Our (Free) Spring Cleaning Program Starts Today—Sign Up Now!

With Spring Cleaning for Your Mood, we’re helping you get your housekeeping done no matter what state of mind you’re in. For 20 weekdays in April, we’ll focus on cleaning a new area of your space, with three different ways to get it done—so it’s easy to stay on track even when you’re busy, tired, or away from home. Sign up with your email now and enjoy a better space by the end of the month.

Yes, it’s that time of year. But no, you don’t need to regard your spring cleaning to-do list with dread. Because we want to help you get it all done, in just a month, without sacrificing your life or your well-being.

This year, Apartment Therapy is digging in on seasonal housekeeping with Spring Cleaning for Your Mood: a free, guided 20-day plan that makes spring cleaning easier than ever.

1. Sign up for email updates, and we’ll send you an email every weekday morning (until April 26) with that day’s spring cleaning assignment.
2. You decide how you’re feeling: Are you up for a satisfying deep dive to get your space sparkling? A quick win you can check off your list in 10 minutes? Or do you need a low-lift mindful reset today, to keep you committed to your home without hardly lifting a finger?
3. Find the specific assignment that suits your mood, and get going!

No matter what you choose, at the end of the month you’ll have a cleaner, happier space you can be proud of.

Here’s the thing: I’m not the clean police. I’m not going to tell on you if you choose the path of least resistance every day. This year, the Apartment Therapy spring clean is all about three things: honesty, grace, and progress. Be honest with yourself about how you’re feeling and what you can get done; give yourself the gift of getting more done on the days when you can muster it. But also grant yourself some grace for those days when other priorities—your family, your work, your health—get top billing over cleaning. And above all else, remember that this is about progress, not perfection. If your home is cleaner at the end of the month than it was at the beginning, you’ve aced it.

So let’s not waste another second and jump in with Day 1’s spring cleaning assignment…

Your kitchen is your home’s hardest working space. While it’s a usual target of your daily or weekly clean sweeps, when you’re doing spring cleaning, you have a good excuse to hit it a little harder.

So what are you in the mood for today?

If you’re feeling good about getting started, why not jump in with both feet? Take all the time you can today to get your kitchen in top shape for the year ahead. Here’s a quick list of things you might want to do:

• Vacuum under and behind your appliances, including the fridge coils
• Thoroughly clean and disinfect your kitchen hot spots: faucet, cabinet and appliance handles, light switches, trash can and recycling bin, utensil crock
• Pull everything out of your cutlery drawer and most-used utensil drawer(s), vacuum inside and clean the drawer organizer or caddy
• Take everything off the counters before cleaning and, if needed, applying a sealer. Wipe things down before placing them back on the counters.
• Wipe down the sink and backsplash, giving extra attention to stubborn marks or discolored grout as needed

If you don’t have time or energy for a full deep clean today, I want you to focus on the most impactful spots that aren’t normally cleaned up in your daily routine. For many people, that will be the faucet, cabinet fronts, and the handles on your cabinets and appliances.

• Wipe down your faucet. Use a rag wrapped around a butter knife or chopstick to get into nooks and creases.
• Then clean your cabinet fronts, cabinet handles, and appliance handles with a disinfecting, all-purpose cleaner.

We’re going to get a bit meditative with this one: Close your eyes or just sit quietly and imagine walking yourself through a typical day, from the moment you wake up until you go to bed. Are there any “waiting” moments when you’re in or near the kitchen? (Think about that handful of seconds while you’re waiting for your coffee to brew, or for the microwave to beep.) Once you’re able to identify a moment in your day like this, think about what you would need to turn that waiting moment into a cleaning moment. Would it help if there was a tray with cleaning supplies ready on the counter? Do you need a reminder taped to the front of the microwave, just until it’s a habit? Figure out what’s holding you back and take action on it as soon as you can.

Visit the Spring Cleaning for Your Mood page to check out all the assignments so far. Download the PDF calendar so you always know what’s coming. And sign up with your email so you’re always on track: