Beginners Deep Clean Guide [Checklist]
Cleaning can be overwhelming, but not if you have the Beginners Deep Clean Guide [Checklist]! Not knowing where to start or what to make a priority can make you just want to give up and sit on the couch.
Join me at the kitchen table, and we will map out a plan to get your house sparkly clean. For more of a high traffic areas (kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms) focused guide, check out Cleaning Tips for Kitchen and More.
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Deep Cleaning is the process of thoroughly cleaning a home from top to bottom. Starting with the ceiling, ceiling fans, and lighting. Followed by any shelves or cupboards. Next you will clean the walls and appliances. Continuing with countertops and any other hard surfaces. Then finish with baseboards and floors.
Deep Cleaning as a Beginner or Novice
Knowing that you need to clean is half the battle, but the toughest part is knowing where to start and what you need to do once you start.
How many times have we, as homemakers, sat at our kitchen tables or in our comfy chairs in a daze, overwhelmed by all that needs done?
It feels like everything is always a mess, and you barely get the house cleaned before its destroyed again.
This is why occasionally deep cleaning is the real MVP. Not only does it provide a reset for keeping your home tidy, but it gives the satisfaction of completing tasks that cannot be easily undone.
And if you have little ones in your home, you know that is a definite sanity keeper.
What is Deep Cleaning?
Deep Cleaning is a more comprehensive system of cleaning your home.
It requires a little more hard work than your every day tidy up, but the best thing is deep cleaning does not need to be done more than a few times a year.
With this beginner’s guide and the right supplies we will create a cleaning process that will tackle the entire house with as minimal effort as possible.
Paying the extra attention to the often forgotten spaces of our homes will actually make the every day clean up go a lot quicker. And when you are a homemaker, especially with kids, you need all the extra pockets of time you can find!
Why do I need to Deep Clean My Home?
Do you need to deep clean your home? No, I suppose you don’t. But will it make your life easier in the long run? Yes, yes it will.
Beyond just giving your home a refresh and a reset, a deep clean will draw attention to the often forgotten or neglected spaces in our homes.
I neglect them too, it doesn’t make you a bad homemaker. But when we can zero in on the details, it will make cleaning your home much more efficient overall.
Also, deep cleaning will give you the opportunity to evaluate what you have or what you are storing and decide if it stays or if it goes. Decluttering is like deep cleaning’s best friend.
It’s a wild concept, but I finally realized that the less stuff I have, the less stuff I have to constantly pick up and put away. I make these mistakes and learn from them so hopefully you don’t have to!
Beginner’s Deep Clean Guide
Clear the Spaces
Remove every item from surfaces, to begin with. As you clean each location, you will want to remove items from drawers and cupboards. This will allow you clean and organize each space as you go.
Create a Plan
You will want to map out what area you will target first and what will be a priority after that. Deep Cleaning can take more than one day.
I recommend deciding on what you consider your high traffic areas and pick one room to start. Complete that room before moving on to the next.
Completing a room before moving on to the next may seem like a no-brainer. But if you are like me, you can find yourself bouncing from room to room without completing a single space.
Back to deciding on high traffic areas, I typically consider the living room, kitchen, and main bathroom my high traffic areas.
There is no right or wrong place to start. I recommend deciding based on which space needs the most attention. Or based on time, which room you can complete the quickest.
The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living within that environment.
Marie kondo
Gather Your Supplies
You will need a few items to clean with. I recommend a few rags (I use a mix of old rags, and a microfiber cloth), a bucket, a pillow case (if you have ceiling fans – don’t worry, I will explain), an old toothbrush, a scrub brush, broom, mop, a toilet brush, and a spray bottle.
Cleaners I recommend having are: baking soda, vinegar, dish soap, lemon juice, and olive oil.
I try to keep the supplies and cleaners as simple as possible. Not only are they easy to find anywhere, but you don’t have to worry about any weird scents bothering you or leaving a residue.
These ingredients work as a multipurpose cleaner for any of the rooms we will be working in. Easy peasy.
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Detailed Instructions for Each Room
Living Room
When deep cleaning your living room, the details are where it’s at! While most days may be spent picking up toys and returning books to their proper shelf, deep cleaning is about the nooks and crannies.
- Wipe or brush off dust from your ceiling. If you have textured ceilings, brushing them off may work better. You can use a broom to do this.
- Using a rag, clean off ceiling fans, light fixtures and shelves. Equal parts vinegar and water works well to clean these surfaces.
Homemaking Hint: Fan Fix!
Use a pillowcase to remove dust from fan blades. Slip the pillowcase over the fan blades one at a time and close the pillowcase around the blade while removing it. When finished, simply take the pillowcase outside, turn inside out and shake out. Then launder as usual.
- Wash down walls, trim, windows, and doors
- Take down and launder any curtains. Wipe down blinds.
- Dust any hard surfaces. Wipe down furniture.
- Wipe down baseboards.
- Vacuum floor. Move furniture and vacuum under it as well.
- Mop floors.
Kitchen / Dining Room
- Clean ceiling of dust and cobwebs.
- Wipe down ceiling fan and light fixtures. -Use pillowcase method for cleaning ceiling fans. Use vinegar and water solution to clean fan blades and light fixtures.
- Wash down shelves, cupboards, and walls.
- Clean off range hood, and all appliances. This is a good time to clean out appliances as well, but if you’re short on time, that can be a project for another day.
Homemaking Hint: Grease Gone!
I use a solution of dish soap and vinegar to remove any grease or filmy residue.
- Wipe down windows, walls, and doors.
- Wash walls and trim.
- Wipe down baseboards and trash can.
- Sweep and Mop floor.
Bathrooms
- Start with cleaning the ceiling and light fixtures and / or exhaust fan
- Wipe down walls
- Dust shelves and cabinets
- Scrub shower and / or bathtub
- Clean Mirrors
- Clean off counters and scrub sink(s)
- Clean toilet inside and out
- Wipe down outside and inside of drawers and cabinets
- Take down shower curtain to replace or launder
- Sweep floor, then mop
Hallway
Because each hallway is so different, please add to or ignore instructions as necessary.
- Wipe down ceiling and light fixtures
- Remove anything from the walls such as pictures or knick-knacks
- Wipe down any shelves, pictures, or knick-knacks
- Clean doors and windows
- Wash down walls and trim
- Sweep floor, and mop (depending on flooring of course)
Bedrooms
- Wipe down ceiling, light fixtures and/or ceiling fan
- Wash walls, doors, and trim
- Dust shelves, and any hard surfaces such as dressers
- Clean furniture
- Wipe down windows and mirrors
- Change bed linens and launder dirty ones
- Wash baseboards
- Sweep floors (mop, if necessary for your flooring type)
one last thing…
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