7 Tips To Spring Clean the Kid’s Room

Spring is the time of the year when we think of giving our homes a deep-clean. By far, one of the more challenging feats is giving our children’s room a thorough cleaning. This is because their rooms are often more cluttered and filled with small toys.

It’s not the easiest job to tackle, but it can be done! Here are 7 tips to spring clean the kid’s rooms:

TIP 1: Get the Junk Out of the Way

Embrace the concept that “less is more” and teach it to your children too. It’ll be easier to clean the kid’s room once you declutter.

First, you want to have a big bag ready to place trash in. This bag will be reserved for broken toys, crumpled papers, and bits and pieces that are useless. Just throw it all in there!

Secondly, you want a box to place things in that you know the kids can part with. Here comes a tricky part. My two children are completely different when it comes to this. One wants to keep everything and the other wants to “help”.

So, first things first.

You have to know your child well. If you have a child that’s going to slow things down and argue about keeping it all, then you probably need to send them off with dad to the ice cream shop and tackle the job on your own.

It helps to know what your child plays with on a regular basis. If they have a well-loved toy that seems to be timeless for them, keep it.

Chances are, they’ve gotten a new treasury of toys over the holidays and many of the older toys have been forgotten.

The toys that they’ve obviously outgrown should be given away to someone who can enjoy them. Employ the same concept with clothes they’ve outgrown.

Anything that can be used for little brother or little sister, you can hang onto and put in storage.

But, anything that’s outworn its usefulness can find a new home elsewhere.

This first tip is the most important because your child’s room will never be truly clean until it’s de-cluttered. Once it’s done, it’ll make every other step a whole lot easier.

TIP 2: Clean and Organize What’s Left

You probably notice how much more space is left now that you’ve decluttered your child’s room.

Now, it’s time to clean and organize what’s left of their toys and clothes. This is a two-step process.

Think about all of the germs that accumulate on the toys they play with. They bring germs home from daycare or school and from the outside when they play in the dirt.

It’s not something anyone wants to think about, but it’s there.

So, the first thing you want to do is to clean any washable toys. You can do this by using a soft brush or towel and soapy warm water.

Plastic toys can be soaked in a low-ratio bleach-water mixture for 10 minutes.

Be sure to rinse and dry each toy well before putting them away.

Now, for the second part, which involves organizing what’s left. This is best solved by having open bins, as opposed to toy chests.

If you use open bins, it’ll remind them and encourage them better to pick up their toys when they’re done playing. If your child is of reading age, you can even label the bins.

To make things special, you can have one bin for them to put their most-loved and played with toys.

You can even put their picture, along with a picture of a treasure chest on it with a label that reads “My Treasure Chest” or “Matt’s Treasure Box” or something like that.

The main thing is you want everything to have a spot that’s easy for your child to put things away.

TIP 3: Clean Fixtures and Furniture

Now, that your child’s room is somewhat empty and organized, it’s time to tackle their bedroom itself.

Remove items from shelves, dressers, etc. Clean or wipe down bookshelves, lampshades, dressers, nightstands, etc. Clean them from top to bottom and sides as well.

Use the appropriate cleaner for the material.

For instance, glass cleaner for glass, wood cleaner for wood, and a plastic cleaner for plastics.

If there are crayon marks anywhere, you can use a damp towel dipped in baking soda to remove them.

You could use a white vinegar and water mixture to clean windows, mirrors, and other things made of glass.

Once everything is clean and dry, you can move things back to their appropriate spots.

If your child’s room has a ceiling fan, don’t forget to clean that as well. A cloth moistened with an all-purpose cleaner works best.

You can also use a feather duster to reach the light fixtures and hard to reach areas.

We’re almost halfway there! Things should be looking a lot better by now.

TIP 4: Wipe Down Walls and Baseboards

It’s best to start in the corners of the room where cobwebs often accumulate. Use a long-handled feather duster to collect the dust and cobwebs from the corners.

For the walls, mix a cup of baking soda, a cup of distilled vinegar and a gallon of water to get things clean.

Use a sponge or cloth to dip in the mixture and wipe down all walls and baseboards.

Now, you’re more than halfway done! It gets easier from here!

TIP 5: Tackle the Bedding

Strip the bed sheets and bedspread and wash them in the hottest water the fabric can handle.

Wipe down the headboard, footboard, and all exposed areas of the bed.

If you have someone strong to help, you can lift up the mattress and box spring and clean along the bed rails as well.

Sweep or vacuum under the bed and over the mattress and along the sides. You can also wash the bed pillows and dry them, or if they’re really worn, replace them all together.

Note: Avoid using water on the mattress or boxspring to discourage mold growth.

TIP 6: Clean the Floors and Carpets

Most homes these days have hard floors as opposed to carpets. Some have both. Vacuum and clean floors with an appropriate cleaner.

If your child’s room has carpets, consider steam cleaning them.

You can rent a machine if you don’t have one.

Just be sure not to over-soak the carpets so they don’t stay wet and get musty or grow mildew.

TIP 7: Maintain Your Hard-Earned Efforts

Now that you’ve done a fabulous job getting the little one’s room cleaned, you’ll want to keep it that way.

By preventing it from getting out of hand on a continual basis, next year’s spring cleaning can be a lot easier.

Decide which chores your child is old enough to tackle themselves and assign them a checklist of things to do.

For instance, many kids can make their own beds and put their dirty clothes in the laundry hamper. Those open bins should also help them to keep their toys picked up.

Encourage your children to do their own chores by offering an incentive. Place a checklist in their room with a non-toxic marker and encourage them to check off the things they get done.

At the end of the week or month, once they accomplish their tasks, take them out for ice cream or to the park.

Encourage them to donate unwanted toys as they tire of them to a children’s shelter.

Make it a rule that when they get more toys, if they can’t fit it in the bins, it’s time to find a new home for some.

Spring cleaning your kid’s room may seem daunting, but utilizing an orderly approach like this checklist can make things easier.

Hopefully, these tips will help you get the job done!

Remember, if some of the chores seem a bit much or you don’t have time, you can hire a cleaning company to clean the kid’s room and your whole house as well!