I have always been planning to clean our entire house not because it is messy or something. It’s actually pretty tidy and neat but something is still wrong when I look at it. I did some 'general cleaning’ before but I end up hiding the useless stuffs instead of throwing them away. I still have my college papers and anything related to school. Old books that I haven’t opened over a decade now and some stuffs that I should have already donated.
I was thinking of hiring a cleaner before but I didn't. It
feels better to clean my space and check everything myself. Maybe I’ll hire one next time I need help & if I have extra money. I swear i’ll be needing a lot of help by
then.
I know some of you out there wants to do the same, clean
your entire house. You want to clean, throw and donate some of the stuffs that
has been lying around your house doing nothing. And maybe do a little 'fixing'.
But with a busy life like mine (I swear i'm always out of the house) I don’t
have an entire day to clean. So what I do is I clean ‘slowly’ and per area following the steps that I have formulated before I decided to start
cleaning AGAIN.
1. STRICTLY one area at a time.
Start small. Start with the area where you
always stay. For example, my computer table. Whenever I wake up, I jump and go
directly to my desktop to check my downloads and my social media sites ( It comes first than fixing the sheets!). That’s
what I do, before and after breakfast and leaving the house. And since I always
stay in that area, I decided to clean it first. Because while checking whatever
I want to check I can clean at the same time. (Talking about my mad skills in
multitasking. Hahaha!)
Don’t be pressured seeing those mess unless your
boss will visit your house. So do it per area.
2.
Sorting out Papers.
So you have now decided which area
to clean first but what particular mess you need to clean first? Piles of
Papers!
I have piles of papers in every
part of the house. And it makes me so mad just by seeing it because I haven’t thrown
half of it yet! I always tell myself that I will but never do. Well, I actually
sold some of them to a person who buys scratch papers per kilo for extra
Money! But I have a long way to go when it comes to this particular mess (need to review before throwing). And
it’s giving me a very bad headache. But
i’m almost there! I have been sorting tons of papers one area at a time. So
far.
But if you don’t have any piles of
paper to sort to, then good for you! You can ignore this and go to the next
number.
3.
Donate, Sell, Throw.
I have designated boxes for this. So every time I clean and gather some stuffs out of my cleaning moments I just drop by
on the area where I put the boxes and put the things on it’s designated pit.
And when the box is already full, it’s going right away out of the house. Specially if it’s
‘Throw’. And maybe ‘Donate’ too.
Don't let it sit too long. Dispose ASAP.
4.
Organizing.
This post was designed out of my skills of
it. I am addicted to organizing (aside from multitasking).
One thing I've learn throughout the years
that I have been organizing my stuff is to always put things on the same
compartment. For example, cabinet for art materials or drawers for bond papers
only. Also, room for computers and art or sewing related stuffs only. Do not mix
different stuffs that aren't related to
each other so that whenever you need something, you just go to one place.
5.
Wipe ‘till it shines.
Dust is really an issue in our
house. Also, smudges of different paints and dirt. Well, we are actually fixing
some of the problems in our house (wirings, ceilings and anything that can go
wrong and might not be livable even for a day) and I think we got those because
of it.
So after successfully sorting,
emptying and organizing comes the wiping part. Make the area clean and, at
least, try to maintain it once a week. So that particular area won’t be a
problem to you everyday and you can proceed to other areas.
But if you can do those 3 and
wiping at the same time then great!
*************
I believe that if you do the
cleaning systematically you’ll be cleaning your whole space in no time. Just be
patient. If you have a small house, give it a week or so. If you have a big
house, give it a month. Just don’t forget to do it if you have time. And if
you’re forgetful, then write it in your planner. Include it in your everyday activity.
There is no such thing as “No
Time”. I believe if we try to spare a couple of minutes for the things that really matters to us I think we can do it all. For
me, cleanliness really matters. And it will be more stressless for us ‘busy
people’ if we have a home that is tidy and clean. I believe it would lessen our
problems.
♥
Carla