I don’t want to clean. I don’t like to clean. But when the weather warms up and it is time to open the windows and let the sun shine in the last thing I want to see is those little dust particles flying around in the sunlight. Okay, so I can’t get rid of them all, well, not without some crazy fancy home air vacuum purifier thing that probably cost more than my house itself. So I’m left with no other option but to tear the inside of my house apart and rebuild it. And so I did.
This year was like all the others in that I knew I had a large task ahead of me and that I knew that I needed to be organized to make the job as quick and painless as possible. So for starters, I made some lists. Each list was headed with the room name and then the chores that needed to be done. I also prepared a work tote filled with cleaners and dusters that I could bring with me through each room. I worked only one room at a time and with the exception of certain chores, such as rug cleaning and items that needed a visit to the dry cleaner, I only moved on once the room was absolutely clean.
I started my mission in my bedroom. The very first step was to strip the bed of all linens and the windows of the curtains and shears so they could be cleaned. The comforter and curtains were put aside for the trip to the dry cleaner and the sheets and blankets were taken to the laundry. I removed all rugs to be cleaned at a later time. I emptied the closets, drawers, and armoire of absolutely everything and moved it temporarily to the laundry room. I removed all wall decor and frames and knick knacks from the dressers and night tables as well, and then moved, with help, the furniture all to the middle of the room. With a bucket of a mild cleaner and water I went to work on washing down the walls and trim as well as the doors, window ledges, and light fixtures. I pulled the windows out and scrubbed the trim inside and out, then the glass. Before I went on to the furniture I carefully cleaned the open hardwood floors. With all of the dust traps clear, I was ready to clean each piece of furniture inside and out if possible and then move it back to its home in the room. With the furniture back to normal, I was able to wash the remaining floors. Now, although at this point I would love to be finished, unfortunately I still had the task of returning all of those clothes and decor back to its rightful spot. All of the clothing was inspected and sorted before being returned, with the winter items set aside for cleaning and storage and any discards set in a box for donations or trash. All room decor was thoroughly cleaned and then returned. The best part of removing everything from the room like this is that anything that doesn’t belong will already be out of the way and will impede your cleaning. So now, one room is officially done and just 8 more to go!
Actually most rooms went similarly to the first – everything was removed from the room, the walls, floors, trim, and fixtures were cleaned first, then was belonged in the room was returned, leaving only what didn’t belong in the living room. I did not leave anything uncleaned. The shower curtain rods were cleaned. The toaster oven was cleaned. Even the silk flowers were vacuumed and freshened. But the biggest challenge was when I got to the final room…The laundry room, which is also my storage room. This is the room that has been collecting all of the things that didn’t belong anywhere else in the house so I now had the task of sorting through everything and deciding whether to keep it or get rid of it, and then if I am keeping it, I need to decide if I plan to store it or create a home for it! The biggest problem this year was magazines. We had them everywhere and we didn’t want to just throw them away because they are still in good condition and had good information in them, but at the same time, no one was re-reading them and they were just taking up space – so I decided to donate them to the local school libraries and art departments. Problem solved! With all the left overs sorted all that was left was to run the same drill on the laundry storage area and then, finally, I have completed my mission!!
It was a long process and took several long, long days to complete. I am tired. I don’t even want to think of cleaning a thing right now, but it was truly worth it all because I have a beautiful clean house that is ready to welcome the sunshine and warmth of the season. And, the best part of it all is I don’t have to do it again for another year!! Yay!
Now I will have to encourage my husband to get a start on his spring cleaning – the garage and shed! But that will be another story! The ratings should be checked at online sites to Find the Top Car Vacuum Cleaners for the vehicles. The selection of the top cleaners should be made through the person for the cars.
