Every Nook and Cranny Cleaning

The process of home caring includes not only organizing but cleaning for a healhtier, happier home. Cleaning is essential to remove dust, dirt, germs and pet hair/dander. However, the process of cleaning can be overwhelming and frustrating. We will approach the cleaning of your home in the same manner that we tackle the organizational process. We will work in small, manageable steps and work toward success. There are some standard processes that will be outlined here to ensure maximum benefit from cleaning and managing your home. The rule of thumb for cleaning is to remove the most amount of dust and dirt to make your home healthier and you and your family happier. I like to call this “Every Nook and Cranny Cleaning.” We will work from the top down to remove dust, hair, etc. to ensure the maximum clean.

Tackling the cleaning of an entire room is just too overwhelming. As it is overwhelming, you will avoid the task. So our process will break down each room into zones and you will only tackle one zone at a time. I use the compass rose for zones. North, East, South and West, thus working clockwise through a room.  We will only work on one wall at a time to keep the tasks manageable and maximize the use of your energy. We will follow the same procedure through each room and move through the house one room at a time. By the time we have finished the house, you will have reached the end of our scaffolded Transformational Organization goals and the results should be obvious. Your energy levels will have increased and the quality and quantity of time you have will rejuvenate you and your family. You enjoy a less stressful, less cluttered, less chaotic life while increasing your creativity, time with family and friends, ease in managing your home and belongings and increased vigor to follow your interests and passions. These are the results of the Transformational Organization systematic approach and I hope that you have benefited from the strategies. We are now going to finish our process by deep cleaning our homes. Don’t forget to keep up with your health and beauty routines. Remember that your Transformation is an on-going process and maintaining your organization and cleaning your home will improve your outlook and outcomes. I love to know that I am cleaning to make my home healthier, safer and happier while I am improving my health, my looks, my self esteem and my ability to enjoy life.

Back to the Compass Rose and Every Nook and Cranny Cleaning. To clean any room in your home, begin by sweeping the ceilings and walls. Purchase a very soft bristle broom and use this solely for sweeping the ceilings and walls. Much dust collects in the texture of the ceiling and on the walls. In order to remove as much dust as possible, you will need to sweep these surfaces down. I suggest wearing a mask and goggles to avoid getting the dust in your eyes. Also, you may want to cover your furniture, upholstery, or other items with a plastic drop cloth. Plastic drop cloths are inexpensive and easy to roll up and take outside to remove the dust. To clean the ceilings: start at one end of the room and using the broom, literally sweep the ceiling the length of the room. Continue until you reach the other side of the room. Then move on to the walls in the same manner paying particular attention to the corners. Just use the broom to sweep the walls downward towards the floor.Begin on the North wall and follow the compass rose around the room: East, South and West.

After you have cleaned the ceilings and walls, clean the light fixture or ceiling fan. Wash any glass items on the fixture and then wipe down the entire fixture for dust. Then replace light bulbs if needed.  For ceiling fans, wipe down the blades with a damp cloth. Make sure your capture as much dust as possible and get the brackets that attach the blades to the ceiling fan motor. Using canned air, spray the inside of the fan where the blades circulate. You’ll be surprised at the amount of dust that collects here. Lastly, use the canned air to dust the inside of any smoke detector in the room. Dust collects in these as well and will set off your smoke detector ( a lesson I learned from the Firemen who responded to my smoke detectors going off for this very reason).  After you have swept the ceilings and the walls and cleaned the light fixture or fan, remove the drop cloth by rolling it up with the dust captured inside. Take outside and shake off the dust. Roll up again and save for another use in another room.

Now we are going to  begin to clean and organize all furniture on each scheduled wall according to our compass rose strategy . Here’s how we clean furniture:

Cleaning Furniture:

• Take every thing out of the drawers and place on a clean towel on the floor or bed.
• Take all drawers out of the furniture
• If the piece is solid wood, lightly spray the inside of the furniture with a solution of Oil Soap and water until the inside completely misted.
• Spray all solid wood drawers with the solution of Oil Soap and water especially in the corners. Wipe down all surfaces of the drawers.
• Replace drawers.
• Begin to put all items back in the drawers cleaning them (Every Nook and Cranny Clean) before replacing them.
• Inventory all items of value over 10.00
• Photograph items in the drawer
• Clean the outside of the furniture: if wood finish, rub lightly with 000 steelwool and furniture oil or beeswax.  I like beeswax to give the wood a nice glow. If the wood is painted, then wipe the surfaces down with a damp cloth paying particular attention to all the corners and crevices.

