Deep Cleaning Checklist

Everyone needs a deep cleaning checklist. No matter how regularly you clean your home, deep cleaning is a part of the homemaking routine taking place for some once a month, once a quarter or just twice a year.

Cleaning windows is a deep cleaning chore for many people.

How often you deep clean your home is related to your personal style. Some housekeepers who do not prefer daily or weekly cleaning will deep clean when the mess becomes too much to ignore. Others will deep clean with the changing of the seasons, using weather changes as a time to air the house out, change air filters and clean behind appliances and more. No matter when you choose to deep clean, having a deep cleaning checklist can keep you moving in the right direction.

The first rule of deep cleaning is to clean house regularly. While that may fly in the face of what was stated above, it’s true that it is easier to clean on top of clean. You can use a weekly housecleaning checklist to keep you on your toes with general tasks like laundry, clutter pickup, vacuuming and dusting. When it comes to deep cleaning, cleaning house regularly is a great way to get started.

Deep cleaning requires some preparation. The first is setting aside a date for cleaning. You’ll want plenty of time like a weekend morning so that you don’t rush through tasks, but still have time to relax afterwards. Next, be sure you have all the cleaning supplies you plan to use in a tote that you can carry around with you. For example window cleaner, furniture polish, scrubber, sponges, dust clothes and paper towels. This saves you making trips back and forth to the kitchen or wherever you store your cleaning supplies.

If you can attach a plastic bag to your belt, you can use that to dispose of paper trash while you’re cleaning and again, save on the steps of running back and forth. The less running back and forth you have to do, the more efficient you will be. Finally, make a plan for your deep cleaning. You want to start one room at a time, focusing on finishing each room before moving on to the next. This not only makes you more efficient, it makes deep cleaning less of a headache.

When cleaning, start at the top and work your way to the floor. Vacuuming, floor sweeping and mopping should always be the final step in cleaning a room. This is another time-saving effort to prevent having to clean any surface multiple times.

Adjust the following checklist based on the room you are planning to deep clean:

1. Gather up clutter that belongs in other rooms. Use an empty laundry basket to put the clutter in, leave it in the basket until you get to that room, then put away the stuff that goes there while straightening.
2. Put away clutter that belongs in the room you are cleaning. Clear surfaces. Strip bed linens in bedroom. Remake with secondary sheets or start sheets going in the washing machine. (Be sure that washing machine is empty when you start with the deep cleaning. Washing bed linens should take a priority during deep cleaning, clothes laundry second)
3. Dust all surfaces starting with the ceiling fan. Check for cobwebs in corners, dust mini blinds, curtain tops and furniture.
4. Sweep or vacuum floor – move furniture to clean underneath. Use vacuum extension to vacuum under beds. Be sure to look in all corners, behind furniture.
5. Empty trash and move on to the next room.

When doing laundry, such as bed linens, throw blankets, tablecloths and more you will have to do some running back and forth. You may need to make the bed when you’re deep cleaning another room after the bed linens are washed and dried. Take the time to go ahead and make the bed, put the tablecloth back out and replace the doilies because it will save time.

Deep cleaning the kitchen often involves strip cleaning the top of the stove and inside the oven, the more regularly you clean these appliances the less caked on grease you’ll have to scrub.

Ten Minute Tip: Heavy cleaning such as cleaning the floors beneath and behind large appliances (refrigerator, washing machine, dryer) can be a deep cleaning task in and of itself. You should clean behind the heavy appliances at least once every three months to prevent it from becoming a nightmarish task.

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