General cleaning of the apartment, step-by-step plan for cleaning an apartment or house

Many housewives are frightened by the phrase “general cleaning of the apartment.” Every woman is familiar with the desire to postpone it for as long as possible. But there still comes a time when you have to “arm yourself” with rags, detergents, a mop and a vacuum cleaner, and get down to business.

How to properly do general cleaning of an apartment or cottage and not get exhausted at the initial stage? Are there ways in which you can quickly clean your home with your own hands and not feel like a “squeezed lemon”?

This article provides useful tips for organizing the cleaning process in an apartment or house.

Most often, general cleaning of the home in Russia and the CIS countries is usually done before the Easter holiday in the spring, when it is already warmer outside and you can open the windows, and in the fall during the “Indian summer”, when the days are still warm, when you can quickly dry things.

Checking inventory availability

Before drawing up a DIY cleaning plan, determine what equipment you need for the job and check if everything is available. This will allow you not to be distracted during the process by going to the store or looking for an alternative. Make a list of what you need in advance and check its availability, making the necessary purchases if necessary.

What you may need:

garbage bags;
rags, sponges and paper napkins, newspapers for washing glass and mirrors;
household rubber gloves and apron;
dishwashing detergent, laundry soap, soda;
powder cleaner or specialized chemical cleaning products (stoves, ovens, tiles, bathtubs, toilets, chrome parts, furniture, carpets, etc.)
basin or bucket;
mop, broom, floor rag;
vacuum cleaner;
beater (for carpets and upholstered furniture);
washing powder;
additional means and tools if you have any household or interior items that require an individual approach.

Make sure that the vacuum cleaner is working properly, there is enough detergent and there are enough cloth napkins and rags. Don’t forget about garbage bags, you will need a lot of them, especially if you are cleaning a cottage or apartment after renovation or construction.

Tools and tools

Cleaning, like any other job, requires a set of certain tools. The higher quality they are, the faster and easier the process of cleaning the house will be. For easy general cleaning you will need the following equipment and tools:

household gloves. This is a mandatory attribute, since the vast majority of modern household chemicals have an extremely negative effect on the skin. Good, comfortable household gloves will help protect your palms from the aggressive effects of cleaning products;
a set of new microfiber cloths. Today, microfiber is the best choice for household rags. This material does not leave streaks, dries the surface quite quickly, gives a beautiful shine and is universal in use. Its only drawback is that it wears out quite quickly, so microfiber cloths should be renewed at least once every six months;
bucket and mop for cleaning the floor. The simplest mop is a rag mop; its use greatly complicates the cleaning process, since it is extremely inconvenient. Nowadays you can find microfiber mops, sponge mops, or flat flounder mops in hardware stores. The cost of such tools starts from 150 rubles;
liquid for cleaning plumbing fixtures. This can be either a universal product that is suitable for an acrylic bathtub, toilet, and kitchen sink, or specialized substances for each individual item. Among the universal products, it is worth noting Sanox - this is a relatively inexpensive (50-100 rubles per bottle) gel that is quite effective in cleaning the entire bathroom;
stove cleaner. It must be selected individually depending on the type of hob. For a new glass-ceramic stove, for example, a product with abrasive substances is not suitable, but an old enameled stove is best cleaned with powders, for example, PemoLux;
glass and mirror cleaner. To achieve perfect cleanliness of mirror surfaces, a microfiber cloth and water are not enough: you will need a special liquid. It is usually sold in the form of a spray, so it is recommended to clean mirrors in a well-ventilated area or use a mask to protect the respiratory tract;
floor cleaning liquid. A good floor cleaner should have a pleasant aroma, not leave streaks and not foam too much. Pay attention to the disinfecting properties of the liquid;
dishwashing liquid and a set of sponges and brushes. Your arsenal must include aggressive metal sponges, as well as a large brush for washing hard-to-reach places, narrow glasses, decanters with small necks;
cleaning product for upholstered furniture. It should have disinfectant properties and have a light and inoffensive aroma.

