Spring Cleaning? Don’t Forget Your Entryway!

While it seems like the kind of thing Madison Avenue may have invented in the 50s to sell cleaning supplies, spring cleaning actually first began in the mid-1800s. And as it turns out, there was a very important reason that it happened each spring.

At the time, people warmed their homes by burning wood and coal, which means everything inside the house got covered in soot during the winter. So, as the weather warmed up and the need for daily fires waned, homeowners would take the opportunity to clean everything. 

Of course, we don’t have to do this in the modern world. You can make your home spic-and-span anytime you like. But many people continue to perform deep cleanings once winter is over. In fact, the American Cleaning Institute reports that a staggering 80% of households still perform a spring cleaning every year. 

But the problem is that many people forget an important portion of their homes while cleaning: their entryways. This is a shame, as your entryway is the first thing people see when visiting your home. 

To help, we’ll share some tips for sprucing up your entryway this spring. 

Seven Steps for Making Your Entryway Sparkle While Spring Cleaning

Sprucing up your entryway is a relatively low-effort, high-payoff step that you should consider adding to your yearly to-do list. It’ll not only make your entrance way more attractive to visitors, but you’ll appreciate it every time you return home too. 

For the best results, try to embrace the following seven entryway-cleaning steps:

1. Schedule your entryway-cleaning project first.  

It can be tempting to start cleaning bathrooms, closets, and other areas of your home first, but Martha Stewart’s crew recommends starting with the entryway. The reason is pretty simple, too: You want to focus on the guest-facing areas of your home first. 

By prioritizing your entryway and the other highly visible portions of your home (such as the foyer and living room), you won’t have to panic if you run out of time during your spring-cleaning session and don’t have a chance to clean everything. So, gather up the supplies you’ll need to clean your entryway and set up shop there first.

Speaking of the supplies you’ll need… 

2. Assemble your supplies ahead of time. 

Gathering all of the supplies you’ll need is an important first step for any job, including cleaning your entryway. It’s not only good for your morale (nothing is worse than having to stop what you’re doing to go track down supplies you forgot), but it also saves time. 

Every entryway is unique, so you’ll have to tailor your exact supply list to your situation. However, the following items make a good starting point:

• Paper towels (or microfiber cloths, if you’d like to be more eco-friendly)

• A broom and dustpan

• A feather duster (or similar)

• Glass cleaner

• Squeegee 

• Bucket of soapy water (for wood or painted doors)

• Mild vinegar solution (for fiberglass doors)

• Sponge

• Garden hose

• Safety glasses (you don’t want chemicals getting into your eyes)

• Latex or non-latex gloves

You may even need a vacuum or shop vac in some cases, as well as a trash bag if you’re using paper towels.  Also, be sure that you always test cleaning products on inconspicuous places first. That way, if any discoloration or damage occurs, it’ll be easier to hide. 

3. Organize and declutter the area. 

Before you put on the gloves and start actually cleaning, take a few moments to declutter your entryway. This will help things start to look neater, and it’ll also give dirt and debris fewer places to cling (not to mention, it’ll help reduce the number of spiders and other creepy crawlies living in these areas). 

Have a dead plant that you’ve been meaning to discard or replace? Now’s the time. Doormat wearing out? Go ahead and pitch it. Shoes, umbrellas, and other items starting to accumulate in the area? Use this time to put them in the proper place. 

And although it’s not really “decluttering,” now is the perfect time to go ahead and replace that lightbulb that stopped working a month ago. 

4. Get rid of loose dust, dirt, and debris. 

With cleaning supplies assembled, you can now begin the actual cleaning process. Start by using the feather duster or broom to get rid of particulate matter in the entryway (make sure that you put on your safety glasses before you start kicking up a lot of dust). 

Start at the top and work your way down, and don’t forget to check the corners where the walls meet the overhanging ceiling (if present). These areas often develop cobwebs, which are not only unsightly, but also magnets for debris. Once you reach the bottom of the doors and surrounding walls, brush all the dust into your yard or collect it in a dustpan. 

It’s worth noting that you could use a leaf blower instead of a broom or duster to deal with dirt and debris. However, caution is warranted: The high-speed air may cause tiny particles to damage the finish of your front door. 

5. Deep clean the door and windows. 

With all of the surface stuff eliminated, it’s time to start deep cleaning the door and any windows present. It’s usually a good idea to clean the doors themselves first and then move on to any windows that are present (especially if the windows are actually built-in to your doors). 

If your door is made from wood, you’ll want to use soapy water and a sponge to clean it; a vinegar solution is a better choice for fiberglass doors. 

In either case, use a light touch, so that you don’t damage your door’s finish. Be patient when dealing with stubborn spots and avoid scrubbing too vigorously. Once you’ve wiped the door down, rinse it well but avoid using more water than you need to. Dry the door with a microfiber cloth once you’re finished.  

With the door finished, you can now clean the windows. Large windows are easy to wipe down with a squeegee, but smaller windows may not provide enough room for the squeegee to fit. In these cases, you can use some newspaper to clean the windows in streak-free fashion. 

6. Inspect your door, windows, and door frame for damage.

By this point, your door and overall entryway should be pretty neat and clean, which makes this the perfect time to perform a crucial maintenance task: You need to inspect your door and door frame for any signs of wear and tear or damage. By being proactive, you can make repairs before problems worsen and potentially make your door last for much longer. 

A few of the things you’ll want to make sure to inspect include:

• Inspect any glass that’s present for crack or chips

• Make sure that the door seal and weather stripping are in good condition

• Check to make sure the screws are all properly seated

• Inspect all the hardware 

• Apply an appropriate lubricant to hinges and other moving parts

• Look for peeling or cracking paint

Go ahead and replace or otherwise address anything you find that’s not in good condition. This may add quite a bit of time to your spring cleaning project (especially if you have to repaint or refinish your door), but it will be well worth the effort. 

7. Add some attractive accents.

Now that you’ve put in all the hard work to get your entryway and door clean, you can have some fun – it is time to redecorate your entryway and add some attractive accessories! 

You could, for example, add a new doormat to the entryway. You could hang a door knocker, clavo, or strap directly on the door. You could swap out the hardware to give your door a new look. You could use live or artificial plants to frame the door or even add an outdoor chair or sofa to the entryway if you have enough room to do so. 

Your imagination and budget are truly the only limiting factors, so take some time to think about your ideal entryway and get to work!

Knockety Front Doors: The Centerpiece of Any Entryway

The steps discussed above will help make any entryway look better, but nothing will make an entryway look as inviting as a premium Knockety front door. Whether you prefer contemporary, craftsman, or wrought-iron styling, we have a front door that’ll work great for your home.