mellbee
congratulations on your new home! The list can go on..lol

I personally start from the ceiling down. I clean on top of all the doors, I wash down all the moldings..vacuum any cobwebs on ceilings, then head to all the windows. I usually wipe down the walls with a damp large sponge. Any window treatments that are machine washable, gets washed..the others make a trip to the dry cleaner. All closets get emptied, cleaned, throw out what we don't need..give clothes away that doesn't fit... These are the things that we normally do not do in our everyday cleaning routines. I do try to keep on top of these chores every four months, so it does not get over loaded (except the dry cleaning) I usually do one room at a time. The rest is just regular cleaning that we do often.

did I make your head spin?? lol
Happy Spring!
Ree

I do all the above also. Inside and outside. The mini blinds get wiped down often, but at least twice a year, I take them down, haul outside, hang the top rail over the clothes line, and spray them down with 'the scrubbing bubbles' and rinse with the hose and let drip dry. After I clean my windows inside and out, I spray Rain-X on them and it helps them stay cleaner longer and I just do that each spring. Its the same thing I use on the car. It's when I am on the cleaning mission, that I still miss my Rainbow vacuum cleaner.

You might be interested in the FlyLady system of cleaning. Essentially she doesn't do a "spring cleaning" but rather works everything in on a rotating schedule. Naturally there's extra chores depending on the season but not the massive top-to-bottom house cleaning since you're continually doing a portion of the house every week and move on to another section. I thought her ideas were motivating. I don't follow everything and don't get the reminder emails, although I made a cleaning list from the reminders for little 15 min chores that need to be done on occasion.

This is similar in concept to the way my cousin painted his house. Every year he painted one side of it. His philosophy was that although the job is never finished, it's only 1/4 the work and thereby not so overwhelming, always looked pretty good, wasn't as weather-critical and was easier to do the job.

To each their own.

Here is a link that might be useful: Flylady

I tried painting my kitchen one wall at a time over four days. It worked!

I agree with your brother, cynic. I lived for 22 years in a big house that I scraped and painted one side at a time. So much easier that way. I didn't do the rotation every year, though, just every few years, or sooner if one side needed it. It always looked good.

I'm so happy not to have to do that any more! And though I know that it is a good idea to have a system inside, too, I don't. I tackle whatever project needs it at the time, without a system. I like Flylady, but I'm have no discipline for that kind of stuff.

I looked at the Flylady site and I guess I'm living in chaos. I also guess that really isn't going to change. I usually keep at list of spring cleaning and tackle things one at a time weather permiting. I like this one from Woman's Day magazine. I admit I don't do everything on the lists for spring cleaning, but I do some of the chores other times of the year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Spring Cleaning Checklist

I was going to say to try Flylady.net. She says if you follow her tips you'll never have to spring clean. I'm trying but I seem to be doomed to be disorganized! The site is free and she's got lots of great ideas.