Many housewives are frightened by the phrase “general cleaning of the apartment.” Every woman is familiar with the desire to postpone it for as long as possible. But there still comes a time when you have to “arm yourself” with rags, detergents, a mop and a vacuum cleaner, and get down to business.
How to properly do general cleaning of an apartment or cottage and not get exhausted at the initial stage? Are there ways in which you can quickly clean your home with your own hands and not feel like a “squeezed lemon”?
This article provides useful tips for organizing the cleaning process in an apartment or house.
Most often, general cleaning of the home in Russia and the CIS countries is usually done before the Easter holiday in the spring, when it is already warmer outside and you can open the windows, and in the fall during the “Indian summer”, when the days are still warm, when you can quickly dry things.
Checking inventory availability
Before drawing up a DIY cleaning plan, determine what equipment you need for the job and check if everything is available. This will allow you not to be distracted during the process by going to the store or looking for an alternative. Make a list of what you need in advance and check its availability, making the necessary purchases if necessary.
What you may need:
- garbage bags;
- rags, sponges and paper napkins, newspapers for washing glass and mirrors;
- household rubber gloves and apron;
- dishwashing detergent, laundry soap, soda;
- powder cleaner or specialized chemical cleaning products (stoves, ovens, tiles, bathtubs, toilets, chrome parts, furniture, carpets, etc.)
- basin or bucket;
- mop, broom, floor rag;
- vacuum cleaner;
- beater (for carpets and upholstered furniture);
- washing powder;
- additional means and tools if you have any household or interior items that require an individual approach.
Make sure that the vacuum cleaner is working properly, there is enough detergent and there are enough cloth napkins and rags. Don’t forget about garbage bags, you will need a lot of them, especially if you are cleaning a cottage or apartment after renovation or construction.
Maintaining order after cleaning
The most effective way to speed up and simplify spring cleaning is to maintain order in between. The simplest option is to regularly clean the rooms, but this can take a lot of effort. There are several ways to deal with clutter in your home without spending a lot of time and effort:
- try to distribute the main procedures by day of the week. For example, on Mondays it is planned to wash the floors, on Tuesdays - to inspect the refrigerator, on Wednesdays - to clean the bathroom, etc.;
Having made a list of tasks necessary to maintain order (cleaning the bathroom, mopping the floors, etc.), distribute them by day of the week - Every night before going to bed, take 10-15 minutes to put all the items in their place. This will not only help you maintain order, but will also improve your mood when you wake up;
By tidying up every night before bed, you can save yourself the hassle of waking up in a cluttered room. - To keep the floors cleaner throughout the house, wash them regularly in the dirtiest places: in the hallway, near the stove and kitchen sink, near the cat litter box. If you keep the most problematic areas clean, the flooring in other rooms will need to be washed much less frequently;
- If you regularly find used cotton pads, swabs, or napkins in the bathroom, simply place a small trash can on the shelf or floor. A similar bucket can be placed on the desktop to immediately get rid of used and unnecessary papers, scraps, and wrappers.
Getting rid of junk
One of the most important aspects of maintaining order is the proper organization of storage and timely removal of various rubbish from the apartment. In any person’s home, unnecessary things can be stored for many years, which have nowhere to be used, and it is a pity to throw them away. Hundreds of such little things scattered throughout the house greatly clutter the space.
Hoarding is a widespread problem among Russians. Storerooms and loggias filled to the brim with unnecessary or broken things are found in every second apartment, if not more often. It is enough to carry out a thorough audit once and then simply avoid clutter. This is available to everyone, regardless of financial situation.
A well-organized pantry does not allow clutter.
There are a few simple rules that will allow you to get rid of unnecessary items:
- if you have not used an item for more than three years, you can throw it away;
- if an item breaks and you replace it with a new one, you can throw away the old one;
- an item that was purchased more than six months ago and has never been used can be given away or sold.
By getting rid of low-quality, old or broken things, you will immediately feel better. Psychologists say that the state of a person’s home and mind are closely related: you can put one in order, and the second will immediately rise to a higher level. Visual clutter distracts us from the true source of clutter in our lives.
Storage organization
Determine its place for each necessary thing. When there are a lot of objects in the house that do not have a permanent place, the interior becomes cluttered very quickly.
It is important to choose a storage location close to where it will be used. This will help you remember to put it away right away.
If you have a lot of small items in your home that create chaos (bobby pins, hair ties, wristwatches, keys, headphones and other small equipment), purchase special boxes or bags for them. For example, IKEA offers a lot of options for organizing storage. Choose a drawer or box that matches the color of the room so that your purchase is pleasing to the eye.
