Having changed dwellings 11 times in the past 15 years, my husband and I have cleaned a lot of houses. We’ve washed baseboards and ovens, shampooed carpets and vacuumed under beds. But we’ve always done it when we move out, when we’re fixing up the place so we can get our deposit back, or making it sparkle to put it on the market.
Every time we deep clean a home, and I look around at how nice it looks when we’re done, I think, we always do this when we leave. We don’t even get to enjoy it.
No more, my friends. With my New Year’s commitment to housekeeping this year, we are not cleaning the house just for guests, or for the next residents. We are keeping it clean for ourselves. And this past weekend, we began our first dedicated spring cleaning.
Because of the enormity of the task – it took all day Sunday to launder sheets, underbedding, and blankets, and I haven’t even gotten to comforters and pillows yet – we are splitting our checklist into two weekends, and we actually marked “Spring Cleaning” on our calendars so that we wouldn’t schedule anything else those days. Thankfully, we took care of some of these tasks, like washing curtains and organizing our files, when we moved in. Last weekend we purged closets, gathered dry cleaning and mending, made lists of spring clothes the kids need, flipped mattresses, washed light fixtures. Next weekend, God help us, we will tackle the rest:
✓ Launder underbedding
✓ Wash blankets/quilts/comforters
✓ Clean and change over seasonal clothing
✓ Give away items
✓ Turn mattresses
✓ Wash knickknacks/glass – candleholders, vases
✓ Clean top of kitchen cupboards and top of refrigerator
✓ Wash light fixtures
Change air filter
Clean oven
Wash pillows
Clean lampshades
Wash windows and screens
Vacuum books
Vacuum refrigerator coils
Clean walls, ceilings, floors
Move and clean under appliances
Shampoo rugs and upholstery
Wash curtains/blinds
Organize household records
Change passwords
Scrub patio
Organize and clean basement shelves
Wow, that’s a daunting list. I’m not even going to pretend like I’m excited to take care of all this. But as my new hero, Cheryl Mendelson writes, “Whether you live alone or with a spouse, parents, and ten children, it is your housekeeping that makes your home alive,” and I am inspired. I think about what our house is going to feel like when we’re done, all clean and sparkly and restorative, warm and airy and fresh like the coming spring, and I am eager to do the work. Or at least, for it to be done.
If you are inspired to keep house and are struggling with how to organize your approach, take a look at Housekeeping schedule: Dailies & Weeklies. I’ve been following this schedule, with a few adjustments, since the beginning of the year. The routine has become habit, making it part of my regular life rather than a neglected chore that that has to be tacked on at the end of the day.
Home Comforts: The Art & Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson. Mendelson, a homemaker, lawyer, and mother, learned about housekeeping from an early age from her grandmothers, one Appalachian, the other Italian. The two grandmothers taught her that although different ways of keeping house can be appropriate, there are generally smarter, faster, and more creative ways of housekeeping that make it less of a chore and more of an art. (Amazon)
Butterfly Mind 
Keeping house is a part time job. The book looks interesting, maybe some ways to concentrate on the more important aspects of ‘cleaning’. I’ll have to copy this list and put it on the fridge.
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I would love to be able to clean like this! Sadly, we can’t see our floors, dressers, anything for all the clutter and crap everywhere, so that is the first step – the giant purge and reorganization. And instead of organizing the physical, my husband spends hours and hours organizing his online music as my belly grows and stamina decreases. I think we are both overwhelmed by the process and not able to even get started, but we must. We can’t bring our son into this hot mess of a house. Thanks for a list to remind me of what all we should do when we can see floors!
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I know, Ellen, it is overwhelming when there is so much to do, and with a baby on the way. When we were beginning to keep house, and were completely overwhelmed by the enormity of starting from scratch (no established routines), we tackled it like we tackle packing and moving: one room at a time. Mendelson suggests focusing on the rooms that require cleanliness for health – the rooms you sleep and cook in. Maybe that will help you get started. Good luck! You can do it!
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I use FLYlady.net – free, online, and boy does she understand clutter, and procrastination, and the paralysation of perfectionism!
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Started this on a small scale about two years ago as part of my dedication to Venus. I first reclaimed my closet and wardrobe. I thought She would appreciate that! I went through all of my clothes and let go of everything that did not comfort me or make me feel lovely when I wore it. That was a LOT! I color categorized my clothes and began to finally see where I needed to expand my wardrobe. Where were the holes? Did I have that simple black dress? Did my sweaters and coats still fit? Once doing that, I actually felt excited to shop for clothes for myself. I had a direction now. This year, Chance and I have had enough of the yard! Clearly motivated by the desire to get the kids outside and playing, we now spend more time outside. Using the space now allows me to have a vision and intuition around how I want the energy to flow. Where do I want to sit? What kinds of plant life or ornamentation do I want to see while sitting there? This has lead to the creation of a fairy garden dedicated to Kwan Yin, a new front porch seating area, and a swing set. Well, I have written enough. Thanks for sharing. It helps me stay inspired too. Enjoy the home keeping!
