March 2019

Spring is officially here! The weather is getting warmer and the sun is shining a little bit more, but we’re still not totally out of the clear for rainy days. Now is the perfect time for Evolve communities to take full advantage of a rainy weekend. What do April showers bring? A little extra time to clean! Check out these 5 tips for spring cleaning your apartment.

1. Make time to make it happen!

Consider what you’re working with—what’s the size of your apartment, and how much storage space do you have and use? Be realistic when figuring out how much time you need to set aside. For a small studio apartment, you may only need a day, but a larger apartment might require a full weekend or more!

2. Have cleaning supplies ready

There are few things worse than being in the middle of a good flow with your spring cleaning and suddenly realizing you’re missing a pivotal cleaning supply! If you have a full weekend of cleaning planned, make sure you’re stocked up on everything you need by the end of the week.

3. Get rid of things you don’t want or need

One of the best things about apartment life is having just enough space for the things that bring you happiness. However, that doesn’t mean that accumulating unnecessary stuff isn’t possible. If you’re familiar with Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, you’ll know she suggests moving through everything you own one category at a time, putting it all together in a massive pile, and asking yourself if each individual item brings you joy. This is especially useful for clothes and kitchen items!

Don’t be afraid to be brutally honest when it comes to your belongings. If something doesn’t bring you joy (not including tax forms!), it might be time to donate it to someone who could get a lot of happiness out of it. The more decisive you are, the quicker this process will be!

4. Throw in a load of laundry

This doesn’t just include dirty clothes. If you have curtains or rugs that can be machine washed, go ahead and throw them in. This is a good time for towels and bedding to be washed as well.

5. Clean, clean, clean!

Now that you’ve fully de-cluttered each room, the trunk of your car is (hopefully) loaded with items to donate, and the laundry is in, it’s time to pull out the cleaning supplies! Be sure to hit all of the usual spots, and don’t forget to clean the windows, dust all of the light bulbs, and clean the inside of the refrigerator and other kitchen appliances.

Last but not least—clean your floors! Vacuum, or if you really want to take it to the next level you can always rent a steam cleaner from a local hardware store. If you have hardwood-like flooring, give your apartment the mopping it deserves!

Turn on your favorite music to help keep you motivated, and your weekend project might actually end up being pretty fun! Knocking it out all at once is the best way to ensure everything gets done and dusted. Though spring cleaning may take some time, just keep in mind how light and refreshed you’ll feel when you’re finished!

Don’t forget that the Evolve Awards Ceremony is coming up this month! We had so much fun last year, so mark your calendars for April 11^th! Want to stay up to date with all of Evolve’s latest news? Like our page on Facebook to stay in the loop.