Self Help

What is the level of cleanliness in your home right now? Give your house a rating from one to ten, with one being filthy-dirty and ten being sterile. Be honest, but not too critical. At what level would you like it to be? Take into account the feasibility of your goal: the number of people living in the house, their pickup habits, their ages, the size of the house, the age of the house and its furnishings and equipment, all affect how much time it takes to keep a neat atmosphere. You decide: “I want to be at #__ level.”

You can’t jump from arithmetic to calculus; don’t try to jump from a cluttered house to immaculate in one easy step. It takes time to change habits, and its easier to concentrate on one habit at a time. In order to keep a clean house, you have to have a good reason.

Why do you want it clean? One of the most compelling reasons is it makes you feel better about yourself. When company comes, it saves embarrassment. There are fewer arguments and fewer accidents in a clutter-free home, and you save time looking for things. You will also save money because the things you have will look nice longer.

There are three degrees of cleaning: pickup, surface, and deep. You already know what a pickup means as it is self-explanatory. This is your front line. When you do it you have immediate improvement, and it serves to make what you’ve deep cleaned stay clean longer. Surface cleaning is done between the pickup and the complete job - when you pull out the furniture to vacuum but might not go so far as to shampoo carpet or clean drapes.

Deep cleaning includes cleaning all surfaces (walls, drapes, floors, furniture), and involves sorting and maybe some redecorating. There are different strategies for each degree of cleaning. It helps to identify which kind of job you are doing so you stay on target. Housework survivors take care of the surface and deep cleaning in one of two ways: marathon or small bites.

What Is Marathon Cleaning?

Great-Grandma used a marathon system of spring and fall house-cleaning. Sometimes a deadline such as house guests or a party initiates a cleaning marathon. School teachers are typical marathoners. They keep up with the basics during the school year, then catch up with deep cleaning and redecorating projects during time off.

The ideal time for an annual cleaning is October, after the busy summer and dust. If you use this system, set a specific date and then keep it. In the old days. Grandma would take everything out of the house onto the lawn, clean the rooms, wash the curtains, beat the rugs, and polish each item before it went back into the house. When it was finished, the house was sparkling, but the family was dead tired. That isn’t a very logical way to clean in our day, because we don’t have enough time to do it all at once.