Like good leadership, effective housekeeping starts from the top down. While you could dive head first into house cleaning without a game plan, ordering your operations saves you time and energy. Professional housekeepers prefer cleaning from top to bottom to ensure that newly cleaned spaces are undisturbed by new dirt as the house cleaning process progresses. They also use eco-friendly, non-allergenic cleaning supplies that are easy on people and the planet. When you need your house cleaned with speed, follow these eight steps in this order.
1. Conduct Pre-Cleaning Activities
The one thing that can slow down your house cleaning progress faster than your favorite sports team’s game on television is clutter. Before taking on cleaning tasks such as dusting, surface disinfecting, and mopping, you should clear away items on floors and counters that you don’t need right away. Not only do these items get in the way of cleaning, but they can distract you or your helper from working.
Some cleaning chores can be done while you’re working on other tasks. Save more time by stripping beds of linens and starting a load of laundry before house cleaning. Load and start your dishwasher. Apply cleaning products to these items first to ensure that later cleaning and disinfecting tasks are as easy as a few wipes.
- Kitchen counters
- Sinks
- Showers
- Toilets
- Tubs
2. Dust
Dust is a major cause of allergies and respiratory irritation in today’s homes. Eliminate dust on surfaces by working top to bottom and left to right with a dry microfiber cloth. If you have ceiling fans or overhead light fixtures, you’ll want to remove dust from those surfaces first. Make sure to wipe down the top of high shelves and other furnishings, since dust accumulates unnoticed in these places. When it comes to cleaning sprays for dusting, simple is best. A dry microfiber cloth is very effective in most cases.
3. Clean Fabric Furnishings
After dusting overhead light fixtures and shelves, it’s almost certain that some dust landed on your home’s cloth furniture. Use a vacuum extension tool to pick up dust and stray crumbs on fabric sofas and chairs. Put fresh linens on beds.
4. Clean Mirrors and Glass
Windows and mirrors play an important role in how light-filled your living space looks. Wipe them down with an all-purpose glass cleaner to make them sparkle as they should. When looking for the best cleaning supplies for mirrors and glass, you don’t have to settle for the chemically laced blue stuff of the past. Make your mirrors and glass sparkle with an effective cleaning solution that doesn’t disrupt hormones or cause cancer. Kristin Marr, owner of Living Simply blog, shares an inexpensive glass cleaner recipe that contains these three simple ingredients.
- Distilled white vinegar
- Rubbing alcohol
- Distilled water
5. Clean Surfaces
You’ll thank yourself for clearing clutter earlier in the process when you get to the surface cleaning phase of your housekeeping chore. Spray your favorite cleaning solution on surfaces and wipe clean. If needed, disinfect surfaces such as tables, chairs, and counters. Make sure to focus on high-touch areas such as light fixtures, switches, and television remote controls.
6. Tackle Kitchen and Bathroom Dirt
Wipe down pre-treated surfaces in your kitchen and bathrooms. Don’t forget to clean hidden surfaces, such as the inside of your microwave and your toaster crumb tray as well as high-touch surfaces such as appliance and cabinet doors. Unload your dishwasher.
7. Sweep and Mop Floors
Sweep hard-surface floors to pick up loose dirt before damp mopping. Scrub bathroom floors around hard-to-reach areas such as toilets and freestanding sinks. An easy and safe floor cleaning protocol involves mixing hydrogen peroxide with warm water, mopping floors with the solution, and letting surfaces air dry. Hydrogen peroxide kills many types of germs and bacteria.
8. Vacuum the House
The last step before crossing the finish line in your cleaning marathon is vacuuming your carpeted floors. Experts suggest that you start upstairs and vacuum your way out of each room. Repeat the process downstairs to complete your housekeeping task for the week.
Or Have The Professionals Do The Work
Cleaning professionals estimate that it takes a newbie housekeeper about four hours to do these ordered cleaning tasks. If you’d prefer to keep those four hours and still have a sparkling home, call Helping Hands Cleaning Services. We specialize in cleaning homes on a routine basis and when you need housekeeping help before an out-of-town visitor arrives. We believe that the best cleaning supplies are non-toxic to people and pets. Call us today for a quote on service.