THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
Now, where do I start?
Let’s talk Business!
See this step-by-step guide as a business plan! After all, your home is your business!
Every home is different and every family lives differently in their home, so you need to devise a cleaning strategy that works for you! If you have been following our cleaning routine daily, weekly and monthly, this will be a breeze!!
Tricks of the trade – Create a realistic cleaning schedule. Consider the amount of time you can spend cleaning daily, weekly and monthly. Use this step-by-step guide as a basic checklist to re-evaluate and change according to your needs. Stress free steps to cleaning success, first time, every time!
For the Newbies – Don’t fret, you are in the hands of professionals!
Have you ever watched a professional cleaning service; they clean in an organised, systematic way. They never run back and forth or cover the same ground twice. Here is your 20 step-by-step guide to a clean house you can be proud of!
Step 1 – Put on your “house cleaning outfit”
Step 2 – Play your favourite music
Step 3 – Get your Cleaning caddy ready
Step 4 – Trash It (if this is done on a daily basis before bedtime, you will have time to spare)
Step 5 – Clear away the clutter
Step 6 – Laundry in the washing machine
Step 7 – Dishes in the dishwasher
Remember – Room by Room, Left to Right, Top to Bottom!!
Step 8 – Kitchen First
Step 9 – Up next bathrooms
Step 10 – Bedrooms
Step 11 – Dining Room
Step 12 – Living Room
Step 13 – Entertainment/TV room
Step 14 – Windows
Step 15 – Pack Away Laundry
Step 16 – Pack away dishes
Step 17 – Vacuum common areas last
Step 18 – Mop Kitchen Floor
Step 19 – What about outside
Step 20 – Add finishing touches
Right! Let’s do It!
Step 1 – House Cleaning Outfit
Yes, that’s what I said, you don’t want to spoil your daily clothes, and you must have something that you don’t mind getting dirty or spoiled that you can wear. Make sure your clothes are comfortable, but not too comfortable, you don’t want to think it is time to relax when it is really time to clean your house! What about footwear – comfortable shoes, like tennis shoes or house shoes would be good. Don’t put on your “shopping shoes” as your brain will automatically switch gear and think it is not time to clean! As you get a regular “cleaning outfit” together, guess what? Your brain will automatically go into the cleaning routine mode!
Step 2 – Play your favourite music
What gets your feet moving, are you an 80’s, 90’s, Millennium or do you have a specific type of music that is upbeat and gets your feet moving? Back to basics, did you ever attend dancing classes, where they teach you an 8 step beat dance move, your brain takes note of the 8-beats and moves accordingly. No meditation, or classical music – unless you want to try Ravel’s Bolero, that is sure to get you moving!
Step 3 – Get your Cleaning caddy ready
Decide what will work best for your home, a plastic caddy, a caddy made from fabric or a metal caddy. Plastic is our preference, it is lightweight, easy to move around and is not as noisy as a metal caddy, with all the banging and clanging of taking item out and putting them back in.
For your cleaning routine, is it better to organise a caddy for each different area? Kitchen? Bathroom? Bedrooms? Rest of House?
Why put together a cleaning caddy?
If you are organised and systematic and have a fully loaded ready cleaning caddy, ready with all your cleaning supplies as you go from room to room, everything is easier and the task of cleaning becomes less daunting.
Having an organised cleaning caddy that is ready for use every time you clean will make your chores simple
Decide which cleaning solutions you need to place inside your caddy. Homemade eco-friendly cleaners that are non-toxic to the home or environment are my go-to products.
- All-purpose cleaner
- Grease busting Cleaner
- Sink and bathtub cleaner
- Toilet Cleaner
- Window Cleaner that can also be used for mirrors and glass
What about Tools of the trade?
These are some cleaning tools that are must have in your caddy!
- Latex Gloves
- 4 Microfibre Cloths
- Microfibre Mop
- Scouring Pads
- 2 Scrubbing Brushes
- Broom
- Mop
Step 4 – Trash It
Before you start cleaning walk around the house and just pick up everything that must be thrown into the trashcan. Any magazines, old newspapers, or homework that is not needed goes right into the trashcan. No unsightly papers or rumpled newspapers to make your house look messy!
Step 5 – Clear away the clutter
As you are going through your house to collect anything that must be placed in the trash can, from room to room, simply clear away the clutter. Books into the bookshelves, clothes into the cupboard, shoes in the shoe cupboard, toys into the children’s toybox. Take a cloth laundry hamper with you for any dirty laundry. In one swoop, you are about to start cleaning your house!
