Social Distancing Spring Cleaning Checklist

I was trying to think of a clever title for this blog post, a play on words, but well, nothing came to mind but the words "social distancing spring cleaning checklist" because this post is exactly that, no need to add extra fluff I suppose!

It is Monday, March 16th and for the past couple of days I have been habitually reading the news waiting for updates from Oregon's governor, Kate Brown, to pull the plug on all non essential shops/businesses to close. An announcement is suppose to be made today about bars and restaurants, not sure if that will include retail. 

Since I am anticipating a lot of downtime, I made a spring cleaning checklist for my hubby and I to do the next couple of weeks. Some of these may not apply to you, so just do whichever ones you want.

SOCIAL DISTANCING SPRING CLEANING CHECKLIST

TIP! Setting A Timer: Set a timer on your phone for 15 minutes when you begin anything on this list. It will be a good way to remind yourself how long the task took you and also you can take little breaks if you need to.

1. Clean Out Desk Drawer

We have not one, but TWO desk drawers just jammed with old mail and random office things. We also have a giant basket next to the fireplace that has a bunch of old mail. Jeez louise, how do we get our name/address off all this junk mail?!?

2. Organize Sock & Underwear Drawer

I do this every Spring, so it doesn't take me too long. Basically, throw out any tights that have runs in it and uncomfortable underwear. For socks that are too threadbare you can either throw them out or reuse them to help you dust. I'll put an old sock around my hand (like a mitten) and wipe down surfaces after I spray cleaner or wood polisher. 

3. Clean Out Fridge & Freezer

We actually already did this since we needed to make room for extra groceries we purchase since we want to limit how often we are going to the grocery store. Pretty simple, go through each item and throw away anything past its expiration date and clean out bottles and jars that barely have anything left in it and recycle them. Then fill your sink up with hot soapy water and wipe down your fridge. Wash out the drawers. Remove all paper articles and magnets off the front surface and wipe down the fridge. Woohoo, so fresh and so clean, clean!

4. Go Through Make-Up & Clean Brushes

Go through all your make-up and throw away anything past its expiration, products that are almost empty, and products you rarely use. Any "liquid" product that goes on your eyes (mascara, liner, eyelash serum, etc) past 3 months should be thrown away. Then wash all your makeup brushes. I like to use warm water with a bit of dawn dish soap to help break down the oils. I leave my brushes in a big cup with the sudsy water for about 5 minutes, swish it around, dump out the water. Then repeat. Then I individually run each brush under hot water, then lay them out on a paper towel to dry.

5. Donate 15 Books You Are Not Going To Read Again

In Portland we have little "Free Libraries" all over. They are these little structures people have made with little shelves and neighborhood folks can put their unwanted books here for others to take home. Before you donate to a thrift store, call your local libraries to see if they are taking donations and ask for their drop off location. If you want to donate more than 15, go ahead and do so. I just know I get kind of attached to my books, so doing a little bit at a time eases the loss for me. Haha!

6. Unsubscribe from 20 Mailing Lists

Just not the Adored Vintage ones. Pretty please. If you do a quick search in your Gmail (or whatever email platform you use) for the word "Unsubscribe" you will find a lot of newsletters you probably don't really care about. Just do 20 for now, maybe you'll do more later. 

7. Donate 25 Things From the Basement

If you haven't used it in the past year, it's probably not that important. We have the most random things in the basement (a bubble blower?), so donating 25 items is going to be a piece of cake! If you don't have a basement, maybe your attic, garage, or even your closet.

8. Clean Your Oven

You can clean your oven with baking soda and vinegar and lots of elbow grease. Wipe down outside surfaces with cleaner. Visit this link from The Kitchn for a step by step guide on how to naturally clean your oven!

9. Organize Under the Kitchen Sink

Throw away old sponges, rags, and cleaning supplies that have seen better days. Make a list of new cleaning supplies you need to replenish. 

10. Compost All Dead Plants

Pretty self explanatory. Even if you think you can revive the ole girl... let her go. Then you can plan for new plants! Dried flowers are an exception though, at least in my household! Once my husband threw away a bunch of my dried flowers and I low key freaked out about it.

11. Wash the Curtains

Never a fun task, but if you're really in a cleaning mode, take down all the curtains and run them through the laundry. If yours are not machine washable, then don't do this one. All of our curtains are simple white cotton or linen that I have thrifted over several years, so they are really easy to wash and dry.

12. Take Stock of Bedroom and Bathroom Linens

We launder our sheets once a week and the duvet once a month, it's such a beast to wash and dry! The last time we washed our sheets we forgot to put it in the dryer so we were like SHOOT, go get the spare sheets. Then we realized we had thrown away one of the sheets because Redford (our dog) had torn a hole through it and well, it was kind of an old sheet anyway. Anyway, this is the perfect time to take stock of your bedroom and bathroom linens (pillows included) to see what you need to donate, throw out, and replace. 

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Chime In! Did you enjoy this blogpost? Do you have your own Social Distancing Spring Cleaning ideas you want to share? Just post them below in the comments!