Is Your New Year’s Resolution to Clean Your Home?

Is your New Year’s resolution to clean your home? If so, you want to do more than just pick up, but do an extensive clean. While it will take more time, it will result in a truly clean house, not just a quick clean house. So, what should you do?

Clean your walls.

It is amazing how much dirt, grime, and dust a wall accumulates. To get started, take a broom or vacuum cleaner to all cobwebs. Then, start scrubbing the walls. Unless covered in grime, a quick scrubbing will do. An easy step is to use a Swiffer sweeper. Attach a cleaning strip and go to town. This makes it easy to get those hard to reach places.

Move your appliances and clean.

When doing so, it is important to target both large and small appliances. In your kitchen, get help and pull out your refrigerator. Clean underneath it. Don’t forget to clean the inside and outside too. Also, remember the small appliances. Shake all the crumbs from your toaster and clean the counter underneath. Also, get appliances in other rooms, such as computers, TVs, satellite receivers, and so forth.

Clean your medicine cabinet.

First, pull out all items and give your medicine cabinet a good scrub both inside and out. Before putting medicine and first aid supplies back, check expiration dates. Throw away anything that has expired. Also, take an inventory count. All homes should have first aid supplies, including bandages. Make a note of what you need to buy.

Clean your cupboards.

For the most part, food cupboards are clean, but it is easy for dust to accumulate or for food packages to spill. So, pull everything out. Scrub the inside and start putting food back in. When doing so, look at what you have. Toss any food with expired expiration dates. Move foods with close expiration dates to the front. Donate any unopened, salvageable foods that you do not want to a local food bank.

Clean your refrigerator and freezer.

As previously stated, you should clean underneath and outside of your refrigerator, but don’t forget the inside. Although hidden from the view of most guests, a clean home means a clean refrigerator. Don’t forget your freezer too. Even small freezers need a good clean, as small items occasionally get lost in the shuffle. Pull all items out of your freezer and refrigerator and scrub. Throw away anything that is old, expired, or has been open too long. Put all the foods you want to save back inside.

Sort through your linen closet.

Pull everything from the closet. Vacuum or sweep the floor and then wipe down all shelves. Before putting items back inside, examine them. If you can afford to buy new towels or sheets, throw away the ones that are old, tattered, or ripped. Repeat the same process with each of your closets. Always vacuum or sweep the floor, wipe down all shelves, and do not keep anything you do not need.

Clean your computer.

As suggested above, you should clean around and underneath your computer, but clean it too. This is a small, but important step because most people do not realize how dirty their computers are. If you eat or drink at yours, you may have a bigger mess. Wipe down all computer screens carefully. Use a disinfecting wipe to clean the keyboard. Speaking of keyboards, shake it upside down or purchase a small air compressor designed for keyboard cleaning.

As previously stated, you are encouraged to look at what you have in your home when cleaning. Why put an old jacket back in your closet if you haven’t worn it in five years? In most instances, it is easier to throw away items you no longer need but consider donating when possible.

In short, if your New Year’s resolution is a clean home, you have a lot of work ahead. Instead of just vacuuming, sweeping, and dusting, take the time to do it right. By implanting a few of the above-mentioned steps, you will not just have a home that looks clean, but a home that truly is clean.