Spring cleaning is as much seasonal rite as home maintenance. Whether you picked your weekend a month ahead of time or you randomly find time one Saturday, spring cleaning tends to find its way onto most people’s schedule. Even if it’s just an extra couple hours cleaning around the house, you want to be able to pronounce with the rest of your friends and neighbors, with an unmistakable satisfaction, that, yes, indeed, “Spring has arrived!”

It’s a Love/Hate Thing

Spring has the incredible smells and the vibrant greens of new growth. The birds remind us that tweeting isn’t just for social media. Yet, just because it’s not so dang cold out and there’s less snow to shovel and the days start getting longer doesn’t mean that you suddenly love to clean. Getting started can feel like climbing Mount Everest. Organization takes strategy as much as decision-making. Scrubbing is filthy and tiring. Dusting is meticulous and tiresome. Mopping is a footpath puzzle, followed by rooms being off-limits for 15 minutes at a time. It’s a love/hate thing, but with a clean, clutter-free living space, spring doesn’t just arrive. It belongs.

The Other Side of the Story

Or not. Maybe you hate spring, and know exactly what T.S. Eliot meant when he cast April as the cruelest month. Winter’s quiet is suddenly displaced and the world comes rushing at you. You probably don’t relish the idea of adding to the list of regular house chores. Yet, at the same time, you may rely on spring cleaning as a way of exorcising the anxious energy that the change of season can bring on.

The Many Faces of Spring Cleaning

No matter your disposition, we wanted to make things a little easier on your spring cleaning this year. And more than just spring cleaning as ritual, there’s a variety of situations that can take your ordinary deep spring clean to even new depths of decluttering, organization, and sanitation. Put another way, the rules and priorities are slightly different when you’re focused on a whole house declutter, seller staging, moving to a new place, or preparing for a major remodel. Needless to say, if you’re already prone to spring’s manic energy, this type of add-on stress can end up sending you over the edge. The good news? Storage doesn’t have to be part of this extra stress. Our free pickup, digital inventory, and on-demand return is just what you need this spring. Better yet, it’s available in locations all across the country.

Spring Cleaning Resources from Closetbox

With this in mind, here’s our first tip for a hassle-free project: Be prepared for storage! A lot of people see themselves as someone who would never use storage—until, that is, they need it. Highlight your available storage space for prospective buyers. Get out from years of clutter, while finding a way to save the dozen or so items that you still don’t have room for. Take stock of all that you own in preparation for moving this summer. Start with an empty basement space and see that hidden opportunity to add a home theater to your finished basement. Take out the non-essential items in your work shed so you can build the deluxe planter boxes for your backyard. Whatever your project is, look to our reasonably-priced, full-service storage when the time comes. Until then, check out our own collection of spring cleaning tips and resources:

Decluttering this Spring? Avoid an All-or-Nothing Approach with this Itemized List

Pack-rat or minimalist beware, it’s easy to fall into habits and patterns that get overgeneralized. From diatomaceous earth for bed bugs to the hair straightener you don’t use anymore to the fishing line you bought once to hang some wall décor to the plaque you were given in high school as part of the volleyball team, you’re going to have countless decisions. Avoid getting frustrated and taking an all-or-nothing approach.

The One Time it’s OK to Take it Easy with Your Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning doesn’t have to take up your weekend. As with our hassle-free storage pickup and on-demand returns, you can call in a little extra help. Looking for that extra spring clean feel but can’t find space in your schedule? Professional cleaning services are never a bad idea, but if you’re trying to sell your home, you’re probably already feeling the stress. This year may have excuse you need to treat yourself to a professional cleaning service.

Selling Your Owner-Occupied Home? How to Hope for the Best & Clean for the Worst

That said, it’s one thing to get a home in shape for staging services and open houses in an unoccupied property that you can show at any time and which requires only minimal follow-up cleans. If you’re trying to sell an owner-occupied home, it’s going to feel like spring cleaning is scheduled for every single weekend—and that’s pretty much the reality of the situation until the sale is made.

Is Spring Cleaning the Right Time for Your Basement Remodel?

Not all spring cleaning projects happen during spring. The right time to clean out your basement depends on a few different factors. From a DIY waterproofing test to designing the layout of your finished basement to creating a contractor-friendly workspace, discover smart ways to use your spring cleaning as a springboard to a better basement remodel.

E.B. White, Beloved Author, Reminds Us Clutter has been a Problem for, Like, Ever

It’s easy to suppose that our overly cluttered lives is a recent invention of hyper-consumerism, but long before infomercials and our keeping up culture, clutter still found its way into every nook and cranny of your living space. Even a sage like the author of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little found it difficult to organize, pare, and dispel the cascade of possessions that entered his life…and his world.

How to Remove Your Dirt (and Your Carbon) Footprint this Spring

Spring cleaning is, in many ways, a celebration of nature’s greening. Here’s the good news: You don’t have to use harmful chemicals with hidden environmental costs to get that “spring clean” feel in your home. The smallest changes to your cleaning regimen, combined with a few tips about when to use and not use vinegar around the home, can reduce your carbon footprint, while still getting to that next level of cleanliness.

Regional Spring Cleaning Resources

Spring cleaning is different in different parts of the country. This may sound obvious when you say it, but a lot of online advice for spring cleaning completely ignores, or barely mentions, these differences. Here’s a roundup of our local and regional articles for more climate-specific spring cleaning tips.

• Here are All the Extra Steps that Come with Spring Cleaning in New England
• The Midwest is Best, But Spring Cleaning is the Worst
• Don’t Miss Out on the Benefits of Professional Spring Cleaning in Portland
• What Professional Spring Cleaning has to Offer People in Chicago