It's that time of year again. The temperature is slowly dropping, the air is becoming crisp, the kids are in school and.....the house is a disaster. After all the summer fun and travels, there's sand in every corner of the bathroom, crumbs in all the kitchen cupboards and pantry and dirt in all the window sills. (Or is is just my house?) Now that the kids are back in school, perhaps you have a few days or hours to do some deep cleaning throughout the house. This month I pulled out my fall deep cleaning checklist and decided I needed to get to work. Not only is my house disgusting, but we are hosting most of the holiday's this year at our home. Yes, I clean my house each week using my cleaning list, but getting a good deep cleaning is so important.
As the holiday's approach, I'll use our holiday cleaning list to get our house in order. But it really needs a good deep cleaning now before the dust on all my plant shelves slowly moves down to all my shelves. Or the crumbs start attracting bugs and more importantly...field mice. (Gah!!) So I thought I'd share with you some tips for deep cleaning your home along with a fall deep cleaning checklist you can use a tweak yourself.
What does your time look like? Do you only have a few hours a week to dedicate to deep cleaning? Or can you schedule out a room a day? The amount of time you have will impact how much you can get done in a day, week or month. Don't feel guilty if your schedule is so crazy you can only dedicate a bit of time each week. Just a few hours can make a BIG impact on the cleanliness of your home. Some jobs will take longer then others, so plan accordingly. For instance, my kitchen usually takes the longest since I go through every single cabinet and cupboard and clean out the pantry and fridge. I dedicate 2 entire mornings to this process since it takes so long. Print out a simple calendar and write down how many hours you have to dedicate to your deep cleaning checklist each day.
Tip #2 - Divide up the work
Now that you know how much time you have each week, make a list of the rooms that need the most work to the least work. This will help you delegate the right amount of time for each room. My crazy days of the week are Monday and Wednesday, so on my deep cleaning schedule I put a job that may take just an hour like cleaning out a linen closet or coat closet. Saving the biggest jobs for days I have lots of time like my Tuesday or Thursday. Don't try to conquer too much in one day or you may burn yourself out. Unless of course you can get the entire family in on the job.
Tip #3 -Do a quick cleaning
Start each job with a quick cleaning. For instance, pick up all the toys, books, or loose items on the ground. Put them away or move them out of the room so that you can do a thorough cleaning. You might find that you have a bunch of stuff you don't need. Start both a trash and donation pile. Or if you'd like, you can create a garage sale pile as well. As you do your quick cleaning, add items to these piles if they aren't something you plan to keep.
I've put together a simple fall cleaning schedule printable with what can be cleaned in each room or area of your home. if you don't have one of these rooms, just skip it. This list can really help you make your schedule as well since it will display all the items you'll need to clean.
Tip #5 -Pick the right products
Picking the right cleaning product for the job is important. Since you will be deep cleaning your entire house you want products that are safe for the entire family and for all your pets and animals. When you have the right cleaning products, it isn't hard to get your home clean and smelling great. I don't love the smell of bleach or heavy cleaning products. Although I do use them on occasion. That's why I like to use naturally derived products like those available through Grove Collaborative. They smell great, they are natural and they clean your home so well. And since they always have great season scents, you can get those yummy fall smells like Pumpkin, Mum and my personal favorite Apple Cider.
Right now they have their newest fall scents available for new customers for FREE! Get the following for FREE in either Pumpkin, Mum or Apple Cider scents:
Tip #6 - Windows and Blinds
As you go through each room you will want to clean out the windows and window sills. If your windows are anything like mine, they have loads of dirt and flies in all the nooks and crannies. Which is totally disgusting and seems time consuming. However, we have some really great tips for a quick and simple window cleaning. It is one of our most popular posts EVER. So you know it is good.
Tip #7 - Cleaning Floors
There's no one way to deep clean your floors, whether you have carpet, tile, linoleum or hard wood. But to deep clean them, you will want to move as much furniture as you possibly can. I personally start by vacuuming them. As I vacuum, I try to notice any spots that might need some extra scrubbing or pretreating. I'll scrub spots before doing any shampooing, hand mopping or hiring out for carpet cleaning. As silly as it sounds, clean as much of your flooring on your hands and knees as possible. You'll be surprised how much cleaner and nicer it looks afterwards.
Tip #8 - Donate or Sell What You Don't Use
As you go through each room start a pile, bag or box for trash, donations and selling. These piles can get pretty big, so you might want to dispose of them after each room or once a week. Since you are going through every closet, cupboard and under beds, you'll be going through all your stuff. If you haven't used it in more then six months, consider adding it to one of the piles. Why keep something that doesn't get used. Just be careful when you go through your children's rooms that they don't see you getting rid of a bunch of their stuff. Mine always have a bit of a freak out when I plan to get rid of the shoes they no longer fit in but love so much.
