Keeping your house clean and tidy is so important not only to keep it looking stunning, but also because it can help you to feel better mentally, and makes your house an environment you actually want to spend time in.
However, when it comes to tackling your home it can be so hard to know where to start! Whether you live in a three-story house or a flat, doing a big clean can be very daunting.
Well, there are actually some great little tips and hacks that will help to make cleaning your house so much easier!
- Tidy Up First
Before you even think about giving your house a deep clean, you should tackle all the clutter first! If you have dirty dishes or laundry in the way, then it’s going to make cleaning a whole lot harder.
So, go around each room with a bin bag to start with, and throw away any rubbish you come across.
Then, go around again but this time with a laundry basket so you can put away any clothes lying about. Why not even throw the clothes in the washing machine straight after so they can get cleaned whilst you’re sorting out the rest of the house!
Put any dishes in the dishwasher (or quickly wash them up in the sink), and then go around with a basket and collect any stray toys, books or other bits and bobs.
After doing this you’ll probably be quite surprised at how much cleaner the house looks already!
- Put All Your Cleaning Tools Together
So, before you actually start cleaning, a good idea is to get all your cleaning equipment together in something that’s transportable. For example, why not grab a little caddy or basket and pop them all in there. This will help make the cleaning process run a lot smoother and quicker!
You should also make sure that all your cleaning tools are clean, because you don’t want to be mopping with a dirty mop or dusting with something covered in dust! This would be very counterproductive.
You want to make sure you are keeping on top of the cleanliness of your cleaning tools so that you don’t have a sudden panic that all your equipment is dirty when you come to do a house clean next time.
- Do Task at a Time, Not Room at a Time
Lots of people clean their house by tackling one room at a time. This, however, will make the process seem a whole lot longer as every time you go into a new room, you’ll feel like you’re starting everything all over again.
Instead, you should clean task-by-task. So, do the dusting in each room first, then the vacuuming, then the windows etc. This will make everything feel a lot quicker, and also means you can use one piece of equipment (such as the vacuum) at a time and then put it away as soon as you’re done with it, so you don’t have to be carrying around multiple heavy items to each room at the same time.
- Do the Dusting
The first cleaning task you should do around each room is dusting. So, dust the corners of the ceiling, the top of furniture, shelves, picture frames, handrails, tv screens and anything else that might have gathered dust.
- Neaten the Furniture
Next, you should neaten up all the furniture. So, plump up the sofa cushions and remake the bed. This will make such a huge difference in making your home look cleaner.
- Vacuum
Seeing as a lot of the dust you’ve just removed from the furniture has probably fallen onto the floor, it makes sense that the next step should be to vacuum.
Take your vacuum cleaner around each room and make sure you get into all the nooks and crannies. You should also remove the vacuum head so you can get right into the corners and along the skirting boards. You can also use it to get any dust off the surfaces of the furniture.
- Clean Mirrors and Windows
Next, you should take a microfiber cloth and wet it under the tap, so it is damp. Then, go around cleaning all the windows, mirrors, and any other areas where there is glass. Then, go around again doing the same but this time with a dry microfiber cloth.
Alternatively, you can spray them with a special glass and window cleaner, and then wipe them down with a dry cloth.
You should use the same method for your shower and/or bath!
- Clean Surfaces
Now you should tackle all the surfaces. You can either use some good quality anti-bacterial wipes or go around with surface spray and microfibre cloth. Or you can even use both!
It’s important that the surfaces are completely clear before you try cleaning them as otherwise it’ll make the job very difficult. Furthermore, things sitting on the counters might even have dust under them that you need to clean away.
- Appliances
Your kitchen will probably have a number of appliances that need cleaning, such as the microwave, oven, kettle and hob.
Cleaning the oven is quite a big job, and you can learn how to clean the oven properly here (insert link to oven cleaning article when launched). For the microwave, kettle and hob just wipe them down with some antibacterial wipes, scrubbing where needed.
- Plugholes
Another good thing to do when on your cleaning spree is to put some drain unblocker down each of the drains/plugholes. So, put it in any sinks, showers or baths.
You should also put some bleach or other type of cleaner down your toilet. Why not even add a little air freshener in there!
- Mop the Floors
For certain flooring, especially where there are tiles such as in the kitchen and bathroom, you’re going to want to clean these with a wet mop. Make sure you still vacuum them first so that bits of dirt and muck don’t get caught up in the water.
Try to leave the floor to dry before stepping on it again. This is why it’s a good thing to do as the very last step, as you don’t want to be creating footprints in your newly cleaned kitchen!
- Final Vacuum
Check over all the rooms and do a final vacuum where needed. Then that’s your job all done and your house should be looking as good as new!