Spring cleaning should be on the top of your to-do list. As a newlywed, you are in the springtime of your relationship, when everything is new and all the flowers are blooming. While your relationship is just beginning to blossom, your home might still need freshening. Spring cleaning is a chance to have your home catch up to your marriage. In other words, spring cleaning will help you create a post-wedding home, free of clutter, and ready for a couple that is moving forward with the future.
1. Step One – Get organized after the wedding.
After the wedding, your home sometimes looks like a bomb hit, especially if you had people over to take pictures or help you get ready. You might also have pictures, video, and your wedding attire lying around. Now is the time to frame your favorite photos and put them on display, get your dress and suit cleaned and properly stored, and straighten up in general. A to-do list of household chores specifically for newlyweds can help you determine just what you need to do.
2. Step Two – Take inventory of your wedding gifts.
Newlyweds receive lots of gifts, and they often move from one home to another, sometimes even to different cities entirely, as they begin their married life. The spring is as perfect a time as any to open all those boxes, determine if you received any doubles from your wedding registry that require returning or exchanging, heading to the stores to take care of those items, and putting away all that you are keeping. If you have items that can’t be returned or exchanged you could give them to friends and family who might need them or you can sell them on e-bay or at a garage sale. Properly use all the money you gain from your wedding, so that you complete your home and organize your personal finances.
3. Step Three - Open all those boxes.
If you have moved or are in the process of moving, you should begin opening up the boxes and transferring your stuff to your new home. You don’t want to end up eating on brown boxes and having clutter all over the place. Help each other and it won’t take as long. Of course, you'll want to scrub the new place before you start making it your own. Whip out the cleaning products and get to work. The zen of an organized home will help you focus on things that really matter like spending time with one another.
4. Step Four - Pick up the laundry and wash it.
Often, at least one spouse – sometimes both – have the bad habit of leaving dirty clothes or wet towels on the floor of either the bedroom or the bathroom. Get into the habit of picking up the laundry and putting it in a hamper and washing it at least once a week. If you start doing this from the beginning, the messier spouse is more likely to catch on.5. Step Five - Do the usual cleaning.
Dusting, vacuuming, washing floors, and scrubbing the kitchen and bathrooms should already be part of your routine. During the spring – and any other time of year – those chores have to get done. If you do a little each day, you won’t feel overwhelmed. But some people prefer to spend one full day focusing on cleaning, and that’s okay, too. Just do whatever works best for you.
6. Step Six - Tackle big jobs.
Make the start of spring the time of year that you will do big chores that you don’t do all the time. For example, you could have your drapes dry cleaned, clean the chandelier, scrub the oven, clean out your refrigerator, wax the floors, clean the rugs, etc.7. Step Seven - Clean up your relationship.
Once your house is whipped into shape, you can take the time to check in with one another and set the foundation for a long and happy marriage. First, open the lines of communication and make it clear that they’ll always be open. Second, determine how you are going to divide the daily and weekly household chores. Third, discuss any issues that are bothering you. Nipping problems in the bud and always checking in with each other is a great way to keep your marriage fresh.