Photo gallery: necessary means and tools

PemoLux is one of the most popular universal cleaning products in Russia

Sanox is available in liquid gel form.

Glorix offers a line of floor products with different scents

A set of microfiber rags or cloths can be found in any hardware store or hypermarket

Cleaner for carpets and upholstered furniture Shine perfectly removes even old stains

A high-quality mop not only lasts a long time, but also greatly facilitates the cleaning process.

Bugs Cleaner is a good and inexpensive product that does not leave streaks on glass

The Frosch brand is environmentally friendly and safe for all family members

When choosing household chemicals, do not forget about their safety. Ecological products are, of course, less effective than aggressive chemicals and will require some effort to clean surfaces. But their use will not harm you, your children, pets, or the environment. Now there are quite a lot of cleaning products on the market that do not contain dangerous components, have a light and pleasant aroma and are not tested on animals.

Most household chemicals take time to work. Soak dirty dishes in advance, pour gel onto the surface of the toilet bowl, and apply household chemicals to the stove.

Chlorine antiseptics for plumbing fixtures, alkaline and acidic cleaners, as well as window cleaning liquids with ammonia emit vapors into the air that are both unpleasant and harmful to health to breathe. Therefore, they must be used in a well-ventilated area.

Store and carry all the cleaning supplies you might need in one plastic bucket. Most of the time during cleaning is spent running around the rooms in search of one or another product or tool. One plastic case will solve this problem.

It’s convenient to carry everything you need for cleaning with you from room to room, using plastic baskets or a bucket

Let's throw away the unnecessary: balcony, storage room and mezzanine

General cleaning of an apartment or cottage will not be effective without throwing away unnecessary things. Where does junk most often accumulate and take up space in your home? As a rule, on the balcony and mezzanines, as well as in the storage room.

Clear out old clutter and get rid of unnecessary things. How much rubbish is stored in apartments “just in case”, but this case never comes! Act on the principle: if an item has not been useful to me within a year, I don’t need it! Think about it, what is the use of a broken flower pot, a children's tricycle (when your children are already finishing school), or a broken table lamp that no one will ever fix? Free up space and you will see that there is much more usable space in your apartment or cottage.

If cleaning is carried out after renovation or construction, scraps of wallpaper, empty containers of polyurethane foam or cans of paint should be disposed of first.

When the space is cleared of debris and unnecessary things, thoroughly wash the balcony, storage room, remove dust from the mezzanines, and proceed to the next stage of cleaning.

A tidy and clean home is easy!

Cleaning your apartment is an important task that does not seem so difficult at first glance. Everyone has had to clean up the mess, are we doing it right? There are algorithms that will speed up this process and make it more enjoyable.

I don’t know about you, but I often sinned with chaotic bustle around the house with a bunch of rags, towels, products and did not always understand what and on what surface could be applied and what could not. I constantly had to open Google and check. I didn’t follow sequential cleaning steps, I just wiped here and there and it seemed clean. So let's find out how to properly carry out general and daily cleaning of your home? By the way, general cleaning should be done approximately once a month, or once every few months. At the moment, there are quite a lot of offers of house cleaning services on the cleaning market. But if you decided to cope on your own, then let’s look at the lifehacks and make lists with tips. A tidy and clean home is easy!

Plan for current general cleaning of the apartment

It is easier to divide the work into stages and perform it gradually, following the algorithm. Housekeeping is no exception. Before you start, make a plan for general cleaning of your apartment or cottage.

Remove curtains and drapes. They often accumulate a lot of dust. If you leave this item for later, during removal all the dust will settle on the already washed surfaces and your efforts will be in vain.
If possible, it is better to remove carpets from the walls and remove rugs and rugs from the floor. They can be cleaned or knocked out and folded until the cleaning is finished and the rugs can be spread on the clean floor. It is better to walk around the house at this time in slippers or house shoes.

