Spring Cleaning for People Who Hate to Clean

For everyone out there like me who hates cleaning but loves a clean house, here’s my guide to spring cleaning.

Spring Cleaning for People Who Hate to Clean

I have this issue. I love a clean house, but I hate to clean. It really causes a conflict sometimes, especially around spring. As the sun shines through my dingy windows, I ask questions like “What is that on the top of my ceiling fan?” and “What is that stain on my wall?” and “How long has my house been like this?”

These are questions that I would never ask in winter. In winter, the dim and limited light never reveals any cleanliness issues. Instead, I can live in a sheltered bliss, believing that my house is clean enough. Once the light of spring comes through my windows, though, my blinders come off and I’m instantly challenged to clean up my winter mess.

So, for everyone out there like me who hates cleaning but loves a clean house, here’s my guide to spring cleaning.

1. Work on one room each day.

You already know you don’t like cleaning, so take one little piece at a time to make the chore more bearable. Try to save some of the larger or high-traffic rooms for days when you have more time, and take care of the smaller rooms when you don’t have a lot of time. Some examples of high-traffic rooms might be your living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathrooms.

spring cleaning

2. Gather all your supplies before you start.

Make sure to have all of the cleaning products that you like to use and plenty of rags in the room that you’re cleaning before you even start. This way, you eliminate trips outside of the room that your cleaning. I have found that these trips often lead to me finding something that I’d much rather be doing--something important like folding the clean laundry that I haven’t managed to fold in the past two weeks.

3. If you have allergies, get a mask and glasses.

Yeah, I’m pretty stylish when I commit to cleaning my house. I also happen to be allergic to pretty much everything that gets moved around while I clean. So, to ensure that I don’t get really sick the day after I clean (which makes me hate cleaning that much more), I wear the necessary protection. If you have allergies, you should, too.

4. Work from top to bottom.

For every room, plan to clean:
Ceiling by removing cobwebs,
Overhead light fixture,
Tops of cabinets or bookcases,
Windows and window dressings,
Furniture in the room,
All horizontal surfaces,
Walls,
Doors,
Baseboards or other decorative mouldings, and
Floors.

Start cleaning up high and work your way down. You will want to do your floors last because of all the dust and debris you will have knocked loose in the cleaning process. I recommend that you vacuum and mop the floor. This is the only part of the room that I think needs double cleaning.

For many rooms, it won’t actually take a long time to work through this checklist. Be aware that the kitchen will probably take the longest time to clean. This is because of the cooking grease that settles on cabinets, windows, and virtually every horizontal surface in your kitchen. When it’s time to clean the kitchen, make sure that you give yourself extra time and lots of the right cleaners so that you can do the best possible job de-greasing your kitchen.

5. Show your appliances some love.

Now that everything is cleaned, it’s time to show your major appliances some love. You may not realize it, but major appliances need some attention at least once a year. Some people will recommend that you clean your appliances once a month, but hey! I don’t really like cleaning.

Once a year is probably sufficient, but it is important that you take the time to look at the manuals (or spend some time on the internet) to discover how exactly the manufacturer recommends that you care for your appliance. There’s a reason that you chose the appliances you did, so take the time to follow the instructions for appliance care. Here are some appliances that should get some TLC:
Dishwasher,
Stove,
Oven,
Refrigerator,
Microwave,
Furnace,
Air conditioner,
Washing machine,
Dryer, and
Fireplace or stove.

6. Check for maintenance issues.

Now that everything is all nice and clean inside, you can really see any maintenance issues. In a previous post, “Spring Home Maintenance Simplified,” we discussed how you can spot maintenance issues both inside and outside your house. Walk through the inside of your newly clean house to see if you spot any potential maintenance issues. Once you’ve checked out the inside of your house, go outside.

Make sure to take the time to clean the exterior of your home. Clear debris from the windowsills and

roof. Check for any cracks or potential structural issues. Once you’ve got the outside all cleaned up, you’re done!

Remember, the key to spring cleaning is to take it bit by bit. There’s no rush and no rule that says it all has to be done in one day.

We hope these tips help make spring cleaning more manageable and less horrible. From those of us at Ramseier Realty Group, have a happy (and clean) spring! If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, give us a call at 816.262.8077 or contact us through our website. We’re ready to help you (with everything except cleaning).

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Lorrie is by far the best realtor I have ever worked with. Her staff and herself are easy to get a hold of and promptly answer any questions. She has been a blessing to myself and my parents that also just bought a home with her help.

