Today’s cleaning basics are going to be in a slightly different format than yesterday. Instead of focusing on the specific object to be cleaned, due to the vast variety of objects in these areas, I will instead give a list of WHEN to clean.
Kitchen
Note: If you use your kitchen for coffee and to warm things up in the microwave, you can probably cut the “need to do” in half.
Daily:
- Sweep the floor
- Wipe down the counters/stove tops
- Get rid of daily use dishes. (either wash them or put them in the dishwasher)
Weekly:
- Clear out food gone “bad” in fridge
- Mop floor
- Divide your counter space into four areas, and each week deep clean one of those areas
- Scour sink
- Wipe down microwave and other cooking accessories
- Wipe down vent over stove
- Wipe down outside of cabinets
- Check the dishwasher – if needed, clean. May be an every other week thing.
Every other month:
- Clean oven
- Clean fridge – this means take everything out, wipe down (or scrub any spills) surface areas, put everything back in.
- Divide your cabinets into 6 parts. Every other month, pick an area and do a deep cleaning. Take everything out, clean the interior of the cabinet. Put back in what you want to keep
Note: This is a GREAT time get rid of stuff that you have used in a year, and will never use again. Keep a donation box in a closet and as it gets full, take it down to a discount store, a Goodwill or the like.
- Clean trash cans. Yes, even if you line them, they still need to be cleaned on a regular basis.
Note: for this, and things like this, I use disposable wipes. I also wear disposable gloves.
Annually:
- Move the kitchen “furniture” (stove if possible, fridge) and clean behind them.
- Defrost your fridge – IF NEEDED. A lot of the modern fridges do not need the annual defrosting. Before you move everything out and unplug it, read the manual. Make sure you need to do this.
- Wash walls down. If you use your kitchen to cook a lot, the walls may need wiping down much more frequently. I wipe down the walls around “food prep” areas (stove, sink, cutting board) on a weekly basis. A quick swipe and its kept up nicely.
Odditys
Now there will be something unique about your kitchen that no one else has. Make your own rules as to how this should be cleaned. For example, I have a window over the sink that juts out and forms two little window shelves. I have these lined with comfy blankets and the cats sleep there a lot. So my cleaning for this area is: Weekly – wash blankets, Monthly – Clean windows. (I only clean the windows once a month because frankly, I don’t look out those windows, no one looks in, and the cleaner bothers the cats)
Random Kitchen Tip: Put down a layer of aluminum foil on the ground (well, usually the bottom of the cupboard) under the sink. This way, if there are plumbing issues, you will hear the water fall on the foil and be able to react very quickly.
Social Areas
Note: This covers the dining room, living room and any other area people gather to chatter and eat.
Daily:
- Tidy.
Note: Here is what I mean by “Tidy”. Have a basket or a box (hidden or out of the way) where you can “dump” stuff that you cannot immediately put away.
Weekly:
- Dust all surfaces, which for me means “run a duster over the tops of everything”. (This is basic cleaning, not Sparkle Housewife Cleaning after all.)
- Vacuum floor surfaces
- Take a large feather duster or broom, and do a cobweb sweep. This means run the item over all corners and anywhere else cobwebs gather.
- Empty the Tidy box.
- Fluff couch pillows (and chair pillows if needed) – every other week, if possible, turn couch pillows around for even use.
- Window treatments:
- Drapes – shake well. this will generally get rid of dust buildup and cobwebs
- Blinds – Dust or run a cloth over
- Windows – dust window sills.
- Run a dust rag over the TV screen.
Once a month:
- Area cleaning. Once again, divide the room up into 6 sections. Tackle one section every month for a deep cleaning, organization and purge.
- Wash/Wipe down windows. (Again, use dry crumpled up newspaper and a Windex type cleaner)
- Turn your heater on and off. Yes, even in hot weather. You do this so that when you need it in the cool season, you don’t get that blast of burning dust smell the first time you turn it on.
- Check light fixtures. If there are bugs in them, (and there probably will be) clean them out.
Every other month:
- Deep clean the couch cushions. If leather couch, just remove, vacuum the inside and wipe down the leather. If cloth covered, see the instructions that came with the couch for cleaning information.
Annually:
- Wipe down walls.
Note: if you are an inside smoker, please do this much more often. It will preserve the life of the paint on your walls and cut down on that wonderful “smokey” smell.
- Move all furniture into the center of the room, now clean and vacuum the parts of the carpet that you never see.
Specialty Items:
Stairs – Stairs are a high volume area. make sure to vacuum or sweep these at least once a week, more if needed. Also, make sure to clean the banisters weekly with at least a wet rag, possibly a cleaning spray such as 409 (test first to make sure it doesn’t strip paint or discolor wood)
Fireplaces – After each use, when cooled, sweep out ashes. After last use for the season, do a complete clean, knock off any “bits” handing from the irons, do a complete sweep getting corners and any walls you can reach. Before the first use, run the vacuum cleaner attachment over the walls to dislodge any cobwebs and/or spider nests that have taken root.
Filing Cabinet – Actually, this will be tomorrow’s post.
Odditys:
I have a lot of books. So much so that I have about 10-15 boxes of books upstairs in a closet. Once every couple of months or so, I grab one of these boxes, drag it downstairs and trade out a shelf or two of books. this is also a great time to add any old books to the Donate box in the hall closet.
Well, that is it for the general areas. Between yesterday and today these basics can be applied to the entire house/apartment.
tomorrow: The 15 min rule and Filing Cabinets.
-Auntie Zia
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