Spring cleaning is often a daunting exercise and can stretch out for days and weeks, even a month or two. But completing a thorough spring cleaning within one weekend is absolutely achievable. Here is a day-by-day guide courtesy of Davidson Realty.

FRIDAY: Declutter day

Utilize day one to eliminate clutter throughout your house. Take an empty laundry basket and move room to room collecting anything that is not in its assigned “home.” This includes clothes, old mail, books and magazines, papers, toys, shoes, etc. It is all too easy to amass these items throughout the year in corners and on bookshelves.

The little items – coins, paper clips, batteries, rubber bands, pens, etc. – are especially easy to overlook. Those need a home, too, so pick up everything that is out of place. Once you have collected all the clutter, re-disperse each item to its proper home, be it the office filing cabinet, a toy bin, the kitchen “junk drawer,” and so on.

Additional Day 1 tasks:

1. Use a broom to check ceilings for cobwebs.
2. Dust ceiling fans and light fixtures.
3. Test smoke detector batteries.

SATURDAY: Tackle the “tough” rooms

The house as a whole can be intimidating to clean. Breaking it down room-by-room and cleaning the tough rooms first can help. Those rooms include the kitchen, bathrooms and garage. They tend to be the dirtiest rooms in the house, and once they are clean, the rest of the house is a breeze!

Kitchen:

1. Clean and sanitize appliances inside and out, including the oven/range, microwave, coffeemaker, toaster, refrigerator and dishwasher.
2. Clean out pantry and cabinets, and wipe shelves and cabinet doors. This is a great time to reorganize things that have gotten out of place (but be careful, organizing shelves can be a huge time-waster!)
3. Pull out refrigerator and clean behind it.
4. Clean and sanitize countertop/ backsplash and sinks.
5. Wipe kitchen baseboards.
6. Clean and mop floor.

Bathrooms:

1. Clean out cabinets and wipe shelves and cabinet doors.
2. Clean and sanitize countertop/ backsplash and sinks.
3. Clean and sanitize shower/bathtub and toilet.
4. Wash shower curtain.
5. Wipe bathroom baseboards.
6. Clean and mop floor.

Garage:

1. Organize tools and equipment.
2. Sweep floors (you may choose to hose down garage floor as well.)

SUNDAY: Wrap it up with easy rooms & finishing touches

The rest of the rooms should require a little less elbow grease on this last day of cleaning. These rooms include bedrooms, living room, office, dining room and laundry room. Once complete, just a few finishing touches like windows, curtains and doorknobs, will make your home feel fresh and new.

Bedrooms:

1. Organize and wipe down drawers and closets.
2. Wash bedding and pillows.
3. Rotate mattress.
4. Dust surfaces.
5. Wipe baseboards and clean floor.

Living Room/Office:

1. Wipe down computer, TV and appliances thoroughly.
2. Dust surfaces.
3. Wipe baseboards and clean floor.

Laundry Room:

1. Vacuum behind washer and dryer.
2. Vacuum lint trap thoroughly.
3. Dust surfaces.
4. Wipe baseboards and clean floor.

Finishing Touches:

1. Clean windows and windowsills.
2. Vacuum curtains.
3. Wipe down door knobs and light switches.