I have five days to declutter and Spring Clean my house. It's big and I'm a slob. Ideas?

Question

My house is NEARLY a candidate for one of those Clease House or Clean Sweep programs. I have off this week, and I am determined to declutter and clean it top to bottom. It's a big house & I'm working alone.

After it's clean, I'm hiring another cleaning service to maintain it. Does anyone have a good strategy for me?

Answer 1

One room at a time NEVER works for me-I either get 2 rooms REALLY clean and run out of time/steam, or get so discouraged that I give up. Get a timer and 3 boxes. Set the timer for 15 Minutes. Pick 1 room and work that room for 15 minutes. At the end of the 15, go to the next room-NO EXCEPTIONS! Continue in this manner until you have gone through every room, and then start back in room one. It is amazing how much you can get done in 15 minutes, and after just 1 hour you will have made so much whole-house progress that you are pumped to keep going! Many rooms are even completely done in 15-when you know that is all you have to work in them....it seems to get me really moving in each room, cuz I know I only have to do it for that amount of time.

The 3 boxes are:
throw away
put away (do not put away in your 15 minutes-have a special 15 minutes for going through that box)
give away (keep in mind that choosing to give away is OK-if it is not something that brings you happiness or income, give it away....it may very well give someone else happiness or income)

Answer 2

first off do not let yourself become overwhelmed take it one room at a time. as far as decluttering just decide how often you use the item whether you truly need the item and then take it from there. I have a 10 room house and it is truly a chore cleaning but what I do is that I dont let myself dread it. I turn off the tv and turn on the tunes on the stereo and get busy decluttering,reorganizing and cleaning. Organizing your things in plastic containers with lids is really great especially for winter clothing that is no longer needed I fold my sweaters up and place them in the containers with a dryer sheet(to keep them smelling fresh) a good strategy would be to declutter first go through all the stuff you do not need and either donate them to charity or pitch them and then reorganize that is very important to remember so you do acquire a lot more stuff you do not need and thirdly clean and air out your house. I love putting fresh flowers in my house little things like that make a big difference. Once your house is organized and clean just stay on top of it pick up the mess while it is small dont let it sit there and turn into a huge mess. Once your house is clean and smelling fresh you will want to keep it that way.

Answer 3

Put a large box in each room. Then, working one room at a time, pretend you are going to move and you have to pay to have everything taken to your new house. Evaluate every item in the room and decide if it is worth the moving fee, if you really like it, if you really use it, or if it is just taking up space. If it's the latter, chuck it in the box. Be ruthless.
When you have gone through each room, pack up those boxes and drop them off at a thrift shop, or - if you have the time and the location - have a garage sale. It's suprising how much you can make in an afternoon of selling and equally suprising how much other people will pay for your junk. Anything that doesn't sell goes to the thrift shop, salvation army, homeless shelter or the dump.
Good luck with your project. Sometimes it's hard to get rid of 'stuff' that you've had for a long time, but if you haven't worn it, if it doesn't fit, if you don't use it, or you don't like it, it doesn't matter who gave it to you, you don't have to give it house room any longer.
Having said that, I'm ashamed to admit that I have stuff in my closet that hasn't been worn in over twenty years, and I'm still hanging onto it. Why? I have no idea. You have given me the stimulus I need to do a little housecleaning of my own.

Answer 4

First thing you have to do is start in one room with a garbage bag and get rid of things you don't wear or use anymore -take them to Goodwill- Only take about 3 seconds to decide if your gonna keep the item or not. After you declutter then clean. Do not leave that room until all is cleaned. Then go to another roo and repeat. You will be cleaned in time.

Answer 5

Put your favorite music on and jam while you clean. :D Don't get distracted, stay focused on the goal, and if u get bored, stop for a few minutes and go back to it. One place/room at a time. Count the rooms you need to clean and determine how long each one will take based on the clutter. Divide the # of rooms to be cleaned by 5. Then figure out which rooms to do what day. If there are rooms that will only take a little bit, add it to another day with one or two other big rooms to tackle. I hope this makes sense. :)

Answer 6

1: Donate, anything usable for someone else.
2: Organize, all important papers in a file cabinet, drawer or container.
3: Trash, anything that hasn't been used recently( 1 year). That usually means it's not important.
Once that's done maintaining is easy. Just dust, clean glass, sweep and vaccuum 2-3 times a week. They each take less than 10 minutes.
Stay as organized as possible.
Dishwashers and self cleaning ovens are our friends. Multitasking helps tremendously.

Answer 7

one room at a time and do the rooms that carry the most dust and bacteria first. Start with kitchen, bathoorm and lving room - bedrooms have doors and can be closed if you can't get it all done cause the job is bigger than you thought. When you do a room, start at the top and work your way down.

1) ceilings
2) walls
3) light fixtures
4) stuff that collects dust
5) vaccuum/wash/sweep floors last

make sure you do all those non seen places - behind the toilet, between the fridge and the counter/walls, behind the stove - that's the dust you don't see and it piles up quickly

good luck- I did the same a couple months ago and it was hell, but it's done :)

Answer 8

Go to each room and take four boxes with you.

box 1) need
but make sure it's a rational reason!

box 2) charity
good part: it comes out of your taxes, and it's less hassle than a yard sale

box 3) never use
do you REALLY need 6 packs of crayons from your six-year-old twenty years ago? or that shoestring to the boot you threw away after the dog chewed on it? or even that paper back that was so boring you couldn't read the first page without going to tears?!

box 4) ask your mom
why ask mom? well, it could have been something from her and I know I don't like it when someone throws away something i give them!

and after you have it sorted, but everything in it's place... no place? make one!

Answer 9

Hey Wonder woman - Grate Idea & I have same isues. Dont get discoraged. Start @ comfy pace & don't over-do esp @ 1st. Get help from friends / family & esp any-1 living w/ U. Take out any stuff that's in the way, or smells bad or U won't use again. Weather- wise items U will use next time 2 keep.

Answer 10

If you have a lot of clutter in every room, begin with one room.

Get yourself some cheap plastic baskets or boxes an empty laundry basket, anything like that so you can use it to put the stuff in the one room you are cleaning that doesn't belong in there, this will save you steps running to put everything in its place.

I use another basket for stuff I want to keep on my dresser.

If you have a lot of clutter get more baskets and put like items in different baskets. like cd/s go in one, all hair products in another and so on, unread mail, Good luck I have to start my house cleaning too, its tough working and trying to keep things up.