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3 years ago

5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

Recently purchased a home in record time. Lorrie and her team delivered on finding the best value and listening to my requirments. I strongly recomment Ramseier Realty Team to handle all of your real estate transactrions.

Rob Buehler

a year ago

5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

My wife and I couldn't be happier with our first home buying experience with Ramseier Realty. Excellent communication, great time management and personal attention that exceeded our expectations. We will be recommending them to all of our friends and family. A++

William Burnich

4 years ago

5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

Lorrie and her team are awesome! They think of everything and are so helpful as you are in the middle of chaos trying to sell, pack, buy and move. Lorrie or someone from her team will walk you through the whole process before you start to give you an idea of how they run things. The pictures they post are great and really show off your home. Couldnt think of going with anyone else!

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a year ago

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Lorrie Ramseier has been helping me find a home from August 2017 to May 2018. I can not recommend her and her staff high enough. She went above and beyond for us. I told her the street and several homes that I would like to own, but were not for sale. She made inquiries to those homeowners to find out if they might sell. Although, they did not, I appreciated the effort. Sometimes we worked with Emily and she was great. They were prompt with email and phone call responses and always upbeat and pleasant. What we appreciated the most was her knowledge and professionalism. I would use them again in a heartbeat, if necessary.

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05/24/2018

5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

She was great, would recommend her team to anyone. She helped sale our house and our land/lot. Both sold within days without any glitches. Couldn’t be happier or more pleased with how her team performed.

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12/06/2018

5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

Lorrie and her team were outstanding and I am so glad that we selected her agency to list our home. Everything Lorrie did was 5-star worthy. She presented a compelling analysis and recommendation on our listing price, she and her team were very accessible, very professional and it was a true joy to work with them. Lorrie went above and beyond on many occasions, she has excellent connections and resources which we used from closing agents, to electricians and plumbers. As the seller, she excelled in the "selling" process especially the negotiation and working to get multiple offers. She never took the easy road, always the road that provided the best outcome. Anyone can list and sell a home, but few can make the process seamless and get the absolute best price for the seller....If you are listing, you can't go wrong with Lorrie.

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I needed a quick sale and Lorrie came through! Property was under contract in five days! A small inspection issue was fixed, and closing went off without a hitch. Having never bought or sold real estate before, I was scared as could be. Lorrie’s expertise and reassurances kept me sane. Sandi’s Extraordinary organizational skills kept me abreast of “what’s next?” the whole way though. Thanks so much!

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Lorrie and her team are the best!! Very professional, friendly and they get the job done.

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Lorrie is one of the kindest and most personable people I’ve met. She was easily accessible when we needed her and always made sure our needs were met. We had the best experience selling our home thanks to Lorrie and her group.

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Loved working with Lorrie and Emily! Professional, friendly and efficient. The photos Lorrie had done for the sale of my home were amazing, sold my house less than 48 hours after being listed!

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Lorrie and her staff listed our home for sale on a Friday afternoon and had an accepted full offer the very next day! From a seller's perspective, how could anyone ask for better results! Lorrie first impressed me when she was the first to call me back after leaving messages with three other Realtors. I knew at that time, that she was sincere, motivated and wanted our listing! If I had another home in the area, there would only be one call to make to have my home listed and that would be with Lorrie at Keller Williams!

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Lorrie Ramseier has been helping me find a home from August 2017 to May 2018. I can not recommend her and her staff high enough. She went above and beyond for us. I told her the street and several homes that I would like to own, but were not for sale. She made inquiries to those homeowners to find out if they might sell. Although, they did not, I appreciated the effort. Sometimes we worked with Emily and she was great. They were prompt with email and phone call responses and always upbeat and pleasant. What we appreciated the most was her knowledge and professionalism. I would use them again in a heartbeat, if necessary.

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5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

Lorrie is awesome, she made the selling of my home easy and removed the stress by handling everything in a timely manner. She took time out of her schedule to just check on me to see how everything was going. She is a great realtor

anagle70

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She was great, would recommend her team to anyone. She helped sale our house and our land/lot. Both sold within days without any glitches. Couldn’t be happier or more pleased with how her team performed.

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I needed a quick sale and Lorrie came through! Property was under contract in five days! A small inspection issue was fixed, and closing went off without a hitch. Having never bought or sold real estate before, I was scared as could be. Lorrie’s expertise and reassurances kept me sane. Sandi’s Extraordinary organizational skills kept me abreast of “what’s next?” the whole way though. Thanks so much!