Glass Surfaces:

Next, clean all the glass surfaces on the wall with a glass cleaner (green products are preferred) . Pictures, windows,  and mirrors gleam when freshly cleaned. You may have already cleaned behind your pictures and mirrors during our Thematic Organization but if not, remove the picture or mirror and dust the wall behind. Then dust the frame and the back of the picture or mirror. Rehang. To clean windows, first clean the woodwork around them from top to bottom. Use a solution of Murphy’s Oil Soap and water to wash down the wood work prior to cleaning the glass. Once the woodwork is cleaned, use glass cleaner to clean the glass. As you are cleaning, check the window for drafts. If you feel drafts, caulk the window thoroughly. This will help you to save on energy bills.

Curtains and Window Coverings: 

Curtains and window coverings can be washed and ironed, aired out or dry cleaned depending on the fabric. Fabric collects much dust so take these items down and determine what cleaning needs to occur. If you need to launder, put them in the washer now and they will be finished by the time you have completed your cleaning for the day. Simply airing out on a cool crisp day will  help to eliminate dust and odors. Ironing certain fabrics will give your curtains a crisp look. Blinds and shades need a good cleaning too so be sure to follow the manufactures recommendations for cleaning them.

Baseboards and Woodwork:

Cleaning the baseboards and woodwork ensures that we are getting as much dirt and dust as possible. Using the Murphy’s Oil Soap/water solution wipe down all the woodwork located on this wall. Doors, door casings, baseboards and trim all need a good cleaning.

Closets: If there is a closet located on the designated wall, you will clean this out today. More than likely, you have already addressed some of the items in this space as per the Thematic Organization. If not, click on this link Closet and follow the example of the Linen Closet.

Decorative Items:

You may have already cleaned these during the Thematic Organization. If not, click on this link  Decorative Items for information the March Calendar which will provides on how to clean specific items. This link will also provide information on cleaning other specific items Decorative Items 2. Just click on the embedded links for each type of item you need to clean.

Lamps:

These too were cleaned during out Thematic Organizing. If you missed cleaning the lamps, here is the link:Lamps.

Fabrics/Upholstered Items:

For your upholstered furniture: follow the manufacturer instructions on how to clean. For your more valuable pieces, you may want to have them professionally cleaned. Before cleaning any piece, vacuum the upholstery with your vacuum using the upholstery attachment. Use the crevice cleaner to clean in between cushions and in the seat crevices. For cleaning the fabric: Some upholstery items can be cleaned with a soft cloth and warm water. Spot clean heavily soiled items with spray upholstery cleaner.Make sure you test first in an inconspicuous spot before using on your piece.

Flooring:

After you have cleaned each wall in the room as scheduled, attend to the flooring. Vacuum or clean any carpeted surfaces. Wood or vinyl flooring can be cleaned with Murphy’s Oil Soap/water solution (more water, less soap). Or you can use a commercial floor product specifically designed for your flooring type.

Carpets:

Carpets can be cleaned at home using a steam cleaner (you can rent these at just about any grocery store). Vacuum carpets thoroughly during your weekly cleaning to help keep yo;ur carpets cleaner. As for our Every Nook and Cranny Cleaning: As you finish cleaning a room, use a steam cleaner on your carpets (follow manufacturers instructions for your carpet). Pre-treat any heavily soiled areas before using the steam cleaner. Now your room is completely finished and as much dirt, dander and hair have been removed making your home fresher and healthier!

Please note: For wool rugs or specialty carpets it is best to take to a professional for cleaning.

Congratulations: you have successfully completed the healthy “Every Nook and Cranny” cleaning. Continue to follow the schedule  via the compass rose cleaning schedule and finish cleaning your home.

Leave a comment