Always start cleaning from top to bottom and from the farthest rooms to the nearest ones.

Wipe off dust and remove cobwebs from the ceiling. If necessary, use a damp cloth to clean the walls and corners between furniture. Stretch ceilings can be washed following the rules.
Wash chandeliers and overhead lights.
Wash windows and radiators.

Zone separation

At the next stage, it is important to choose correctly where to start. Successful cleaning services recommend that you always start cleaning your apartment from the dirtiest room. It is at the beginning that you will have enough strength and enthusiasm to cope with the main and most complex pollution. Finally, there are rooms left where there is least litter; cleaning does not take much time.

A rough plan of where to start and where to end:

Bathroom.
Kitchen.
Living room.
Bedrooms.

Finally there is the corridor, not because it is the cleanest, but in this room cleaning does not take much time and there will be a lot of movement during the process.

Room cleaning

Cabinets and wall shelves

Wipe off dust from the tops of cabinets.
Starting from the top shelves, take things out and wipe off the dust.
Then carefully arrange and hang things. Place those that need washing in the laundry basket.
Go through the things that you haven’t used (worn) for a long time and don’t intend to - put them aside. Then decide what to do with them, something can be used for another purpose: an old T-shirt or towel will become a good rag, something you want to give away or sell, something to throw away without regret.
Place remaining items in neat piles or in containers so that items take up minimal space.
Organize shelves, open cabinets, bedside tables, tables and all storage areas in the rooms using the same principle.

Furniture in the rooms

Remove capes and bedspreads from upholstered furniture, and bedding from beds. Throw everything you need into the wash.
Clean, beat, vacuum upholstered furniture and beds. Do not forget to wipe dust on non-fabric furniture elements.
Wash the floor.

Keep your work equipment handy

This is another important rule of a professional housekeeper. Your work package for a specific facility will depend on the schedule and type of cleaning agreed upon with the employer.

Buy a special multifunctional cart - it is convenient to move it around rooms and use it for storing tools and cleaning products. This way, you will have all the necessary items at hand and will not have to waste precious time looking for equipment left in another room.

To store small items, purchase a special belt. Gradually you will remember where the right thing is, and you will find it with your eyes closed.

Kitchen

Cleaning in the kitchen is carried out according to the same principle as in the rooms.

Dust the ceiling and wash the chandelier or overhead light.
Wash windows and radiators.
Clean the hood and ventilation grilles.
General kitchen cleaning begins with washing the kitchen cabinets. Here, too, you will have to carefully sort through everything that has accumulated in them. Check the expiration date of products, throw away jars or boxes that are stored for unknown reasons, in a word, everything that has become unusable and is taking up space. After this, wash the cabinets inside and out.
Defrost, wash and organize the refrigerator.
Clean and organize lower cabinets.
Wash and clean the dishes and put them in their places.
Clean - wash the kitchen furniture: tables, chairs, upholstered furniture.
Wash the floor.

Think about what you will do and in what order, and follow this plan strictly. As you work, you will have to make some adjustments, but in any case, your work will not be spontaneous and chaotic, which means you will cope with it quickly and efficiently.

General cleaning can take from one day to a week, depending on its scale and area of residence. Break your tasks into days and then you will complete it much faster.

Removing odors and animal fur

The mess left by a pet is easy to clean up. It is much more difficult to get rid of the corresponding unpleasant odor. If the animal left “traces” of its presence on upholstered furniture without reaching the toilet, then do the following:

Spray white vinegar onto the problem spot;
sprinkle baking soda on top;
let the mixture dry;
vacuum up what's left.

This helps eliminate even very strong “aroma”. But if you accidentally wet the problem area on upholstered furniture or carpet, the smell will return again, and the procedure will have to be repeated.

Animal fur can be easily collected with a mop for cleaning laminate flooring - a tool with a thick, long bristle attachment.

