Hey Britt365,

Congrats on the new furniture and the new digs!! Sounds like you are beginning a whole new life which is exciting.

One thing about cleaning, it's always going to be there even long after we're gone, so don't let it get you down. If it needs to be done, and you want to do a deep clean on the apartment, then make a plan and work at it a little at a time. Each area is a new challenge, and when done is a success!! But don't beat yourself up if there is a dust bunny hiding somewhere or a crumb on the floor. 

So from someone who used to clean houses for a living, here's a little list of secrets, just between you and me (wink)

Rule no 1: Breathe in

Rule no 2: Breathe out

Rule no 3: repeat continuously

Ok, now the rules are out of the way here's some tips about cleaning the house.

If you give it a good once over before you move furniture in, maintainence will be much easier because you won't be worried about what is under the couch or behind the dresser. If you are moving out of a place, you will want to make sure the cleaning is done so you can get the deposit back.

While the rooms are still empty, start at the point that is the farthest from the front door. Begin in each room from left to right and top to bottom. For instance if you are in a bedroom, start at the top left side of the room and run a broom around the ceiling where the wall and the ceiling meet. Make sure there are no cobwebs. Then if there is a window, spray it with windex and wipe it clean. Then run the broom around the baseboards to get any dust off of them, vaccum the room and close the door. That room is done SCORE!

In bathrooms, spray the inside of the shower wall down all the way to the tub with a spray cleaner. If it's moldy, you might need something strong like X14 or Clorox Cleanup. If it's just soap scum or regular use, then Scrubbing bubbles or something like that should help. Spray down the toilet bowl inside.

Once you spray that down, let it sit while you do the cobwebs and baseboards. Then clean the mirror/medicine cabinet wipe off the light and the sink (*note, if the sink is groady, you can spray it like the tub and let it sit) Clean out the cabinet underneath.

Now go back to the tub. Spray the shower walls once more, but this time use a scrubber on the tiles or fiberglass surround. don't rinse it yet. Scrub the tub next. Once all of it is scrubbed, then you can rinse. There might be spots that you see that were overlooked. You can get those after everything is rinsed down.

If you had to soak the sink, spray the tub spots that were missed and go back to the sink. Then when the sink is done, scrub the toilet then you can go back to the tub. Unless the tub was in really rough shape, you should be done. I wipe down the outside of the toilet when I am ready to do the floor. You can do the floor and back out of the room. Close the door!! SCORE!

Work the rest of the rooms the same way, Kitchen same as the bathroom, spray down things that will need scrubbing, do the rest first and come back to the sink, stove, refrigerator, etc. If Dylan is helping you, I would put him on the stove, refrigerator and other appliances in the kitchen while you work in the other rooms. 

I know this looks like alot but if you take it just a little at a time, then it will work for you. If you have the furniture coming and need to do that area first, then that's ok.

I hope this helps! I always had a plan when I cleaned so I could look at what was done, check off what I did and knew what was left.

Good luck and let us know how you are doing!

Vicki M