Saturday, August 12th, is Garage Sale Day. It is a day to clean out your home as you transition from summer vacations back to steady school and work schedules.
When figuring out what to keep and what to toss, take a close look at your home. Just like you need a spring cleaning, you need to go over everything again in the fall as you prepare to go from warmer weather to cooler days ahead.
Step one is to declutter your home. Start at the top of your house and work your way down room by room. Don’t forget to declutter inside each piece of furniture as well as out. We never realize how much we store in drawers that we really don’t need to keep. Remove all items that are no longer being used including clothing, paperwork, decorations, items that you meant to get rid of but haven’t gotten to yet, etc. Everything that is not currently used in your life needs to be either packed away because it has sentimental value or donated/thrown out. My mother used to tell me that if I haven’t touched it in 6 months, I don’t love it enough to keep it. Pick a reasonable timeframe that works for you and use that mantra. Did you love it enough to use it? If yes, clean it and put it back. If no, it may need to go. Don’t forget to go through storage areas such as attics, closets, basements, garages, guest rooms and other areas not part of the main living areas.
Be sure while you are decluttering that you look at the condition of the areas you are working in to see if any repairs or touchups are needed. Look for paint damage, worn out rugs or bedding, tattered curtains, damaged blinds, loose stair rails, etc. It is good to know what needs some love while decluttering so you can gather the materials you need to fix these items when you reach them in the cleaning stage.
Step two is thorough cleaning. Once the decluttering is done, you have room to work on what is left. Cleaning is a process that is affected by gravity so start at the top of the room and work your way down. Before you start make sure you have all the needed supplies like cleaners, rags, repair or touch up items, etc. Nothing slows you down and makes you lose your enthusiasm like having to stop to run to the store and get something you need to finish the job.
Dust the cobwebs that form in the edges where the walls meet the ceiling. Clean fan motors and blades. Remember to clean the A/C registers in each room because they are a fantastic place for dust to hide! Replace filters in the A/C units, although those should be getting changed on a regular basis to ensure proper ventilation in the home.
Work down cleaning the walls, shelves, items on the shelves, wall hangings, etc. While you are focused on this area, wash the walls to get rid of stains and anything that might damage the paint. Don’t forget to wash doors, door frames, windows, and window frames as well. Those edges collect dirt, dust, dead bugs, hair, dander, etc. Wipe those areas with a damp cloth to get up anything that might fall to another surface during cleaning then clean them with a regular household cleaner. Windows are harder to clean because if you cannot access them from the outside, it is sometimes hard to tell if that spot is inside or out. Use a vinegar solution or commercial glass cleaner to get what you can so you feel good about your cleaning job, and you can see those beautiful spring days outside. If you can reach them, don’t forget to clean the screens as well as the glass.
Move down to the furniture and personal items, which can hold a lot of dust. Wipe down your tables, dressers and similar furniture with a rag or duster taking care to clean everything on them as well. Clean appliances with warm soapy water and be sure to follow with a damp cloth to remove excess soap. This method is safer than using commercial cleaning products in the kitchen because the residue from the cleaners will be less harmful in food prep or food storage areas. No one wants to do this, but don’t forget to clean inside the refrigerator, oven, microwave, and toaster (and/or toaster oven). Clean the refrigerator by removing expired or spoiled foods, wash shelves and drawers with soapy water, and wash inside ceiling walls and floor. The oven, microwave and toaster simply need to be washed with soapy water and a scrubber that will remove the debris cooked onto the surface. Wipe out interior cavities also. When cleaning the stove take a moment to remove the burners and drip pans to wash them too. If the drip pans can’t be cleaned because the food is burned onto the surface, you can buy replacements at most DIY home improvement stores.
We haven’t forgotten the upholstery, but it needs to be cleaned last because fabrics act as a dust magnet. Until you finish your other cleaning, upholstery will continue to collect dust and other particles stirred up by the activity around it.
When you get to the floor, take some time to really evaluate it. Don’t rush through this step because floors really take a beating year-round. Look at what you store there. Is this really the best place to keep things? Did you miss items under the bed that you really needed to get rid of or clean? Under furniture is where we often forget to look.
Does all this sound like a lot of work? It is. Fortunately, we can help. ServiceMaster 5 Points Athens is ready to help clean your floors and your upholstery. We clean all types of flooring so use us to get that good-as-new look back in your home. Carpet, area rugs and upholstery are dust magnets. They are also great at keeping allergens trapped in them. That is, until you walk or sit on them and stir particles back into the air you breathe. Hardwood, tile, and vinyl floors lose that shine and show scuff marks very clearly. We clean all those flooring and upholstery items to remove dirt and odors, and get them to look like new, whether it is getting matted carpet fluffed up or getting the hard surface floors to shine.
