"Spring Cleaning Boot Camp" Whips Homeowners Into Tip-Top Shape

MEMPHIS, TN--(Marketwired - March 10, 2016) - After a long winter, every homeowner wishes to spring into action, clean out the clutter and bring some much needed order to their homes before enjoying the start of spring. To whip homeowners into tidy shape, Merry Maids, the nation's largest home cleaning company, developed an easy-to-follow "Spring Cleaning Boot Camp" with expert-tested tips for spring cleaning one room at a time.

According to a recent Merry Maids survey, more than two-thirds (68 percent) of consumers consider spring cleaning an overwhelming chore. And while the vast majority of consumers (88 percent) believe their homes could always be a little cleaner, more than a third (35 percent) avoid cleaning the messiest rooms in their homes altogether.

"The most common cleaning challenge homeowners face is figuring out where to start," says Debra Johnson, Merry Maids home cleaning expert. "Having a set cleaning plan and breaking it up room-by-room makes tasks more manageable and may even help you clean areas you often ignore. Start with the Merry Maids Spring Cleaning Boot Camp checklist and customize a cleaning plan that fits your lifestyle, then prioritize the most important rooms and tasks to match your cleaning preferences."

The Merry Maids "Spring Cleaning Boot Camp" provides homeowners with a pre-planned cleaning routine to get homes clean one room at a time.

Bedroom

• Sprinkle baking soda on carpets and vacuum slowly.
• Wash bedspreads, mattress covers and duvets and flip your mattress before making the bed with fresh, clean linens, and don't forget to dust behind headboards.
• Sort closets and create a "keep" and "donate" pile for your clothes.

Living Room

• Start by removing all knick-knacks from tables and shelves, then thoroughly dust with a microfiber cloth.
• Launder or dry clean curtains, then dust windows, window sills, coffee tables and shelves.
• Wash or dry clean pillows and steam clean the remaining upholstery and carpeting. If steam cleaning seems daunting, a professional can help with that.

Kitchen

• Empty the refrigerator and wash shelves with warm, soapy water.
• Use dishwashing liquid and warm water to clean cabinet fronts, and degrease appliances with an all-purpose cleaner. Deodorize the garbage disposal with a half cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar mixed with hot water.
• Degrease the microwave by heating up half a lemon in hot water for 10 minutes, then wipe the grime away.

Bathroom

• Use a non-abrasive cleaning detergent to scrub the inside of the tub, toilet and sink.
• Wipe inside of cabinets, clean the mirror and toss old cosmetics and expired medicines.
• Steam clean or other floor cleaner to scrub the floor, restoring the true color of your bathroom tiles.

Overall House

• Do a walk-through of your entire home dusting all forgotten light fixtures and air vents. Sweep and organize the garage, patio and porch.
• Make sure every window and wall is scrubbed clean with an all-purpose cleaner and a microfiber cloth. Don't forget the overlooked spots -- doors, door handles, TV remotes, window sills, blinds, shutters, trash cans and baseboards.
• Change smoke detectors and carbon monoxide batteries (should be replaced every six months).

Use these tips to check each room off your spring cleaning checklist, so you can really start enjoying the season. Homeowners who don't have time to tackle their own spring cleaning, however, are not alone. In fact, nearly a third of consumers (30 percent) say hiring someone to help clean their home is more of a necessity than a luxury. If you fall into this category, count on your local Merry Maids team to create a customized cleaning plan for you and ensure a consistent, reliable and thorough cleaning process every time.

To find the nearest Merry Maids location, visit merrymaids.com. Stay up-to-date on the latest Merry Maids news and tips by visiting the company's Facebook page or following Merry Maids on Twitter.

About Merry Maids
Merry Maids is the largest home cleaning franchise network in the United States. Merry Maids provides services in 48 states and the District of Columbia through more than 470 company-owned locations and franchised outlets. The company also provides home cleaning services in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom and has licensing arrangements whereby licensees provide these services in Hong Kong, Japan, South America, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Australia. Through its company-owned and franchise locations, Merry Maids employs more than 8,000 home cleaning professionals that service homes on four continents, including more than 200,000 homes in North America every month. Merry Maids is a business unit of ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SERV), a leading provider of essential residential and commercial services. Go to www.merrymaids.com for more information about Merry Maids or follow us at twitter.com/MerryMaids and facebook.com/MerryMaids.

About ServiceMaster
ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SERV) is a leading provider of essential residential and commercial services, operating through an extensive service network of more than 8,000 company-owned locations and franchise and license agreements. The company's portfolio of well-recognized brands includes American Home Shield (home warranties), AmeriSpec (home inspections), Furniture Medic (furniture repair), Merry Maids (residential cleaning), ServiceMaster Clean (janitorial), ServiceMaster Restore (disaster restoration) and Terminix (termite and pest control). We serve residential and commercial customers through an employee base of approximately 13,000 company employees and a franchise network that independently employs an estimated 33,000 additional people. The company is headquartered in Memphis, Tenn. Go to www.servicemaster.com for more information about ServiceMaster or follow the company at twitter.com/ServiceMaster or facebook.com/ServiceMaster.

About the Merry Maids Survey
The 2014 Merry Maids Inside Dirt on Spring Cleaning Survey presents the findings of an online survey conducted by Toluna from March 19-21, 2014 among a sample of 1,022 adults in the U.S., comprising 483 men and 539 women 18 years of age and older. The margin of error for a sample of this size is ± 3 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence.