The Best Vintage Spring Cleaning Tips and Routines

Get some amazing vintage spring cleaning tips from housewives of the past and learn about their spring cleaning routines. They will help you get your house sparkling in no time.

Spring cleaning is a practice that has been around in some form for centuries. Many religions practice forms of spring cleaning like the cleaning before Passover in the Jewish faith.

There are also many good scientific reasons why we should spring clean. We tend to feel more energy and motivation in the spring months as compared to the winter months. 

Our houses have likely been closed up more during the winter months as well. While a well-sealed house will help our energy costs it also traps things we don’t want in our homes like dust, air pollution, and other pesty things that can interfere with our breathing.

Spring is a time to get some fresh air in our homes and give them a good clean to make our homes feel just as fresh and new as the outside world is starting to feel.

While a quick search on Pinterest will show you lots of spring cleaning tips and routines there is something often missing. We are forgetting a lot of the tried and true methods homemakers of the past used for generations.

Sure many are outdated, you don’t need to wax ashtrays anymore. (This was an actual tip I read in a 1950s magazine.) But many of the tasks have remained the same.

Spring cleaning was also more common in those days so it only makes sense that we could learn a lot from them. The first thing to talk about is getting prepared for our spring cleaning.

Preparing for Spring Cleaning

Make Time for Spring Cleaning

This can be one of the harder tasks when it comes to spring cleaning. You likely already have a busy schedule and trying to fit more in can be tough.

Sit down with your calendar and see how many things you can remove, at least for a couple of weeks. Maybe plan so easier meals or even a few more take-out meals. You can also likely skip a few normal cleaning tasks if you will be deep cleaning that area anyway. And be sure to ask your family to pitch in a bit as well. Maybe they can take on a few extra chores for a week or two. 

This is temporary and it’s okay to take a few shortcuts in other areas to give yourself more time. 

Related Post: Real Ways 1950s Housewives Saved Time

Decide on Your Spring Cleaning Tasks

Different homes will need to focus on different tasks. That’s why it’s so hard to follow the premade spring cleaning lists you find on the internet. They can have a lot of tasks that you don’t need to do and also excluded some that are important in your home.

Some tasks you’ll want to consider adding include- 

1. Go through your clothing. Donate things you no longer want, put away winter clothing, check clothing for stains and things that need to be mended. 
2. While your dressers and closets are empty give them a good clean.
3. Wash and store winter bedding and blankets.
4. Clean rugs.
5. Clean window coverings.
6. Clean walls.
7. Wash and wax woodwork.
8. Polish metal around the house, like faucets and doorknobs. 
9. Clean lampshades.
10. Clean ceiling fans and light fixtures. Replace bulbs if needed as well.
11. Steam clean carpets if needed.
12. Clean upholstery. 
13. Clean out the fireplace.
14. Clean out cupboards and cabinets. Don’t forget to pay attention to what needs to be replaced.
15. Wash windows and screens, fix any holes in screens.
16. Clean and defrost the freezer.
17. Deep clean appliances like oven, washing machine, dishwasher, and any others in need.
18. Clean out the dryer vent.

This is just a list to get you started. It’s also a good idea to take a walk around your home and take note of tasks that are in need of being done.

Be sure to also print of a spring cleaning checklist to make your spring cleaning easier.

Create Your Vintage Spring Cleaning Routine

Once you know what spring cleaning tasks you want to tackle you’ll need to schedule a time to clean. There are a lot of different types of routines you can try but until you know how much time you can schedule in it will be hard to pick a routine.

Be realistic with yourself on how much time all of your tasks will take and how much time you can spend each day. Once you know these details you can consider what kind of routine you’d like to follow.

Just like today, homemakers in the past also had different spring cleaning routines. Some cleaned a room each day, others did different tasks each day and did those tasks in every room before moving on.

If you’d like to try a really simple vintage cleaning routine you can try a 1940s spring cleaning routine that only involves dedicating one day a week to spring cleaning. 

Gather Your Supplies

Having all of your supplies and tools ready to go can help you save time with your spring cleaning. You don’t want to get in the middle of a task only to find you are missing some of the supplies you needed.

I like to go through all of my cleaning products and tools and make note of things I’m low on or out of and place a Grove Collaborative order. It’s so much easier than having to run out to the store to get my supplies.

The best part about Grove Collaborative is that you can get a free set of Mrs. Meyers cleaning products with your first order. It’s a great way to get stocked up and save money.

Other supplies I like to check are all the items I like to have for making lists and staying organized while I’m doing my spring cleaning.

I like to get these supplies from Erin Condren. Erin Condren has some great supplies that you can get even get in some cute vintage-style patterns.

I use my wall organization center to have a quick overview of my month and what I have going on. I also use my Erin Condren Lifeplanner to make sure my tasks are scheduled and I know what I’m doing each day.

Other supplies I like to have on hand from Erin Condren are notebooks, coil clips to add lists to my planner or notebooks, writing tools, stickers for organizing, and some notepads.

With all of these supplies and tools ready to go, I know I won’t be slowed down by needing to place orders or go shopping. 

Get it All Done

Once you have a schedule and all your supplies it’s time to get it done. If you find the schedule you start with isn’t working for you then adjust it! The biggest thing is that you get the tasks done. 

Don’t be afraid to ask for some help as well. If you aren’t the only one living in your home then you aren’t the only one that is responsible for its upkeep.

Vintage Spring Cleaning Tips

Before I start with my spring cleaning I love to read some vintage spring cleaning tips. I tend to find them in vintage magazines and you find some really great ones. They can also be motivating.

I have shared some of my favorite vintage spring cleaning tips on the blog so you can read them, enjoy them, and hopefully learn some great tricks for your spring cleaning this year.

• The Best Spring Cleaning Tips from 1950s Housewives
• The Best Spring Cleaning Tips from 1940s Housewives