It’s Spring Cleaning Time!

With the nicer weather finally making an appearance, many of us are motivated to do some spring cleaning. It can be difficult during the short winter days to keep up with all the cleaning and organizing in the barn. It’s just too cold! And dark! And there are so many other things that need attention. Like shoveling snow and salting icy paths. Winter is a lot. But now that it’s getting nice out, it’s the perfect time to get cleaning!

Now that we’ve decided it’s time to catch up from winter, it can be overwhelming knowing where to start. I like to start with a list. That way everything is in black and white and you can check things off as you go. 

Cobwebs

I’m always surprised that the spiders are still around and active during the winter. But they are! Make sure to look up and clear all those cobwebs away! They can be a fire hazard. 

Wash stall fronts

Barns are closed up much of the winter and that means all the dust just settles everywhere without the nice airflow you get in the summer with the doors open. Now is the perfect time to clean away all that winter grime from the fronts of your stalls.

Wash walls in stalls

The horses have been rubbing their dirty selves on your walls all winter. Some might even poo on the walls. They drop feed on the wall where their bucket hangs. All of that mess just accumulates all winter, so now is a great time to get in there and scrub it all away.

Wash blankets

Those things are GROSS by the end of winter. Time to get them laundered and likely repaired.

Deep clean and condition tack

The cold, dry winter air is not great for leather. Now that it’s warm enough to submerge your hands in a bucket of water, it’s the perfect time to get that tack deep cleaned and then conditioned. Bonus- now it’s ready for show season too!

Clean the truck and trailer

Your poor truck has probably been exposed to lots of salt from the roads all winter. Best to get that cleaned off so it doesn’t corrode your undercarriage. That’s a lesson I learned the hard way. Twice. Don’t be like me. Wash your truck! And while you’re at it, get that trailer done too! Not a bad idea to clean out the insides of both vehicles too. I like to clean and disinfect the inside of the trailer as well as get a coat of wax on the outside. (After washing of course.)

Clean out and organize your trunk(s)

Let’s be honest, your trunk is probably a disaster by the end of winter. Just tossing stuff in there as you try to rush to get out of the barn in time for dinner. Now is a good time to empty your trunk out, give it a vacuum, and go through everything you just took out. Are your ointments, meds, liniments, etc stocked up? Have they expired? Take stock of what you have and then replace what you need to. One less thing to worry about when you have to pack for a show!

Clean and organize the tack room

If you think the stall fronts were dusty, check out the tack room! All those dirty boots in and out all winter. Give that room a sweep or a vacuum, and then give it all a good scrub. Go through your tack and make sure nothing is in disrepair. Get all that hair off those stinky saddle pads, and throw them all in the wash! 

Clean and organize the feed room

Get that floor cleaned up, dust off the shelves. Clean up all that dropped grain before the rodents move in, grateful for the free buffet. Go through all the supplements and meds. Get rid of anything you’re not feeding anymore or is expired. Replenish what’s low. Make sure your feed board is up to date with what you horses are ACTUALLY eating now and not what they were getting six months ago. 

That’s the main list of things to do. You can add “bathe all the horses” to the list too, but let’s be real about that… They’re going to go roll in the spring mud anyway, so you can put that off until last. 

After you’ve gone through all of your things, if anything needs replacing, our TurnoutHQ Marketplace is a great place to get what you need!