  Stock-taking and replenishing.
19. Washing of all dishes and bric-a-brack in cupboards and cabinets.
20. Cleaning of all cleaning equipment before it is put away.

(That was alot!  However, when you clean one room at a time, especially one room each month, it's very doable!)

#5 How to Make a Room-By-Room Seasonal Cleaning Schedule

Take as many blank sheets of paper as you have rooms, or kinds of rooms, then look down the "jobs to be covered in Seasonal Cleaning List (above) and copy off those which apply to that particular room or group of rooms.  Arrange these in a logical work sequence.  Guess how much time you think each will take . . . and decide when (what days) you'd like to spend the time doing the necessary work.  Then begin.

#6 Get Moving

Here are 4 simple steps to spring cleaning:

1. First, choose your cleaning method:  Spring, Fall or Join our monthly Cleaning Routine.
2. Gather cleaning kit.
3. Schedule your work (Use a Homekeeping Calendar or Blank Calendar).
4. Start cleaning using the Spring Cleaning Checklist for Any Room Free Printable.

Spring Cleaning Checklist for Any Room

I hope this helps you understand time-tested and thorough cleaning methods.
I am grateful for the old vintage books!  
How about you?  What methods do you employ?

#7 Resources

ON THE BLOG

• Cleaning Kit Tutorial
• Cleaning 101
• How to Clean Your House in 1 Hour a Week + DIY Cleaning Recipes 

IN THE SHOP

• ​March Homekeeping Calendar
• Monthly Calendar - Blank
• Starter Kit -includes Calendar