Tips for Cleaning Your House from Top to Bottom
Every once in a while, you have to clean your house from top to bottom, no matter how much you hate this chore. Yes, it can be hard, boring and tedious, but simply needs to be done as a complete house clean-up will rejuvenate your living space, make it fresh and welcoming. Before starting, make a thorough plan and write down know what needs to be done. Here are a few tips that might help you.
Make a Strategy
Not many people know that there is more than one way to clean a house – most of them, accustomed to cleaning from room to room, just pick a vacuum cleaner and begin in whichever room comes first. Others state that this is the wrong way to go: focusing on one room at a time wastes tons of energy and time, and is thus counterproductive.
Instead of that, pick the alternative, a.k.a. task cleaning. This way, you’ll complete one chore – dusting, vacuuming, cleaning wooden surfaces, sweeping floors, etc. – in all rooms and then move onto the next one, doing a much more comprehensive job than completing them all in separate rooms. Ultimately, you can choose to clean literally from top to bottom – starting with your ceilings, continuing with windows, closets, toilets and beds, and finishing with floors.
What to Tackle First?
Depending on which strategy you choose, you can start at different spots of the house – and whether you begin in the living room or the bedroom makes a huge difference. Probably the most sensible idea is to start with the bathroom, though: you can leave your supplies here and transform this area into your house-cleaning headquarters. And since you can clean a small bathroom within an hour, you won’t waste too much energy at the very beginning.
Cleaning bathrooms is easy, even if you want to deep-clean it – just scrub every surface you see, from the faucet to the bathtub, and make sure you do it as meticulously as possible. Focus on mildew, soap scum and other problems characteristic for a bathroom, if you want to make sure you’ve done a good job. Finally, declutter it and get rid of all the items you’re not using any more and throw shower curtains, bathmats and rugs into the washing machine.
The Hardest Part
Very few people love house cleaning, but even less enjoy cleaning their kitchen. This might be the toughest area in the house because it’s so complex, layered and detailed, but it has to be the cleanest because this is where you eat and where your children’s immune system is tested the most. As kitchen will probably take the most of your time, try to be as efficient as possible.
First, spray proper cleaning supply on all your surfaces – cabinets, countertops, stoves, fridges, etc. – and, while waiting for it to work its magic, move onto some of the more unnoticeable surfaces. Cleaning a microwave, for instance, takes just a few minutes, but is extremely important. The same goes for the inside of your fridge and the inside of your cabinetry. Once these are done, move back to countertops and other surfaces, and wipe them down.
The Most Ignored Parts
When cleaning a big house, it’s easy to omit something. The majority of people forget their outdoor areas, for example, thinking that these somehow don’t need cleaning. But, the roof, deck, patio and back yard need as much attention as your kitchen or bathroom. That’s why you need to clean the roof with a hose, take care of blocked drains and steam-clean your patio at least once a month during spring and summer. Your lawn can become seriously neglected too and you may only realize this right before you want to host people in your back yard. One thing you could do come spring time is get a local expert, like the team at this florida lawn care company, to come and visit your lawn and see if there are any treatments that could really bring it back to life and looking beautiful come outdoor season.
Ultimately, address the less frequently used parts of your home such as the pantry, walk-in closet and laundry room. As these areas are usually small and not that hard to clean, leave them for the end, but don’t forget the garage, attic and basement – luckily, cleaning these once a year will suffice.
Get Some Help
Asking for help while cleaning the entire house is always good – involve your children and spouse, use high-pressure vacuum cleaner and the best supplies you can afford. Keep in mind that cleaning is also a great exercise, so there’s an additional benefit to it, too!