Step 6 – Laundry in the washing machine
Once you have gone through the house and have all the clothing in your laundry hamper, place them into the washing machine and start a washing cycle. Remember to separate colours and fabric types, for example synthetics and cotton. Take care not to wash white laundry with any colours as the coloured washing might discolour you beautiful whites!
Did you want to wash any other items, linens, towels, soft toys? If the laundry has been done and you are still cleaning, do another batch. Your washing machine can be used to wash fluffy toys, soft dolls, doll’s clothes and any other washable items.
Note to Self! Read the washing instructions on items you don’t regularly wash in the machine!
Step 7 – Dishes in the dishwasher
Once you have decluttered and trashed everything that does not belong on the kitchen cabinets, put the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and run a cycle while you get started on your cleaning routine.
Step 8 – Kitchen First
Latex Gloves on!
While the dishwasher is washing your dishes you can focus on the rest!
- Wipe down kitchen countertops
- Wipe down kitchen cabinet fronts and sides
- Wipe down appliances, refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave
- Wipe down stove top and stove plates and hood
- Clean inside the microwave
- Soak stove drip pans in sink
- Clean and sanitize counters and stove top
- Once you have washed and dried the drip pans, clean inside and around the sink
Step 9 – Up next bathrooms
When you initially did your decluttering and collected your laundry you should also remove bath rugs, laundry and trash.
- Remove everything from the shower and bathtub like the soaps, hair shampoo, hair conditioner as well as shaving foam, razors, bath and shower sponges.
- Spray all-purpose cleaner onto shower walls and bathtub sides and sink
- Lightly wet the all-purpose cleaner with warm water
- Allow all-purpose cleaner to process while you continue with another task
- Spray bathroom vanity countertop with all-purpose cleaner
- Spray shower rack and soap dishes with all-purpose cleaner
- Clean the bathroom mirror using a window cleaning spray and microfibre cloth
- Using a wet microfibre cloth wipe down bathtub and shower walls and sink
- Clean shower rack and bathtub soap dishes
- Rinse off all purpose cleaner with warm water from bathtub sides and shower walls and sink
- Allow shower, bathtub and sink to air dry
- Now using a wet microfibre cloth wipe down the countertops, fronts and sides of the vanity
- Shine the faucets
- Clean toilet bowl inside and using a disinfectant cleaner, disinfect the outsides of the toilet
- Mop bathroom floor with a solution of warm water and a ¼ cup of all-purpose cleaner
- Leave the floor to dry
- Once you have finished cleaning the house pop back into the bathroom and replace the rug and laundry basket
Step 10 – Bedrooms
During the declutter and laundry run at the start of your house cleaning routine, you already placed dirty laundry into the laundry basket, cleared away clothes, shoes and toys.
NOW!
- Make the bed
- Straighten up the bedroom
- Vacuum the Floor
- Return anything to room that you moved to vacuum, for example toy box, chairs or diaper bins
- If you have any extra time or energy, re-organise the sock drawer or cupboard.
Step 11 – Dining Room
Family living includes sharing meals around the dining room table. The main meal of the day when everyone gets together and talks about their daily activities.
- Remove table mats or tablecloth from table
- Spray the surface of the table with a dusting spray or wood cleaner depending on the surface
- Using a microfibre cloth wipe down the surface and then continue to wipe down the table legs
- Attach the upholstery cleaning attachment to your vacuum cleaner
- Vacuum the chairs if they are upholstered
- Vacuum the drapes or blinds
- Vacuum the carpet last so that if you have stirred up dust while cleaning the rest of the room it has settled onto the floor, ready to be vacuumed
If you remove dishes to the kitchen after every meal and follow your regular cleaning routine, it should take you less than 10 minutes to clean the dining room!
Step 12 – Living Room
Your living room is probably only used when you have visitors over. You’ve cleared the clutter, packed away unused items.
- Simply vacuum the Drapes or Blinds
- Vacuum the Seating
- Wipe all other surfaces using a dust spray and microfibre cloth
- Finally vacuum the floor
Done and Dusted!
Step 13 – Entertainment/TV room
If you are lucky enough to have a separate TV room or entertainment area there are quite numerous gadgets to keep clean. Keeping these expensive items clean and dust free will make them last longer!
TV
The television screen is probably the main piece of equipment in the room. TV screens have become bigger and bigger and are dust magnets.
