A Clean House – Suggested Steps

This past weekend was a holiday weekend in the USA. We were planning on having some company over so I wanted to make sure I had a clean house. Usually it takes us all day (and sometimes multiple days) to have our house cleaned up to the standards of company. It’s not because we are messy people, but because we want to have every inch cleaned. I was hoping Pinterest would give me some solution to cleaning my house faster. Found hidden amongst my boards was this: Suggested Steps For a Clean House.

From a glance this checklist seemed to have everything we would want to do for cleaning the house and it was listed in an organized manner. I especially loved the checklist format. There were definetly some pro’s and cons to this list.

Pros:

• List begins with basic cleanup for all the rooms. This is a huge step and helps eliminate clutter quickly and gets everything into the rooms they are supposed to be in (or at least in that direction. We put shoes on the stairs so people can grab them on their way up)
• Laundry is dispersed into the the mix. It’s a great reminder to keep checking it to switch it.
• Organize Pantry/Fridge and Discard expired items – How often do you remember to do this? Expired items in the fridge we usually see, but what about the old bottle of syrup in the back. You never know if your guests will go in your closet to replace the empty bowl of chips.
• Dust Baseboards/Ceiling fans – This is often overlooked but they can attract cobwebs and dust easily. Especially this time of year when bugs be moving inside for the winter. (I dread this time of year….. )
• Run the oven cleaning cycle – better on a colder day, but this can have a huge impact on your oven. Consider also cleaning your stove grates or your glass stove top.
• Clean the grill – OOOOOH boy…. I wish I saw this a few days earlier. Our grill is pretty dirty and the buildup sent my delicious new chicken recipe into a blackened chicken recipe…..

Cons:

• Not nearly enough check mark slots for laundry. This may be great for a one person home, but for four people we needed at least 3 more listings for that. Especially if we are washing bed sheets.
• Dust the rooms was listed in multiple categories. it should have been part of a “general” category. Once you get in the habit of cleaning a certain way why stop? It’d be like vacuuming once room at a time. It wastes too much time.

I can’t really complain about this list. It actually met most of my standards. The second con is just a little quip of mine. The only downside I can say is not having enough spots for laundry. Especially since they reference “picking up toys”(meaning children) and “stripping the beds” they should have had more room for this. Regardless of those two things I thought this was great and really covered everything for cleaning a house right before a party or large event. It is also a great beginning/end of season checklist to get the house in order. I wouldn’t recommend this list for weekly cleaning but when you want a real thorough one it’s perfect! (well almost… does laundry ever end?….)