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It never fails. When I get a call for a quote, and I head over to the house, I always get asked the same question, “How long will it take to clean my house?”
When we get hired to clean, what folks often don’t understand or realize is we have a game plan as soon as we walk into your home.
It takes a professional far less time to clean your home than it will you because we have one goal in mind: to clean your home in the most efficient way possible. We have a strategy that takes on cleaning in a systematic, organized way.
What might take you all day, takes us two hours. People equate length of time with how “clean” the home is.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Professionals clean all day long. You don’t.
But if you want to clean like a professional in the shortest amount of time, this cleaning strategy will help you accomplish that goal.
Table of Contents
A Step By Step Guide To Weekly House Cleaning
1. Get In the Mood
Before you start going room to room, pause first to put on some great, lively music. Most of my staff work with a headset on because music makes everything better.
2. Pick Up Clutter
Now pick up clutter, and as you go, feel free to second-guess your belongings. The less you have, the less you have to put away, clean, and dust: scrutinize books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, furniture, toys the kids have outgrown, old computers you’ve outgrown, old clothes and shoes in the closets…is it time to donate and recycle? We’ll tackle the art of de-cluttering next week.
Dust(go left to right, top to bottom) with microfiber cloths. This will lower allergens and improve the air quality in your house. My favorite cleaning tool, the Swiffer duster is great for dusting too. For slatted blinds, use the string to close them one way and dust, then close them the other way and repeat…it’s useful and a lot more efficient than trying to do one slat at a time. Don’t forget to hit the tops of doors, fans, light fixtures, picture frames and yes, each of your knickknacks (keep them in display cases to reduce dusting work). For the face of framed photos, TV screens, and computer monitors, use glass cleaner on your cotton cloth or microfiber to avoid streaking.
Now and then, your wooden furniture will need a good waxing. Depending on your family this can be done once a month.
4. Ready, Set Vacuum
Make sure your bag/compartment isn’t already full, empty if needed. Use the right settings and attachments. Hit the floors in the whole house, and upholstered furniture. You’ll be amazed at all those missing items (socks, your favorite pen) that you find under your couch cushions not to mention leftover snacks!
Sweep/mop/(except kitchen). For mopping, start at the farthest corner of the room and move back toward the entrance. Rinse mop after completing each 4 x 4-foot area. Better yet, use my favorite tool, the Swiffer Wet Jet or Swiffer Wet Pads.
6. Kitchen
Wipe down countertops and cabinets (start at the immediate right of the stove).
Clean the face of appliances (refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher).
Wipe down stove top.
Clean inside of the microwave.
Soak stove drip pans and knobs in sink.
Clean inside and around sink.
Sweep and mop floor (go light on cleaning product in the water to avoid build-up).
This may seem like a lot to do, but when you read over this, it’s just a step by step process. If you do these steps as outlined, and don’t get sidetracked, you too can get your house clean in far less time than what you’re currently taking.
And, if you do all these regular house cleaning tasks each week, your home won’t need to be ‘deep cleaned’ as often.
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