HOME CLEANING TIPS AND CHECKLISTS

Through the years, I have become more of a minimalist in my home!  It’s crazy to think that at one time I was becoming a hoarder!  Things were stuffed under my bed, on my dresser and boxes were all around.  But then I moved.  And then I moved again.  And yes, again.  As I moved I realized that many of the things that I carried around were not necessary for my enjoyment of my home and my life!    

So, I’ve done a little research and found some basic tips of things to do to get started to just keep your home clean.  Keep your area around you clean.  You can decide at what level you want to maintain your home by choosing what things make you feel best about your area!   Here are some basic checklists to review for what level of effort you want to put into it!   

Checklist Effort Level 1 :

The first thing is to pick up after yourself. When the hamper is full, put it to wash. Tell your children and husband to put their dirty clothes in the hamper, not the floor, if they want it washed. Have a schedule for the laundry. Let’s say, Mondays and Thursdays. After mealtime, everyone picks up their dishes, cleans them off, rinses them, and puts them in the dishwasher. Everyone should be responsible for their own bedrooms and beds should be made up every day. Children are responsible, when old enough, to make their beds daily also. Sheets come off Monday mornings and put in the laundry. If the children are too young, you fix their beds for them. You can assign a child to clean a bathroom once a week, unless they have their own bathrooms, they clean their own. Once a week, garbage is gathered and goes in whatever bins assigned, and taken out the day before pickup.

  • Make them make their beds everyday
  • Make them clean their own dishes
  • Make them do their own laundry or make them help you do the laundry
  • Make them help wipe down and disinfect countertops
  • Make them help you keep out any food that has expired
  • Make them fluff and chop throw pillows
  • Make them help dust hard surfaces

Checklist Effort Level 2 :

Cleaning tasks that can be done twice or three times in a month.  It will help you keep unconstrained cleaning responsibilities. No one wants to have surprise visits only to find out that there’s an inch of dust on your kitchen cabinets. Do these cleaning tasks about once every two weeks.

  • Wipe and disinfect light switches, remote controls, and doorknobs.
  • Dust out ceiling fans, vents, and moldings
  • Shine your mirrors
  • Vacuum floors and furniture
  • Wash and disinfect your wastebaskets
  • Clean your kitchen cabinets
  • Wipe down appliances
  • Deodorize the microwave and scrub your stovetop
  • Clean toilets, scrub and disinfect 
  • Scrub your bathroom floors, showers, and tubs
  • Squeegee shower walls
  • Change your bedding

Checklist Effort Level 3 :

Completing these tasks is what makes an existent, honest-to-goodness difference in your home. So stay focused on the ecstatic feeling of crossing every task off of your list. These are the tasks to be done every three months.

  • Shake out rugs
  • Clean the blinds
  • Wipe your baseboards
  • Clean your leather and wood furniture
  • Vacuum drapes and fabric shades
  • Dust and wipe light fixtures
  • Scrub grouts
  • Descale your coffee maker
  • Clean refrigerator and freezer interiors
  • Polish stainless steel appliances

Checklist Effort Level 4 :

Prioritizing Effort Level 4 tasks is pretty impressive. Good for anyone who literally just walks through the door. Even if you unconsciously curse one time or two as you check these tasks off your list, don’t worry  you’re still considered dominating domestic life. Do these tasks about once every six months.

  • Vacuum the mattress
  • Dry clean your slipcovers, pillows, and comforters
  • Empty and wipe your cabinet and pantry shelves
  • Vacuum your refrigerator condenser coil
  • Clean and dry your stove hood filter
  • Clean the oven interior
  • Disinfect your drain and your garbage disposal.

Checklist Effort Level 5 :

Which means, you’re up for this. Realistically, you’re probably looking at doing these things about once every year or two.

  • Deep clean your doors
  • Wipe down your walls
  • Wash all of your window screens and deep clean the windows
  • Clean your chimney and fireplace
  • Clean behind and underneath all your furniture and large appliances
  • Clean your dryer duct

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You can decide at what level you want to maintain your home by choosing what things make you feel best about your area!  


Turning Houses Into Homes”
Cyndi Lesinski
Cyndi Lesinski and Associates
CAL DRE # 01343529
VIP Realty Group DRE# 02023078