There you have it. Now you know how to deep clean a house. You can create your own fall deep cleaning checklist with little effort and just get cleaning. You may be surprised how easy it really is once you get started. Plus, when you are finished you'll be SO happy with all your hard work.
Tips for Using the Fall Deep Cleaning Checklist
Tip #1 - Start by making a calendarWhat does your time look like? Do you only have a few hours a week to dedicate to deep cleaning? Or can you schedule out a room a day? The amount of time you have will impact how much you can get done in a day, week or month. Don't feel guilty if your schedule is so crazy you can only dedicate a bit of time each week. Just a few hours can make a BIG impact on the cleanliness of your home. Some jobs will take longer then others, so plan accordingly. For instance, my kitchen usually takes the longest since I go through every single cabinet and cupboard and clean out the pantry and fridge. I dedicate 2 entire mornings to this process since it takes so long. Print out a simple calendar and write down how many hours you have to dedicate to your deep cleaning checklist each day.
Now that you know how much time you have each week, make a list of the rooms that need the most work to the least work. This will help you delegate the right amount of time for each room. My crazy days of the week are Monday and Wednesday, so on my deep cleaning schedule I put a job that may take just an hour like cleaning out a linen closet or coat closet. Saving the biggest jobs for days I have lots of time like my Tuesday or Thursday. Don't try to conquer too much in one day or you may burn yourself out. Unless of course you can get the entire family in on the job.
Tip #3 -Do a quick cleaning
Start each job with a quick cleaning. For instance, pick up all the toys, books, or loose items on the ground. Put them away or move them out of the room so that you can do a thorough cleaning. You might find that you have a bunch of stuff you don't need. Start both a trash and donation pile. Or if you'd like, you can create a garage sale pile as well. As you do your quick cleaning, add items to these piles if they aren't something you plan to keep.
Tip #4 - How to Deep Clean a House
For each room you'll want to do some of the same things, for instance all rooms can use the baseboards cleaned, lights and fans wiped down, windows and doors cleaned, any shelves in cabinets and closets cleaned and floors vacuumed and shampooed. Bigger items like beds and couches can be moved as you need them to move so you can clean underneath and around them. Move as much as you can to clean behind or underneath them.I've put together a simple fall cleaning schedule printable with what can be cleaned in each room or area of your home. if you don't have one of these rooms, just skip it. This list can really help you make your schedule as well since it will display all the items you'll need to clean.
Tip #5 -Pick the right products
Picking the right cleaning product for the job is important. Since you will be deep cleaning your entire house you want products that are safe for the entire family and for all your pets and animals. When you have the right cleaning products, it isn't hard to get your home clean and smelling great. I don't love the smell of bleach or heavy cleaning products. Although I do use them on occasion. That's why I like to use naturally derived products like those available through Grove Collaborative. They smell great, they are natural and they clean your home so well. And since they always have great season scents, you can get those yummy fall smells like Pumpkin, Mum and my personal favorite Apple Cider.
Right now they have their newest fall scents available for new customers for FREE! Get the following for FREE in either Pumpkin, Mum or Apple Cider scents:
- Mrs. Meyer's Hand Soap
- Mrs. Meyer's Hand Soap
- Mrs. Meyer's Hand Soap
- Grove Replaceable Head Dish Brush
- Grove Walnut Scrubber Sponges
Tip #6 - Windows and Blinds
As you go through each room you will want to clean out the windows and window sills. If your windows are anything like mine, they have loads of dirt and flies in all the nooks and crannies. Which is totally disgusting and seems time consuming. However, we have some really great tips for a quick and simple window cleaning. It is one of our most popular posts EVER. So you know it is good.
Tip #7 - Cleaning Floors
There's no one way to deep clean your floors, whether you have carpet, tile, linoleum or hard wood. But to deep clean them, you will want to move as much furniture as you possibly can. I personally start by vacuuming them. As I vacuum, I try to notice any spots that might need some extra scrubbing or pretreating. I'll scrub spots before doing any shampooing, hand mopping or hiring out for carpet cleaning. As silly as it sounds, clean as much of your flooring on your hands and knees as possible. You'll be surprised how much cleaner and nicer it looks afterwards.
Tip #8 - Donate or Sell What You Don't Use
As you go through each room start a pile, bag or box for trash, donations and selling. These piles can get pretty big, so you might want to dispose of them after each room or once a week. Since you are going through every closet, cupboard and under beds, you'll be going through all your stuff. If you haven't used it in more then six months, consider adding it to one of the piles. Why keep something that doesn't get used. Just be careful when you go through your children's rooms that they don't see you getting rid of a bunch of their stuff. Mine always have a bit of a freak out when I plan to get rid of the shoes they no longer fit in but love so much.
There you have it. Now you know how to deep clean a house. You can create your own fall deep cleaning checklist with little effort and just get cleaning. You may be surprised how easy it really is once you get started. Plus, when you are finished you'll be SO happy with all your hard work.
