The Come Clean Blog
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The holidays are over and if you’re like some of us, your house may still be recovering along with your waistlines. As we settle back into our daily lives and carry out our New Year’s resolutions, we asked our team members to share the best practices they use to clean, organize and maintain their homes.
Make a list. Each week, list the projects you want to tackle – no matter how small or how large the job is. The list helps organize your time and keep you focused. And it is most rewarding to cross the tasks off the list when they are completed. If you don’t complete every task on the list, move them to the top of next week’s list.
Tackle the small jobs first. Do you have trouble getting motivated? Start with the, easy jobs that you can quickly finish. The sense of accomplishment from completing a few small tasks helps build momentum and can motivate you to tackle the larger, more dreaded tasks.
Implement the Rule: For every new item that comes in, at least one must go out. If you put new item in your closet, then donate or pitch an old one.
Work from Room-to-Room: Declutter and thoroughly clean one room before moving on to the next. Map the order of rotation in which you tackle each room and continue to follow this same rotation to ensure each room gets equal attention. For example, start upstairs in the Master Bedroom, then the master bathroom, then move down the hall to the next room. Finish the entire upstairs before coming downstairs where you may choose to start in the front entryway, and then move from room to room.
Hire A Cleaning Service – For those deep cleaning jobs you just despise, (i.e. bathrooms, floors, windows) hire a cleaning service to clean them monthly. Instead of hiring them to clean your whole house, have them focus only in certain areas while you maintain them in between cleanings.
Think Daily Prevention - Be mindful of everyday preventative measures you can take to help make cleaning easier later. Some suggestions include:
- Spray a daily cleaner then squeegee the shower walls after each use to keep soap scum from building up during the week.
- Leave the shower door open after showering, to allow fresh air in. This will help prevent mold and mildew.
- Pick up nightly – before you head to bed, pick everything up and put it away.
Manage the Kitchen Pantry – Organize the pantry each time you bring home the groceries. Place like items together with the labels facing out. Put the new items you just brought home in the back and move the older ones to the front.
End the Year on a Cleaning Streak - Set aside some time at the end of each year to attack those non-routine projects. Some of our favorites include:
- Reorganize your closet and donate anything you haven’t worn for a year or two, or that no longer fits.
- Dust your ceiling fans and vacuum the return air vents.
- Reorganize the kitchen pantry and be sure to check all the expiration dates.
- Clean out the entire refrigerator – including the shelves, storage bins, and ice bins.
- Go through your paper files and removed and shred old documents.
Stock Up on Refills – Of course we suggest that you use refillable cleaners, like JAWS, and store enough of the refills for the full year. They are so small and take up so little space – and you won’t run out of cleaner when you’re in the middle of a project.
HAPPY CLEAN NEW YEAR!