What is the best way to get started cleaning a very messy home?

Question

I have been pretty depressed lately & let my apartment get very messy. I woke up this morning & thought OMG this is no way to live. So I am taking the day off work, & I dont know where to start.... Any ideas? Please dont be mean....

Thanks

Answer 1

i'm right there with you. :-) what i've found helpful is to start by making a list for each room...ex. bedroom...dresser, floor, bed, drawers, front room.....floor, tables, dust, sweep.....etc.

i put a time that each portion should take and and a start and stop time (to fill in when i do each part) this way i have an estimate of how long it actually takes. and i also know how long it actually took, so it gives me an incentive to never let it happen again (yeah,right) :-)

also, with it broken down into sections, it doesnt seem so overwhelming, good luck!

Answer 2

Pick a room. The bedroom is good that way you'll have somewhere peaceful to go if you don't get it all done today. Make the bed. Pile everything on it 7 sort it out from there. All your clothes need to be put away, books back on shelves etc. Don't worry about clutter just put it all where it belongs for now.

Secondly do the bathroom. It doesn't take long but when you're done you have another clean room.

Kitchen. Start by washing, drying & putting away all the dishes. Wipe down the benches & stove top. Clean out the fridge. Take out the rubbish.

Living room. Put everything whre it should go, fluff the pillows on the couches, that sort of thing.

Once you've tidied all the rooms go through and vacuum. Mop if you have tiles or a timber floor.

Answer 3

Been there done that. I know it can seem so overwhelming. Start with one room at a time. Preferably the smallest room you can get done fast. So as you are feeling discouraged throughout the day you can look at the one good room and feel better. I usually like to clean my living room next and use it as a staging area for laundry. Once my small room is done and my living room is ready I sort all the laundry in there. Start a load in washer, then go put a load of dishes in the dishwasher, by that time it is time to switch the load to the dryer and start another clothes load. in between play your favoriite music the whole time and tackle one room at a time between laundry and dishes. Take a 15 or 20 minute break outside the house evry 2 hours or so.

Answer 4

I know the feeling too, I have been struggling lately. But cleaning your home is part of taking care of yourself. It isn't punishment, it is a reward. You deserve to live in an environment that nurtures you.

I always get motivated by working in between commercials, often times I will get involved in a project while the ads are on, and then keep working while I watch the show. You can also race yourself while a CD or a familiar movie is playing, or while something bakes or cooks. Careful not to burn anything!

First step towards tackling a big mess is to gather laundry and dishes. Get them sorted, start a load, and set a timer so you can keep stuff going while you do other stuff.

Then start with a very small area and ask yourself "What is wrong with this picture?" Do all the straightening in the house, getting things put away before you break out the cleaning products. To do this, get three containers including a wastebasket. Start moving things into the containers. Goes back to this area...goes somewhere else...trash. When that area is straightened up put things back that belong there. When the elsewhere bin gets full, go around and put those things away. When you move to a different area, switch things from your elsewhere bin to the here bin if the items belong in that area and then continue on. Move around the house until all the things are where they belong. One thing you can do with clean clothes is pile them on the largest bed in the house and do them when you get to that room. You can also get your cleaning caddy for this step and clean spaces as you clear them if you really want to but I listed that separately.

Then start cleaning. With everything straightened up, it goes a lot faster. Make it even faster still by putting all your supplies in a caddy. Keep them with you in the room while you work. Use one product on everything that needs it in that room, then switch products.

Start with dusting. Then disinfecting things and glass cleaner stuff. Then vacuum, then sweep and mop. Do these tasks in each room and transitional space (like hallways, stairwells, entries, etc.) and make your way around the floorplan of your home.

A couple other cleaning tips, work top to bottom so residue falling from high surfaces gets cleaned up as you go instead of having to redo things. Another tip, don't forget ventilation when using cleaning products. Use only the strongest cleaner necessary and watch how you mix cleaners. Hot soapy water does a LOT of good for a lot of things.

In the future, it will definitely help to pare down your belongings, rethink your storage solutions, and get a schedule of cleaning tasks that is reasonable for your standards and lifestyle. Then this won't happen as often. It helps put YOU in control of your house instead of feeling victimized by the mess, which in itself can alleviate depression.

Last thing, store things on surfaces in containers. Then when you need to wipe the surface you just move the container instead of all the pieces inside. When the containers get messy, clean them out...but that is an organizing chore, not a cleaning chore. When you want to clean, everything in there doesn't need to be perfectly organized. Just clean...but it will be easier.

Answer 5

I have three kids and I get up every morning saying OMG... The best thing to do is pick one room and start with that. First get a trash bag a pick up all the trash laying around, then pick up important papers, nicknack's and such. Find a special place for those things and then vacuum. As long as you go one room at a time and pace yourself you will do a great job. And if you like music put in your favorite CD and sing and clean it makes it go by much faster....

Answer 6

First, get a very large garbage bag and as you pickup things throw away everything you have not looked at or used in the last 6 months. Unless of course it is clothes, put them in a separate bag to take to Goodwill or The Salvation Army. Don't just move things around, take action with every item you pick up and soon your apt will be clean and organized

Answer 7

Start in your bedroom, then move to your bathroom, then move to your kitchen.....those are the rooms you move around in the most. After that, the rest should be pretty easy. Make sure there is room in the dumpster for all the trash your going to throw away and have plenty of soap for the washing machine! Congratulations of your return from the dark side.

Answer 8

Take a shower first, and dress up decently. No joke here, because if you wake up out of bed and start cleaning you'll be more depressed.

Start with whats the hardest the kitchen dishes, sink, and floors, and then the easiest dusting, picking up newspapers.

Answer 9

First start at your hardest looking place, ex. kitchen or bathroom. Then work your way through that. Whatever you do, DO NOT get sidetracked. If you do the next thing you know you will be on a different area and will never get done. One more thing, when you get to don't think about it to much, just dive in and do it!

Answer 10

I know exactly how that is. I struggle with deppression as well. Just start small, pick up a few things, wipe down some counters. The point is to just get moving and go from there.