The clean-up roundup: everything you need for spring cleaning your daily and digital life

What do you need to clean and organize in your life

Home cleaning organization

Tackling a deep home cleaning requires organization and preparation to make sure you cleanse all the corners of your home. To start, create an organized checklist, listing all the areas that need to be cleaned. Divide your home into different zones:

• Zone 1: Kitchen and dining room
• Zone 2: Living room, foyer, and front porch
• Zone 3: All bathrooms
• Zone 4: All bedrooms

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Sectioning your home into different zones helps you map out all the areas you need to clean. It clarifies what your cleaning list will entail as you delineate the tasks you need to do in each zone. Create a cleaning list of your tasks with OneNote or Excel to help you track progress when you begin cleaning. After outlining what you need to clean, make sure you’re stocked up on all necessary cleaning supplies—window cleaner, bleach powder, rubber gloves, toilet bowl cleaner, paper towels, dusters, and other cleaning items you may need. Before you get started with your deep clean, get rid of any other unwanted items cluttering the house.

A successful house cleaning is dependent on your ability to stay productive. Make cleaning fun and less daunting by trying these tips:

• Play music while you clean.
• Use the zone-cleaning method to make the cleaning process easier.
• Take breaks.
• Get some help from your family members and friends.

Learn more cleaning tips and tricks by following this spring cleaning checklist.

Digital cleaning tips

Clean your inbox

Your email inbox is likely the environment most prone to clutter in your digital life. Try these cleaning tips for your inbox to cut down, organize, and simplify the emails in your inbox:

• File clutter for different clients, assignments, quarters, or whatever form of organization works best.
• Block phishing scams, unwanted email accounts, and filter spam to compress any unwanted email inflow.
• Set up automatic Out of Office (OOO) replies when you are not in the office.
• Create custom rules to only allow certain contacts to send you information.
• Use Delay Delivery to schedule emails outside of scheduled work hours or for a specific delivery time.

Delete any unused applications

Check your computer, phone, and tablet for any apps you don’t use. Delete any unwanted apps from your devices. You can also run a disk clean-up to help comb through extraneous files.

Organize and back up photos

Storage space on your devices can be stuffed with photos. Upload older photos to OneDrive or purchase an external hard drive to save your photos.

Protect your computer

Make sure the security of your computer is intact. Review old passwords to ensure they’re unique and secure. Antivirus software is also a must to protect your computer from viruses and malware.

Learn more ways to clean your digital space with this digital decluttering checklist.

Clean your computer

• Wipe down your computer screen. Use a dry cloth to remove dust, and then lightly dampen a cloth to remove any residue on your computer screen.
• Use a can of compressed air to clean crumbs from your keyboard and then follow up by wiping it down with a cloth, isopropyl alcohol, and cotton swabs.
• Clean your mouse by wiping it down with isopropyl alcohol.
• Dust the inside of your laptop by powering down your laptop, unscrewing the bottom panel, and removing the battery for safety. Before you begin, make sure removing the bottom panel of your computer doesn’t void your warranty. Try using a can of compressed air, blowing out air slowly and in a controlled manner, directing dust to flow outside of your computer. Removing dust build-up is important because excessive dust build-up can lead to cooling issues and overheating.

Keep your hardware and software clean with more tips on how to clean your computer.

Spring cleaning your digital and daily life doesn’t have to be difficult when you have the right tools to declutter and organize your life. To keep your life refreshed, learn more organization tips and tricks.