General cleaning of the bath and toilet

Now you can start cleaning the bathroom.

Organize closed cabinets.
Take out all the things you can: rugs, basins, towels, bath accessories (soap, washcloths, all accessories). This is necessary so that chemicals do not come into contact with them.
Clean the ventilation grilles.
Apply detergent to the faucet, bathtub and sink surfaces, and pour disinfectant into the toilet.
While the dirt and deposits on the plumbing are “acidifying”, wash the walls, radiator coil, door and shelves.
Then clean out the plumbing.
When the plumbing is clean, you can wash the mirror and place all things on clean shelves.
Wash the floors.

Let's scent the apartment

Another tip on how to clean an apartment for a housekeeper: to prevent the house from smelling like a hospital after using detergents, use aromatic oils. Lavender, lemon, ylang-ylang, and grapefruit perfectly neutralize the odors of soda, borax, and vinegar contained in cleaning solutions.

Before using essential oils, check with your employer about the possibility of spraying them in residential and utility rooms. The employer or his family members may have an individual intolerance to volatile aromatic substances.

All of this is just as important to discuss as the list of cleaning duties.

Hallway

The final stage of cleaning an apartment or cottage is putting the hallway in order.

Here you need to remove scattered umbrellas and keys, place shoes on a special shelf or in a nightstand. It’s better to put away your sandals if it’s already January, remembering to wash them first.
Tidy up the mirror.
Wash the front door outside and inside; there is likely to be a lot of dirt and hand marks accumulated on the surface.
Clean the door mat and mop the floors.

Why you need to clean the house

Most people don't like to clean their apartment and come up with a lot of excuses not to do it. The main reason for such laziness is lack of motivation and lack of understanding of the importance of this process. If you belong to this category, here are a few reasons that will help you overcome laziness:

Dirt and dust in the apartment lead to various diseases. This could be allergies, runny nose and even infectious diseases. Regular cleaning prevents the appearance of bacteria, maintaining a healthy indoor environment.
A clean, well-kept room looks more attractive and comfortable.
Cleaning is a kind of exercise that allows you to keep your body in good shape.
Cleaning the room distracts you from unnecessary thoughts. While cleaning, the brain takes a break from the daily routine.

Cleanliness for important details

If you have found the strength to begin general cleaning of your apartment or cottage, no matter after construction, renovation or “current”, do not leave any corner unattended.

If you have indoor plants and flower pots in every room? Pay attention to them, cut off yellowed and dried leaves, wipe off dust from flower pots, wash the stands.
Do you have pets? Put their bowls in order and wash their bedding, and if your pet lives in a cage, let it be clean there too.
Do you collect figurines, or has your child placed a small (only 150 individuals) family of plastic dinosaurs on a shelf in his room? Be patient and wash the collection, there is a lot of dust on it.
If there are photographs, paintings or decor hanging on the walls, wipe off the dust, which can be washed or refreshed with glass cleaner.
Re-glue any loose wallpaper and baseboards.
Organize your wallet and bag.
Clean your computer of unnecessary files and junk.

List of important additional cleaning instructions.

Wipe down plant leaves, trim off any yellowing leaves, and wipe down the pots and stands themselves.
If there are animals at home, do not forget to wash their bowls, beds, and cages.
Leave the premises after using chemicals on surfaces, or even better, ventilate if possible. It is harmful for the body to breathe through their pores. May cause allergies.
Fix a loose piece of baseboard or cabinetry. Touch up a loose corner of the table with nail polish.
Keep your bags and wallet clean. You need to throw away all receipts, old pieces of paper and sticks of chewing gum. Everything that has been there for a hundred years.

The best ideas on how to make your apartment cozy

The final stage: finishing the cleaning

The last stage of general cleaning is washing the floors and washing things (bedspreads, curtains).

