Cleaning house is both a drudgery and a rewarding activity at the same time. Depending on how you feel the day you clean, housework can very likely be drudgery. However, if you really don’t have anything else to do because it is raining or snowing outside, housework can be immensely rewarding. How’s that?
First and foremost, housework gives you a sense of completion, something few jobs offer nowadays. Most of us leave work behind with that “other foot about to drop” feeling. There is rarely a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment or the feeling that “I got something DONE today.” This is where housework can quickly become your best friend.
Housecleaning gives you an immediate payback. Everyone is happy to come into a neat, clean, and fresh-smelling house. You enjoy the visual pleasure it gives you and that relaxing feeling you get from your accomplishment. But, before you get too comfy with that good feeling, are you sure that you can really call your house clean? Because you can’t call it clean if you haven’t done these few steps below. If you have, then go put your feet up on that nicely polished coffee table and enjoy your afternoon!
You can’t call your house clean until….
You’ve edged.
Think “edging” is just for yards? Think again. Dirt usually collects in corners and along baseboards. Break out those vacuum attachment tools and be sure to “edge” your floors, hard surfaces and carpeted ones alike. Then, remind your husband that he can’t call the yard done until he’s edged the driveway and walks. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander….
You’ve cleaned trim and woodwork.
As you make your way through the house, cleaning from room to room, be sure to take a look at the walls and trim. Are the doors to the kitchen or to the garage filled with fingerprints and food splatters.
You’ve “Swiffered” the floors.
Hands down the best thing that’s happened to floors in the past five years is the electrostatic dust cloths. These little wonders pick up hair and fine particles that vacuums manage to send traveling in opposite directions at velocities NASA only dreams about. Vacuum and then “Swiffer” the floors and you’ll see how much the vacuum leaves behind.
You’ve cleaned knickknacks.
This is the type of cleaning that really counts. If you have the usual paraphernalia on your bathroom counters, then you have bottles coated in all kinds of gunk and grime. You can’t call it clean until they are sparkling. Likewise, dusting coffee tables and dresser tops isn’t the beginning and end of dusting. You have to also dust the items on the dresser and table tops.
You’ve cleaned the appliances.
Give the washer and dryer a good cleaning. Double that for the microwave. Really, now, how long has that exploded mac and cheese been hanging off the ceiling of your microwave? Be sure to clean the fronts of the refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher, and any small appliances on the counter. Cleaning also includes the tops of refrigerators.
Got all that? Well, then, the house really is clean.
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Kathryn Weber is the publisher of the Everydayclean.com Calender -- the calendar that helps you end the power struggle with your house. Keeping a clean home is about knowing what to clean when. Virtually everything that needs to be cleaned is on this calendar in a year-round cleaning schedule that helps you keep your house clean easier and faster. Click here for more information.
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