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Lorrie and her team were outstanding and I am so glad that we selected her agency to list our home. Everything Lorrie did was 5-star worthy. She presented a compelling analysis and recommendation on our listing price, she and her team were very accessible, very professional and it was a true joy to work with them. Lorrie went above and beyond on many occasions, she has excellent connections and resources which we used from closing agents, to electricians and plumbers. As the seller, she excelled in the "selling" process especially the negotiation and working to get multiple offers. She never took the easy road, always the road that provided the best outcome. Anyone can list and sell a home, but few can make the process seamless and get the absolute best price for the seller....If you are listing, you can't go wrong with Lorrie.

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I recently listed and sold my home with Ramseier Realty Group. We received multiple offers and had it under contract within a month. Lorrie and her team are attentive and truly care about their clients' best interests. I would recommend this realty team to anyone!

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Words cannot describe how well we were guided through the entire process of selling our home and purchasing a new one. Every detail was attended to and negotiations were professionally carried out. We were always confident that we were well taken care of.

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Both Lorrie & Jan were SO awesome to work with during our selling and buying process! They are so friendly, willing to help, and really went above and beyond for us to make sure we had the answers we needed to all of our questions. Both of them were so patient and eager to make sure that we were happy, well informed and didn't feel any pressure. We can't thank them enough!!!

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We met Lorrie for the first time at a property she was listing and new right away she was a person of integrity and someone we could trust to sell our home and lead us to a great new place. She did not disappoint. Throughout the process she continued to show us that she was always on top of things. Thanks Lorrie for all you did and for helping us to enjoy the process.

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Lorrie is by far the best realtor I have ever worked with. Her staff and herself are easy to get a hold of and promptly answer any questions. She has been a blessing to myself and my parents that also just bought a home with her help.

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Lorrie and I are working on finding me a house in St Joseph. She went out on Superbowl Sunday in 3 degree weather to show me a house. I am an out of state buyer. Unbelieveable. Can't ask for a better realtor.

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Lorrie was absolutely essential to our purchase of our dream home. We were at a stand still and Lorrie represented us perfectly. We have and will continue to recommend her to anyone who wants an awesome advocate in the business of real estate. We love her and cannot thank her enough for all she did for our family. Call her! You will not regret it!

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a year ago

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Jan was very helpful and professional. She was patient with us as we look at a LOT of homes, and was there for us through the entire process - from putting in the offer all the way to closing!

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4 years ago

5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

Amazing professional but also personal service. This company has been there for us even after the purchase of our dream home

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a year ago

5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

Just sold our home very quickly, and with no problems. Lorrie and her team were the best! They kept us up to date, were very professional, and were absolutely great to work with. My husband and I highly recommend these folks to anyone looking for a realtor!

Eudora Guinn

a year ago

5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

Lorrie is the best realtor in town. She and her staff were very helpful from beginning to end. We will recommend Ramseier Realty Group to all our friends!

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2 years ago

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It was a better experience than we could have even asked for. The entire team walked us through every step of the process. They were all very kind and professional. To everyone who helped our church find its new home; THANK YOU!

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a week ago

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The whole team did an excellent job helping us to find our new home! Everyone was friendly and professional. They were very quick to respond to any questions or concerns that we had. Thank you so much!

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3 months ago

5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

Recently purchased a home in record time. Lorrie and her team delivered on finding the best value and listening to my requirments. I strongly recomment Ramseier Realty Team to handle all of your real estate transactrions.

Rob Buehler

a year ago

5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

My wife and I couldn't be happier with our first home buying experience with Ramseier Realty. Excellent communication, great time management and personal attention that exceeded our expectations. We will be recommending them to all of our friends and family. A++

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4 years ago

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Thank you to the Ramseier team for all you did to make our house purchase effortless. This house will be an amazing addition to the Pivotal Point ministry.

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5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

The Best realtorty group that I've worked with, responsive, brings us what we asked for and showed us many houses before we finally got what we wanted. Sold our house for what we wanted and made sure the deal went through.

Daniel Hess

a year ago

5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

Lorrie and the team did a great job!

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9 months ago

5 star reviewed Realtor St. Joseph, MO

Lorrie is the best realtor in town! With her passionate, prompt, competitive and knowledgeable experience she sold our house sold in just 4 days. If you want a quick sale or a devoted realtor to find a new home, she's your gal!

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