The arrival of spring means many things: warmer weather, longer days, flowers in bloom — and spring cleaning. The season of new beginnings, spring is the perfect time to scrub, organize, and declutter.
For your onsite teams, spring cleaning is an opportunity to tidy up the grounds, refresh landscaping, and improve curb appeal before the spring and summer leasing season kicks into high gear.
But spring cleaning isn’t just for property staff. Get your residents on board by launching a community-wide event to promote spring cleaning. While your employees focus on sprucing up common areas, your residents can clean and organize their individual apartments. Here’s how to get everyone involved.
1. Designate a specific day or weekend
Make spring cleaning official. Select a specific day or weekend, and designate it as your community’s spring cleaning event, such as Spring Cleaning Saturday or the Parkside Apartments Spring Clean-a-Thon. Having a dedicated event can foster a shared mission and encourage your residents to participate.
2. Get the word out
Give your residents a chance to get ready. Spread the news of your upcoming event and let residents know what resources will be available.
Hang flyers in the leasing office, fitness center, elevators, and other common areas. Include a reminder in your community newsletter and post about it on your social media channels.
To boost participation and gauge how many people are taking part, give residents a way to RSVP. You can create an online event through your social media channels or offer a signup list in the leasing office.
3. Share tips on decluttering
Spring cleaning isn’t just about scrubbing down countertops and mopping the floor. It’s also the perfect time for residents to declutter and organize their space.
Help inspire your residents by sharing tips and best practices in common areas. Post flyers in common areas with ideas from organizational gurus like Marie Kondo — or include best practices in your resident email newsletter.
4. Hand out useful supplies
No supplies? No problem. Make it easy for residents to participate. Head to your nearest wholesale store, and stock up on useful cleaning supplies, like sponges, spray bottles, and rubber gloves. For residents who RSVP, provide a cleaning kit, as supplies last.
5. Load up on trash and recycling bins
Prepare your waste removal strategy. Put out extra garbage and recycling bins in convenient locations to make it easy for residents to dispose of their trash.
When everyone cleans on the same day or weekend, trash and recycling can pile up. The extra bins will help avoid overflows of trash and recycling, keeping your apartments — and exterior community spaces — clean and tidy.
6. Arrange a donation pick-up
One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. As residents sort through their belongings, not all items will need to go straight to the landfill. Partner with local charities to reduce waste and support families in need.
Gently used clothing, surplus furniture, and nonexpired food items are just what local charities look for. Partner with a nearby nonprofit, thrift store, or food bank to donate the items to others in your local community. For example, the nonprofit Move for Hunger works with multifamily communities nationwide to redirect usable pantry items like canned goods to families with food insecurity.
To streamline the process, place donation drop-off bins in accessible common spaces. Or, ask residents to drop off their donations to the leasing office by a specific time and day. After the event ends, arrange for a local charity to come to your community to pick up these donations.
7. Wrap up with a social hour
Give residents something to look forward to. Wrap up your spring cleaning with a fun social event. Invite residents to the clubhouse for drinks and snacks after their long day of scrubbing and organizing. This will not only help them relax and unwind, but they’ll also get a chance to reconnect with neighbors after being cooped up all winter.
8. Host a before-and-after contest on social media
There’s nothing like before-and-after photos to tell the story of a successful spring cleaning. Encourage residents to share photos and videos of their apartment transformations. Reshare these pics to your community’s social media channels, and award a gift card or small prize to the winner.
Looking for more ideas?
Resident events are a great way to foster a sense of community and boost retention. Check out these ideas for more activities to add to your community calendar:
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