How to Spring Clean Your Home or RV

Since many of us are spending more time indoors during the coronavirus outbreak, why not consider cleaning our homes. While I may live full time in an RV camper, there is no reason why I can't indulge in a good spring cleaning. What do you think?  Feel like making your home cleaner and healthier?

What is Spring Cleaning?
For those of you who have never heard of the tradition of spring cleaning, let me tell you quickly a little about its history. Since this is the time of renewal and rebirth, many homemakers took time each spring, usually the week before Easter, to clean every area of their homes from top to bottom. According to my father, my Grandma Spencer even changed the slipcovers on all her furnishings from winter wools to bright, white canvas.

What Are the Traditional Steps to Spring Cleaning?
The most important rule of spring cleaning is to start at the top and move down. If you start at the bottom, then when you clean the top, the dirt will fall on the space you just cleaned. Follow the steps below in each room to make your spring cleaning easier and more efficient. I suggest doing one room at a time so you don't get overwhelmed.

Step One: Remove all the curtains, furniture slipcovers, throw rugs and other fabric items from the room and wash these. We are so lucky today to have washing machines and dry cleaners to help with this step.

Step Two: Remove picture frames, mirrors, other hanging items from the walls. Remove all ornamental decorations from the room and temporarily store them in a safe place. Cover furniture too big to move with drop cloths or old sheets.

Step Three: Sweep or brush the ceiling and walls to remove all loose dirt and cobwebs. While you have the ladder out, remove ceiling light covers and wash these. Replace hard to reach light bulbs. Wipe down the ceiling and walls with a damp rag, water, and cleaning solution.

Step Four: Wash glass windows, screens, storm windows, window sills, and moldings. Don't forget the top edges.

Step Five: Wipe down base moldings with a damp rag, water, and cleaning solution. Damp-mop hardwood and/or tile floors. Vacuum wall to wall carpets. If you can afford it, have the carpets steam cleaned.

Step Six: Dust and/or wet wipe down all other hard surfaces and furniture. (Really clean all of those hard to reach places like table legs that you don't normally clean on a regular basis.) Wash crystal, porcelain, and metal ornamental objects and let dry.

Step Seven: While the room is empty, review any needed repairs. You can oil door hinges, tighten door knob screws, and lubricate window tracks. If you haven't done it for a few years, this may be the time to repaint the ceiling and walls. Why wait till you plan to sell a house before you make it pretty?

Step Eight: Once everything is clean and dry, rehang the curtains, replace rugs on the floor and display all the pictures and mirrors. Bring back in your decorative items.

Step Nine: Stand back and look at how fresh and clean the room is. Now repeat these steps for the rest of the rooms in your house. Pace yourself.  Don't try to do your entire house in a day!

Spring Cleaning and Maintaining Your RV Camper
Can you spring clean an RV? Absolutely! This is a great time to clear out the cobwebs and take care of all those maintenance tasks you've been putting off. I adapted the steps of traditional spring cleaning for the motor home since it is made up of three "rooms" and the basement storage bins.

I suggest that you spring clean your RV when you have full hookups (water, electricity, and sewer) at your campsite. You will use a lot of water to clean out your tanks and wash everything in the RV.  You want to be able to dump your tanks while you clean.

First, I removed the windshield curtains and the blackout curtain used as a bedroom privacy screen. I washed the curtains and two throw rugs I use inside the RV to capture dirt by the doors.

Second, I removed all the ornaments, picture frames, and other stuff from the RV and put these outside on the picnic table. It was amazing how much larger the RV looked when it was empty.

Third, I used Thieves cleaner and some hot water to wash down all the ceilings and walls in the RV. It was tricky to figure out how to wash the ceiling fans and their roof covers. I did the best I could.  I also removed the light covers to take out any dead bugs and to wipe them down. Cleaning ceilings and walls not only gave me a chance to knock down some cobwebs, but it also let me look for any mold. Thankfully, I didn't have any.

Fourth, before cleaning anything else, I power washed the inside of my toilet black tank and deep cleaned the gray tank (sinks and shower wastewater goes in the gray tank). I have to pull a hose into the RV, so it made sense to wait to clean the floors till the power washing was finished. After cleaning your tanks, take the time to clean the sewer hose and the compartment where you store the hose. Regularly power washing your black tank and deep cleaning your gray tank will help to prevent and/or eliminate any sewer flies.

Fifth, wash the toilet, sinks, and shower. Wipe down all the cabinets, countertops, vinyl or leather chairs and couch. I use microfiber cloths with warm water and Thieves cleaner.

Sixth, using a fresh bucket of Thieves cleaner and water, wash the vinyl floors or tiles if you have them. Scrub any "tacked down" carpet sections with the same Thieves cleaner. Let everything dry and then replace your curtains, rugs, and decorations.

Seventh, I did some maintenance checks. Using a dry lube spray, I lubricated the sliding window tracks, the slide-out room tracks, the hydraulic jacks, and the towing hitch. I washed the roof, the sidewalls and the tires. I just recently had the engine serviced, the generator maintained, and I bought three new batteries.

Last, I diffused my favorite essential oils to freshen the air and make everything feel so great!

Make Spring Cleaning Healthier

Over the years, I used some terrible cleaning products with toxic chemicals in the list of ingredients. Many of these products included warning labels that required you to vent your room while you used them. Others warned of irritations caused by skin contact. Why did I ever think that I had to use these kinds of products to get my home clean and fresh? Now I use Young Living's Thieves Cleaner and other DIY products to clean my RV.

I love that my Thieves cleaner and my Thieves dish soap are free of any chemical toxins since they are made with plant-based essential oils. Love, love, love the cloves, lemon, and other wonderful smells! I am also so happy that I don't have to "air out" the RV after I wash everything. There is nothing in the Thieves cleaner that can hurt me, so I can use it with confidence.

I will make another blog post so I can share some DIY toxin-free cleaners. That way we can all clean our homes in a healthier way.

Share Your Thoughts
Do you have any Spring Cleaning tips or tricks to share with us? Type them in the comment box below. I love learning from all of you, too.