How to Clean Your Entire House, Top to Bottom
UPDATED: I wrote this article before the pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus, was upon us. This article is by no means meant to sanitize or disinfect but how to clean your house.
Spring cleaning is upon us! That's the time of year when we do the baseboards, back splashes, and grout cleaning. We get into the cracks, corners, and crevices where things have been sitting but we haven't had time to get to them.
Instead of giving you a major list of all the spaces that could possibly be in your home, I'm going to give you a quick list of how to tackle your house for the times you aren't doing those deep cleans. Doing your weekly cleans will help to minimize the amount you have to do in those deep cleans too!
A while back I came across someone who cleaned differently than I did. You see, I was going into each room and cleaning it then going to the next room and cleaning it. She was cleaning the entire house all at once. She cleaned by surface instead of by room. Cleaning the entire house instead of room by room has been a much more effective use of my time. It seemed so counter-intuitive when I started as I used to always clean room by room. You are working top to bottom: think "ceiling to floor" as well as "top floor to bottom floor." Then you are working left to right: starting in a corner of the house and working left to right or clockwise depending on the layout of your home.
Here's what it looks like in my home.
Step 1: TIDY
Put all things away, including dishes. This can happen more easily if you have a mostly tidy home. Go ahead and do the dishes first. Then the stack on the stairs, on the table, and by the door. If you are keeping up with these things daily it shouldn't take much time at all.
Step 2: DUST
Using whatever tool you'd like, dust your home starting in one room working around from left to right. Be sure to pick up those knick knacks to get the tops of shelves and the mantle. Less knick knacks, less picking up and less dusting.
Step 3: MIRRORS
A quick spray, a thorough wipe, and on to the next mirror until all the mirrors in the home are cleaned. (This is not sponsored but I love a good Norwex glass cloth. Just use water and wipe. Beautiful!)
Step 4: COUNTERS & SINKS
Let the kitchen be first, clear the countertops, spray the counters and sink, wipe, and replace items to the counter. Move on to the bathrooms doing the same: clear, spray, wipe, replace.
Step 5: TOILETS, SHOWERS, & TUBS
Start with putting cleaner on each of these surfaces in the entire home. By the time you get to the end you are ready to clean the first surface you put cleaner on. Don't be afraid to use some good elbow grease to be sure to get those hard places. The more often you clean these areas, the easier they are to clean.
Step 6: SWEEP & VACUUM
I'm a fan of sweeping hardwood, laminate, and tile. There is just something about moving a broom across a floor that I love. And the lines a vacuum makes on carpet? Yes, please! A good rule of thumb here is for every person that lives in your home, that is how many times a week you should sweep and vacuum. Just you? Easy, once a week. You and a roommate? Twice a week should do it. You, a spouse, 2 kids, and a dog? 5 times a week. At that point, a once over every day would be a good habit to build.
Step 7: MOP
Find the best product for the type of floor that you will be mopping, get a good mop, and go to town! This is another area of the home that is easier the more often you do it. And remember to spot mop when there are big spills.
Step 8: FINISH
The last step to any project is to finish. That might sound silly but one reason people find themselves disorganized is that they simply do not finish what they started. So how do you do finish cleaning your house after it's all cleaned? Put all your cleaning supplies away - cleaning solutions, brushes, vacuum, mop, etc. Throw your dirty rags in the wash. Take out your trash. Replace any furniture that you moved along the way.
I hope this simple 8 step process helps you to get through cleaning your home in a more efficient way. It sure has helped me.
What other tips would you suggest?