Video: how to organize storage of things in a closet and chest of drawers
Cleanliness in the house is an essential attribute of a modern and happy family. A well-groomed, beautiful and tidy home is not only pleasant to be in: the surrounding order changes the way you think, refreshes your mind and relaxes you.
- Author: Ira Shestakova
By education, he is a specialist in land and property relations, an economist and an accountant. Rate this article:
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Let's throw away the unnecessary: balcony, storage room and mezzanine
General cleaning of an apartment or cottage will not be effective without throwing away unnecessary things. Where does junk most often accumulate and take up space in your home? As a rule, on the balcony and mezzanines, as well as in the storage room.
Clear out old clutter and get rid of unnecessary things. How much rubbish is stored in apartments “just in case”, but this case never comes! Act on the principle: if an item has not been useful to me within a year, I don’t need it! Think about it, what is the use of a broken flower pot, a children's tricycle (when your children are already finishing school), or a broken table lamp that no one will ever fix? Free up space and you will see that there is much more usable space in your apartment or cottage.
If cleaning is carried out after renovation or construction, scraps of wallpaper, empty containers of polyurethane foam or cans of paint should be disposed of first.
When the space is cleared of debris and unnecessary things, thoroughly wash the balcony, storage room, remove dust from the mezzanines, and proceed to the next stage of cleaning.
A tidy and clean home is easy!
Cleaning your apartment is an important task that does not seem so difficult at first glance. Everyone has had to clean up the mess, are we doing it right? There are algorithms that will speed up this process and make it more enjoyable.
I don’t know about you, but I often sinned with chaotic bustle around the house with a bunch of rags, towels, products and did not always understand what and on what surface could be applied and what could not. I constantly had to open Google and check. I didn’t follow sequential cleaning steps, I just wiped here and there and it seemed clean. So let's find out how to properly carry out general and daily cleaning of your home? By the way, general cleaning should be done approximately once a month, or once every few months. At the moment, there are quite a lot of offers of house cleaning services on the cleaning market. But if you decided to cope on your own, then let’s look at the lifehacks and make lists with tips. A tidy and clean home is easy!
Plan for current general cleaning of the apartment
It is easier to divide the work into stages and perform it gradually, following the algorithm. Housekeeping is no exception. Before you start, make a plan for general cleaning of your apartment or cottage.
- Remove curtains and drapes. They often accumulate a lot of dust. If you leave this item for later, during removal all the dust will settle on the already washed surfaces and your efforts will be in vain.
- If possible, it is better to remove carpets from the walls and remove rugs and rugs from the floor. They can be cleaned or knocked out and folded until the cleaning is finished and the rugs can be spread on the clean floor. It is better to walk around the house at this time in slippers or house shoes.
Always start cleaning from top to bottom and from the farthest rooms to the nearest ones.
- Wipe off dust and remove cobwebs from the ceiling. If necessary, use a damp cloth to clean the walls and corners between furniture. Stretch ceilings can be washed following the rules.
- Wash chandeliers and overhead lights.
- Wash windows and radiators.
We sort and clean paper books
If you want to do a complete deep cleaning of your entire apartment, pay attention to your library. Allow at least 2-3 hours for this stage, since the task will not be limited to wiping the bookshelves.
Things to do:
► Remove all books from the shelves. Hold each one in your hands and think about whether you need it. If you are unlikely to read a work in the next 5-10 years, return the book to a bookstore or take it to the bookcrossing shelf.
► Carefully clean books from the “will read” category from dust using a vacuum cleaner with a delicate cleaning attachment. Scroll through all pages between which you can find dirt. Wipe the cover with a slightly damp cloth, and clean the ends with a soft bristle brush.
► Sort books by author and genre. Place back on previously dust-free shelves.
Image source - smekalo4ka.ru
Room cleaning
Cabinets and wall shelves
- Wipe off dust from the tops of cabinets.
- Starting from the top shelves, take things out and wipe off the dust.
- Then carefully arrange and hang things. Place those that need washing in the laundry basket.
- Go through the things that you haven’t used (worn) for a long time and don’t intend to - put them aside. Then decide what to do with them, something can be used for another purpose: an old T-shirt or towel will become a good rag, something you want to give away or sell, something to throw away without regret.
- Place remaining items in neat piles or in containers so that items take up minimal space.
- Organize shelves, open cabinets, bedside tables, tables and all storage areas in the rooms using the same principle.
Furniture in the rooms
- Remove capes and bedspreads from upholstered furniture, and bedding from beds. Throw everything you need into the wash.
- Clean, beat, vacuum upholstered furniture and beds. Do not forget to wipe dust on non-fabric furniture elements.
- Wash the floor.
Cleaning lamps
In winter, chandeliers and sconces compensate for the lack of natural light, which will penetrate into the premises during the day through perfectly clean glass (if you wash them, of course