Wash the floors in all rooms, even if you washed them separately.
It is better to clean carpets and carpets in advance. Place all clean carpeting on the clean floor.
Iron and arrange your items.
Iron and arrange bedspreads, covers, and furniture covers.
Iron and hang curtains and drapes.

Cleaning tiled floors

Before wet cleaning, remove dirt and debris from the tiled floor using a vacuum cleaner or broom. Only after this can the surface be washed using the solution.

Are you done cleaning? Carry out a follow-up inspection. Approach the surface so that it is at eye level. From a new angle, you may notice a crumb or speck of dust that is not normally visible.

These are the simple secrets of the cleaning process.
Now you know how to clean an apartment for a housekeeper so that the employer is satisfied and the staff spends less time and effort on putting things in order. 3 thousand 5.0 Rate this article Published: 04/22/2021

How to clean quickly and not get tired

How to do a general cleaning of an apartment or cottage and not get exhausted? Use these tips when you get ready to organize your home:

Plan your work. In a household, this approach is no less important than in any other business, so write down in your plan everything that needs to be done and do not violate the algorithm.
Set aside the whole day for DIY cleaning and start in the morning. This way you will have more time to get everything done. In addition, it is better to wash windows and mirrors in daylight than in artificial light.
Do not take all the work into your own hands, but distribute it among family members. Involve everyone, including children. Of course, you shouldn’t trust a first-grader to wash windows, but a child can put things in bags that are meant to be thrown away or put things in order in his toys and books.
Check the availability of cleaning equipment so as not to be distracted by trips to the store and not waste extra time.
Do several things at once if you want to quickly get your home in order. While the washing machine is running, you can wash the floor. Or, after applying detergent to the surfaces of the stove and oven, you have half an hour to clean the sink or ceiling light in the kitchen.

By following these recommendations, you can keep your entire house clean without spending a lot of time on it. Clean regularly, and your home will always be in perfect condition. Clean household appliances: oven, microwave, stove.

Maintaining order after cleaning

The most effective way to speed up and simplify spring cleaning is to maintain order in between. The simplest option is to regularly clean the rooms, but this can take a lot of effort. There are several ways to deal with clutter in your home without spending a lot of time and effort:

try to distribute the main procedures by day of the week. For example, on Mondays it is planned to wash the floors, on Tuesdays - to inspect the refrigerator, on Wednesdays - to clean the bathroom, etc.;

Having made a list of tasks necessary to maintain order (cleaning the bathroom, mopping the floors, etc.), distribute them by day of the week
Every night before going to bed, take 10-15 minutes to put all the items in their place. This will not only help you maintain order, but will also improve your mood when you wake up;

By tidying up every night before bed, you can save yourself the hassle of waking up in a cluttered room.
To keep the floors cleaner throughout the house, wash them regularly in the dirtiest places: in the hallway, near the stove and kitchen sink, near the cat litter box. If you keep the most problematic areas clean, the flooring in other rooms will need to be washed much less frequently;
If you regularly find used cotton pads, swabs, or napkins in the bathroom, simply place a small trash can on the shelf or floor. A similar bucket can be placed on the desktop to immediately get rid of used and unnecessary papers, scraps, and wrappers.

Getting rid of junk

One of the most important aspects of maintaining order is the proper organization of storage and timely removal of various rubbish from the apartment. In any person’s home, unnecessary things can be stored for many years, which have nowhere to be used, and it is a pity to throw them away. Hundreds of such little things scattered throughout the house greatly clutter the space.

Hoarding is a widespread problem among Russians. Storerooms and loggias filled to the brim with unnecessary or broken things are found in every second apartment, if not more often. It is enough to carry out a thorough audit once and then simply avoid clutter. This is available to everyone, regardless of financial situation.

A well-organized pantry does not allow clutter.
There are a few simple rules that will allow you to get rid of unnecessary items:

if you have not used an item for more than three years, you can throw it away;
if an item breaks and you replace it with a new one, you can throw away the old one;
an item that was purchased more than six months ago and has never been used can be given away or sold.