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We just went through my closet this weekend, and boy, I was hanging on to stuff from before the kids were born. All worn and faded and not attractive or flattering at all. Maybe they just made me nostalgic for the free and easy life 😉 I like the idea of color categorizing so you can see where holes are. I love your ideas for outside – for figuring out where you want to sit and be. I bet your yard looks gorgeous!
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Alas…it is far from gorgeous. It will be one day.
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I read that book from cover to cover. It renewed my belief in the value of keeping a clean and orderly house, and reminded me that house and home mean two entirely different things. The author is kind of amazing, isn’t she? Good luck tackling your list! Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed this post.
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I wasn’t feeling particularly excited about spring cleaning when I started this post – it was more something to check off my list. But when I thumbed through her book this morning to find that quote, I started getting excited about it. I love her attitude towards keeping house – that our homes are an extension of ourselves, and that spending time on taking care of our home life is not a waste of time, but an opportunity to express and rejuvenate ourselves. I love her.
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I am finally, after years of looking at it, reading Home Comforts. I’m def. skipping around…but as I nest and try to work on the spring cleaning of my own, it has helped quite a bit! I’ve learned a lot about the “why” of what we do/are expected to do. I’m in agreement with Elle above…I didn’t want to bring the new baby into the house in its current state, so I have been frantically cleaning and organizing, leaving the “cleanest” project of organizing the digital matter until last, when everything else is visually pleasing. Good luck, everyone! The result of all the hard work is such an amazing feeling!
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It is an awesome feeling – one of the best. Each time I try to procrastinate the cleaning, to research freelance writing gigs for example, I tell myself “Once the cleaning is done.” When the space is fresh and scrubbed, with a clean, uncluttered openness for new ideas, and in your and Ellen’s cases, new people 😉
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I enjoyed Home Comforts in terms of inspiration but I found it a little overwhelming in terms of day to day housekeeping- especially if you’re new to regular home keeping. I use it more as a reference at this point for all those little questions like what sort of cleaner do I need to use on marble or how do you wash a down comforter. I found the FlyLady more practical on a daily basis. She breaks it down a little better and helps you establish routines in a way that I find more sustainable. They have her book at the MFRL or you can use her website. I find her website and emails a little much after you have things figured out but it’s a place to start. simple mom also has some really good stuff for cleaning routines- poke around the downloads section.
I’ve been working on my clothing as well. I was in a muddle of pregnancy, post-partum, nursing for quite a while. I have had good luck with the LOFT store in 1st and Main- especially for cute knitwear tops that will work with jeans but that also look nicer than your average t.
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Thanks for this post, Andrea. Just what the doctor ordered. When I clean, I’m like a poster child for ADHD. All over the place. Great advice. I’ll check out the book, too.
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Andrea- wheew! That’s alot of work…I am a certified CLEAN FREAK (got it from my Mom) and have a very good method of “getting it done” that’s worked for me for 20 years although I can’t tell you what that is O.o
People have asked me a bazillion times how I do it and all I can say is “I just DO”…haha…I don’t really KNOW how. It’s written on my list, i flitter and flutter all over the house, get side tracked a thousand times but at the end of the day all this stuff is done….USUALLY… One thing I’ve learned (aside from good music being a MUST while cleaning and that clean sheets cure almost all my problems) is that I have to be flexible. Sometimes the day doesn’t go as planned and some of the things on my list for that day don’t get done (so it gets put on the next available days list.) SOME days go by faster and more successful than expected and I manage to catch up on whatever didn’t workout the day before. BUT IT ALL GETS DONE SOMEHOW. I’ve also learned to say yes to helpers …ON OCCASION. Okay, I’m still working on that one (in addition to being a clean freak, I’m also a control freak when it comes to my house cleaning.)
THIS year I’ve been working on getting rid of things. ALOT of things. Cleaning is so much easier when you don’t have excess STUFF in the way. I’ve achieved alot so far in my mission back to minimalism. Even my wardrobe (i donated 6 big bags of clothes to goodwill and have another one filling up!) ..I feel so much better without all the clutter! I can THINK and FUNCTION again! Gosh things really pile up fast! We’ve always been “light” as a frequently moving military family but now that we’ve been in one spot for a few years, its gotten kinda crazy.
It has taken me forever to get back to reading this blog post (i got distracted the first time and had to set it aside) and reading it made me want to go clean something….or get rid of something…
p.s. I have that book (Home Comforts) and love it for it’s inspiration 😉
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