- First wipe the screen with a microfibre dust cloth, this prevents scratches
- Spray the cleaning solution onto the cloth and not onto the screen
- Make sure the cloth is soft and will not scratch the surface
Media Players
- After wiping down the TV screen, wipe the outside of the media player, not the inside
- To clean the inside just blow the dust off
Surround Sound System or Speakers
- Wipe speakers with a warm wet cloth that you have rinsed in a solution of soapy water, this will remove any dirt or dust build up
- If your system is high end, buy a can of compressed air to spray into the system. Ensure all dust is blown out.
Headphones
- Moisten the cleaning cloth a sanitizing solution or alcohol
- Use Q tips to get into crevices
- Ensure ear pads are dried completely before use
Virtual Reality Headset
This modern gadget is becoming more affordable
- Wipe the headset and exterior with a damp cloth, removing dust
- Wipe the lenses with the screen cleaning solution and a soft cloth, avoiding scratch marks
Gaming Console
If you have children, you will have a PlayStation and controllers.
- Wipe the dust from the console and controllers using a damp cloth
- To clean the controllers, dip the Q tip into alcohol and really clean
- To clean the inside, use a can of compressed air to blow out the dust
NOW!
- Clean the upholstery of the seating area using the correct cleaning solution.
- Leather Cleaner for cleaning leather seating
- Vacuum any upholstered seating
- Lastly vacuum the floor
Step 14 – Windows
- Spray window cleaner onto surface
- Using a microfibre cloth wipe from top to bottom, left to right leaving no streaks
- For a more professional edge on window cleaning use a professional quality squeegee with a soap and water solution
- Ensure that you wipe the blade of your squeegee regularly
Step 15 – Pack Away Laundry
While you were cleaning the rest of the house the washing machine was doing your laundry, right? Laundry done, hang outside to dry in the sunlight or tumble dry.
Finally – Fold and pack away the laundry!
Step 16 – Pack away dishes
The dishwasher has run its cycle, dishes are clean and ready to be packed away!
- To clean your kitchen sponges and dishwashing machine.
- Place a bowl of vinegar water with lemon slices on the top shelf.
- Sponges and cloths on the bottom shelf.
- Now run the dishwasher cycle that is the hottest to clean and sterilize your sponge, cloth and dishwasher!
Step 17 – Vacuum common areas last
As you’ve cleaned and vacuumed room by room, all that is left to vacuum are the common areas, the hallway and passage. Once vacuumed, clean out your vacuum cleaner, ready for the next scheduled clean.
Step 18 – Mop Kitchen Floor
You’ve done it, the entire house is clean. All that remains is mopping the kitchen floor.
- First sweep the floor with a broom to get rid of dirt, dust and fallen food particles.
- Use floor cleaner mixed with hot water in your bucket.
- Mop the floor with the floor cleaning product of your choice.
- Don’t mop yourself into the corner, ensure you mop towards the back door for use as an exit or towards the dining or living area.
- Above all, WAIT! Let the floor dry, you don’t want to leave footprints all over your sparkling kitchen floor!
- All cleaning items are returned to your cleaning caddy. Cloths and mops are washed. Cleaning products have been replenished or you’ve added the items you need to buy onto your shopping list.
Step 19 – What about outside
To finish up your cleaning, check outside, are there children’s toys lying around, pick them up and put them away. Clean the barbeque with your outdoor cleaning caddy as you would most likely be using a scouring sponge or brush for the grill area and for outside a stainless-steel cleaner. No marks and no scratches!
Step 20 – Add finishing touches
Lastly take a room freshening in a scent that you like and leaves your house with that just cleaned smell. Spray in all the rooms and living areas! A clean franked home, for you and your family!
Put some flowers in a vase!
Re-evaluate your Cleaning Strategy!
Once you have cleaned your house using our step-by-step cleaning guide, you need to evaluate your strategy. Did your plan suit your house and your family?
Does room by room cleaning work for you or can you look at vacuuming all the floors, dusting all the areas and then only cleaning each room you regularly use.
Do you think you wasted time in one area? Change your cleaning schedule to suit your living space and lifestyle. There is no wring or right! This is your house! Take the ideas that work and continue using them If you’ve noticed an area that requires more attention, add the extra items onto your checklist.
Evaluate your cleaning routine regularly until you are systematic and organised, a true professional at cleaning your house!
What’s next on the to do list?
Sit and relax!
