Are you an “urge” deep-cleaner? You know, the one that cleans when you feel the urge in Spring, or before guests come over, or as you nest in your last trimester?
I was a only-deep-clean-when-you-feel-the-urge cleaner, and as a result, my ceiling fans literally were not dusted in over a year. My bathroom tub would have a solid ring before I would feel the urge to scrub, and areas like under the kitchen sink were out of sight and out of mind . . . until guests tried to help me clean the kitchen.
However, I finally have a simple system! The first Saturday of every. single. month. I deep clean my entire house.
It sounds like a big deal, and the first time . . . yeah . . . it took me a day and a half.
But the cool part is, it gets WAY quicker! When you don’t wait as long between deep cleaning sessions, you’ll find the oven only takes 5 minutes to scrub instead of an hour. There is only one “treasure” under the couch instead of all Black Beard’s booty, and you can even attack extra little projects.
Here’s a few tips to help along the way.
1. First Saturday is ONLY project day in our house
My husband isn’t the kind of guy that likes tinkering with light fixtures and fixing toilet handles. However, on this ONE Saturday a month, I ask him for help with “projects” around the house. Last month, he put together our new bookcase, bought new tires for our car (“the Hamster”) and helped me make a mirror frame.
Now, unless it’s an emergency, I don’t bug him with “projects” during the month! He’s happy to fix things on Saturday, knowing I don’t have a honey-do-list constantly hanging over his head, and I always get help with the annoying odd jobs!
2. Put on a Pair of Your Guest’s Glasses
“Deep Clean” can sound kind of vague, but the main way it differs from regular cleaning, is that you see things through a guests point of view. When you do a systematic deep clean of the entire house, you can see all these things at once and they stick out like sore thumbs. For instance, we still had spit up stains on our couch from when Leon was born for over a year–and I mean ALL over our couch.
Elisha and I forgot that urine stains and spit up circles didn’t belong there–again–until we had guests over and invited them to join us in the living room.
When I didn’t systematically deep clean, the spots never stood out. But when I began cleaning my whole house at ONCE, I made an upholstery cleaning appointment immediately.
Little hazards like crumbs in the silverware drawer and sticky spots on doorknobs stand out much more, as well.
3. Use a List
Deep cleaning the whole house can sound overwhelming. Big Time. If you’re me, it’s also easy to get sidetracked.
That’s why I created a printable I use every First Saturday.
This master checklist keeps me from chasing down organizational rabbit trails when I see all that still needs to be done, and helps me see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Bonus: I don’t forget about easily forgettable places.
Monthly Deep Clean Checklist-The Kathryn Joy
4. Write down what you Need as You go Along
When you’re deep cleaning, you’ll be paying closer attention to the little things. There’s no better time to write down* if I need to replace a lightbulb, or restock tooth paste, or change the oil.
*I take notes on the back of my master cleaning list.
I look over my printables and make sure I have enough for the month (you need ’em when you need ’em . . . not after you realize your printer is out of ink) and also write down any projects that need to be done, but I don’t have time to do that minute.
Don’t get sidetracked organizing a closet in the middle of a deep clean! You can do that anytime, but First Saturday is Special. 😉
In the video below I walk you through what a deep clean looks like for me in my apartment. Sure, my apartment is small, but even if you only cleaned half your house each First Saturday, I think you’ll find the monster gets easier and easier to tame . . . and guests will never have to wonder at that long yellow drip that’s been clinging to the wall for months.
Let’s do this thing!
