Cleaning help?

Question

I need cleaning tips. The whole house seems cluttered and needs a good cleaning. I dont know what to keep and what to get rid of. I dont even know where to begin!! Anyone have any ideas or anything?

Answer 1

Make sure you tackle one area at a time, or you will just get totally overwhelmed and want to give up. Once you see how good just a little area looks it will encourage you to do the rest. I am done this soo many times!! Get out a garbage bag and throw away EVERYTHING you do not need and/or have not used in the last 6 months for sure. It helps me a lot if I play some good music when I do it.

Answer 2

First, get rid of the clutter. Throw or give away anything you haven't used for awhile. Buy plastic organizers to put small items in--I use these in my medicine cabinet, it keeps it a lot neater! Always fold the laundry & put it away, keep your drawers orderly. It's a good idea to do one room at a time, then it's not so overwhelming. After it's cleaned, keep it that way as much as possible by keeping things picked up off the floor, dusting every week or every 2 wks., vacuum, mop floors, & clean bathrooms every week, & wash windows every 3 mo., more or less. It's much easier to keep your house clean if you do a little bit every day, then it's not such a big job!

Answer 3

It's good to have a daily routine.. Even if it means setting your alarm 15 min earlier and going to be 15 minutes later to accomplish some tasks..

In the morning give the bathroom a quick wipedown.. I like antibacterial wipes.. I also give the toilet a quick wipedown... Countertops/mirrorw. I then gather all the laundry, seperate and run a load...

After I make breakfast for my children (ages 1 and 3) I unload/load the dishwasher.. Wipe down countertops/appliances and sweep the floor. I mop about 3x a week.. I have little one's that throw food ! While they eat I quickly pick up clutter in the livingroom and vacuum...

Make the beds/vacuum and switch the laundry around.... The house is tidy and basically clean... Once a week I give all the rooms a "shake down" Dusting, vacuum, putting things away, changing the linen.. Scrub the bathroom etc...

In terms of where to start.. Pick a room and do it from start-finish... Empty the closet and sort clothing.. .KEEP, DONATE, THROW AWAY.... Have bins/bags ready this is good to do during a change of seasons or if you've gained/lost weight... Then move to dressers/drawers.. Go through paperwork, books, CD's/DVD's.. You can sell CD'S/DVD's/MOVIES.... Utilize hidden storage like underbeds/dressers.. I like underbed storage containers.. 3 will fit under a queen sized bed.. .I have one for shoes/purses by season... One under each bed for linens and I have one for pictures' mementos... I also use the back of my door to hold shoes/accesories.. Good luck

Answer 4

De-clutter before you clean. Anything you havent used in a year, toss it or donate it.Or you can start boxes of like items and visit your local http://www.freecycle.org/ you wont miss it once its gond.and you can also make a box of things that are important that you cant get rid of and store it in the basement or garage. Then you can either attack the cleaning yourself, or an easier option, call your local cleaning company, pay for a one time cleaning(depending on the condition of your house) you could pay $70 - $150, then you can maintain it after that.you could even go the cheap route on that and have them do just the dusting, vaccuuming and under the beds, and do the bathrooms and kitchen yourself, it would save you $$.

Answer 5

Do one room per day from top to bottom.

If you have not used something in a year or more, get rid of it even if you have to throw it away.

If you have furniture that you don't need or is out of place, get rid of it.

Swish out your toilet each morning at the same time.

Once you get things in order, don't ever again lay something down, always put everything in its place.

Answer 6

Do not try to tackle the whole house at once. You'll accomplish your goal room by room.
Take one room (even a bathroom / a room size closet / kitchen etc...) and give yourself a whole day for doing the followings:

1) pre-vacuum
2) empty anything contained in the room (in drawers, cabinets, chests etc...) put it on the floor, determine what stays in the room, what goes to trash, what goes in another room. Sort them in these 3 piles. Take trash pile to trash, and other room pile out of the room. If you see everything at once this way, you'll now what you need to keep what to part with. Since you may have doubles of things, or things that are broken, not working, ripped, or things that are too old or out of style or faded... Or things that are simply not your taste of decore or style anymore.
3) Sort the pile that stays in the room according to type. You may come up with more trash
4) Clean all surfaces with 1 gallon of water and a splash of all purpose cleaner, using a rag that you wet, squeeze, clean, rinse for each surface. This way you are not distributing dirt around. Make sure to wipe off water with dry towels on wood surfaces. Cover shelves with liners, etc...
5) Clean windows, permanent glass doors, doors, lights, lamps, furniture with appropriate cleaners.
6) start putting your sorted items away in closets, chest of drawers, cabinets. Make sure they are clean. Dump your dirty water out, make a clean bucket of all purpose cleaner and water, to clean the sorted items if they are ceramic, plastic, glass, coated metal, etc... For silver, brass, etc... use special cleaners.
7) Put a dryer sheet in each drawer, cabinet, etc.. It makes everything smell fresh.
8) If you need boxes, plastic bins, to make things more accessible buy them after you know how many you need. You then just lift the items off their place and put them in containers and place them back to their spaces.
9) finish by vacuuming one final time.
10) deodorize the room with airfreshner


TIPS: Take all curtains, removable slipcovers, removable pillowcovers, tablecloths, etc... -all washables- prior to step 1 and wash dry and iron. Place them back after step 11.
Do not trash everything, most stuff that you don't need can be donated. Sorting is a long process. Don't get overwhelmed. Do it in your living room in front of the TV if you're bored of it.

Answer 7

I would start one room at a time & have 3 piles- save, throw away, give away.... then :throw" the throwing away & then "give" the giving away & then go thru your saved items another time....its always amazing how much you can get rid of the second time around.....remember its progress, not perfection...good luck to you!

Answer 8

well i always start in the bathroom cause thats where i am the most lol and if you dont use it once a month you dont need it right? hope i helped