February Home Checklist

9 Things to Do Around Your Home This Month. Some maintenance tasks only need to be done once or twice a year.

The problem is that we forget to do them once or twice a year.

Or else, we tend to save it all for spring cleaning which makes spring cleaning such a daunting chore that it doesn’t occur, either.

Click here for a printable checklist.

The best plan is to break annual and seasonal home tasks down by month and attack them on a scheduled basis.

Nothing gets too backed up and things eventually get done. And without a major life overhaul.

I also found that concentrating on one room each month is more rewarding because you can really see results.

Here’s the schedule that has worked best for me:

1 Nesting Instinct.

Clean all bed linens, including comforters, duvets, bed skirts, pillows, etc.

Launder what you can; dry-clean the rest.

2 The Spin Cycle.

Fluff up down pillows with a short spin in the dryer (no heat, please).

3 On the Flip Side.

Turn the mattresses.

4 Linens & Things.

This is an especially good time to clean out your linen closet. Rotate little used linens and towels to the front lines. Launder everything.

5. Shelf Life.

Clean bookshelves. Take everything down and dust. Now consider very carefully what you return to the shelf.

Does it really deserve to be there? Or would it be happier in a second-hand bookstore?

6. By the Book.

Vacuum each book before you reshelf it using the vacuum cleaner’s soft brush attachment.

7. Clean Air Act.

Replace the filter in your heating unit.

8. Up Against the Wall.

Check walls for nail holes, blemishes, scuffs. Clean or repair.

9. Heavy Thoughts.

Get your beefy significant other to help you move all the large appliances out from the walls so you can vacuum behind and underneath them. Change the water filter for the fridge while you’re back there.