It’s that time. Even if it doesn’t feel like spring just yet, I know you’re getting antsy. Us too. And I also know you are feeling that itch to start purging, organizing, and scrubbing. No? Just me? Phew, I was starting to feel like a Type-A OCD clean freak. Oh, wait. That is me. And I love any excuse to do all of the above – spring cleaning is totally my jam. As I was doing my annual walk-through before the big show, I thought I’d share some of the spots in our home that get passed over too often and this time went straight to the top of the list!

1. Hood Vent. If you have a hood above your range and cook frequently, this is a must. I am embarrassed to admit that I have only cleaned it once in the past year and the grease was caked on so heavy my arms were aching the next day from scrubbing so hard. Finally I thought to use the oven cleaner and that did the trick!
2. Washer Machine. Those black speckles on the rubber casing just inside your washer? Not from the brownie spatter on your shirt. Mold. Black MOLD. Here’s what we do to keep it at bay. First, scrub it with a Clorox cleaner to remove it all. Then, toss in one of these and start using a packet every month. They smell great and keep everything fresh, as it should be in something that cleans what goes on your body, amIright?!
3. Textile Check. Rugs in our home don’t have a long shelf life thanks to a potty training toddler, Jon’s workboots in the house habit, FIVE dogs. This time of year, I like to check in on how they’re holding up. Can they be cleaned or has the damage been done? A lot of the time, if I have scrubbed many a stain from a rug, carpet cleaned, vacuumed and the like, and it’s just not smelling feeling looking fresh any longer, I wait for a big coupon and buy it again. Do the same for bath towels, throw pillows, snuggle blankets, etc.
4. Baseboards. We see a lot of homes in our line of work, and one of the first things Jon looks at in a house are the baseboards. He says it tells a lot about the upkeep of a home. (I know. So judgy). In all of the previous homes we’ve owned, the baseboards were white. We would clean them weekly which pained me (physically), and Jon would re-paint them every few months. Doesn’t that sound insane?! It was. Listen, I may not love our wood molding all the time, but that’s one thing that is just a huge, time-saving, sigh of relief. You can’t see the dog hair, dust, nicks from Grey’s train, etc. But they still require cleaning – so I’m whipping out the wood conditioner and giving them the polish they deserve.
5. Pantry Purge. There was a very distinct smell coming from our pantry for the past few weeks that I kept ignoring until it made me lose my appetite and desire for cookies. Shocking. So the hunt began and turned into a full blown purge. We vacuumed every crumb, scrubbed each shelf…and eventually found the bag of moldy onions. Blehhh. But in the process we were able to completely overhaul it, donate what we knew we weren’t using to our local food bank, and devise a system for never letting oniongate happen again. I highly recommend investing in some clear organizers from Home Goods, as well as a dry erase marker to keep track of expiration dates.

Bonus! – Garbage Cans. Both inside and out. On a nice, sunny day, take all of your garbage cans (the ones under the sink, in the bathrooms, bedrooms and office) and even your exterior garbage cans, and do a big ‘ol hose down in the driveway. Imagine all the layers of grime and germs you’re going to spray away?! How liberating!

Well there you have the #NixonPack musts for spring cleaning. Obviously we have 746,927 other items on the list, but we didn’t include them because you’ve got those already. What oddball chores will you be checking off this spring? Share with the Pack below!