By getting rid of low-quality, old or broken things, you will immediately feel better. Psychologists say that the state of a person’s home and mind are closely related: you can put one in order, and the second will immediately rise to a higher level. Visual clutter distracts us from the true source of clutter in our lives.

Storage organization

Determine its place for each necessary thing. When there are a lot of objects in the house that do not have a permanent place, the interior becomes cluttered very quickly.

It is important to choose a storage location close to where it will be used. This will help you remember to put it away right away.

If you have a lot of small items in your home that create chaos (bobby pins, hair ties, wristwatches, keys, headphones and other small equipment), purchase special boxes or bags for them. For example, IKEA offers a lot of options for organizing storage. Choose a drawer or box that matches the color of the room so that your purchase is pleasing to the eye.

Video: how to organize storage of things in a closet and chest of drawers

Cleanliness in the house is an essential attribute of a modern and happy family. A well-groomed, beautiful and tidy home is not only pleasant to be in: the surrounding order changes the way you think, refreshes your mind and relaxes you.

Author: Ira Shestakova
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By education, he is a specialist in land and property relations, an economist and an accountant. Rate this article:

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Who invented circular cleaning?

the FlyLady cleaning system , created by the American Marla Seelly. She had a large house and no maid or any help. At the same time, Marla wanted to live, and not survive in the constant struggle for purity.

But it is worth paying attention to the fact that Marla is still a housewife and it was difficult for us, working women, to fully understand the flylady system and make numerous plans, notes, and boxes. A Russian woman, with her many responsibilities, is ready to give up some idealistic principles in order to simplify her life and make time for rest and sleep.

That is why the idea appeared on the Internet that instead of the flylady program, I would like to receive a detailed and clear at first glance plan, according to which you can clean the house in 15-20 minutes, and thereby relieve the weekend.

Cleaning: yes or no?

If your budget allows, you can hire professional cleaners who will clean the entire apartment in one day. They bring modern disinfectants with them for general cleaning, which is very convenient. At the same time, you can entrust them with some part of the work - for example, order only window washing or only cleaning. However, a full range of services will always be more profitable than ordering each type of work separately.

The main thing is to choose experienced professionals with good reviews, so the priority is to focus on the recommendations of friends and the advice of acquaintances. Immediately agree with the cleaners on the points that are fundamentally important to you: what to do with your personal belongings, how you are used to folding clothes, where you store your shoes, how dishes should be folded, etc. Don't forget to specify whether you need your balcony or storage room cleaned.

In general, high-quality cleaning always justifies its price - after all, by spending money, you save your time, which you can spend on communicating with your family, on vacation, or on important work projects.

Living room, office

Perform the work step by step, adhering to the basic scheme. Don’t forget about the little things - wipe the dust from the curtains above the window, vacuum the panels, wipe all the decorative elements.

If you spend a lot of time wiping down knickknacks placed on open shelves, nightstands and other horizontal surfaces, think about the wisdom of keeping all these cute little things in sight.

It is recommended to take the plants and put them in the bath to rinse or wipe the leaves, wash the flower pots and their trays. Refreshed greenery will add coziness and better saturate the air with oxygen. Also, do not forget to thoroughly wash the wall and floor lamps from dust.

When tidying up your closets, vacuum books, wipe down knick-knacks, and use a damp cloth to go over shelves and empty drawers. When sorting through the contents, remove everything unnecessary - something will immediately go into the trash bag, and whole things that may be useful to someone are better to be folded separately and given to a charity organization. How and where to donate things for free and for money, see the link.

Use glass cleaner and polish to get your cabinetry looking great. Shine mirrors if there are any in the interior. Don't forget about radiators, doors, wipe sockets and switches.

The best option for storing temporarily unnecessary items

There are already quite a lot of problems caused by unnecessary things in the house: they gather dust, take up space, and where should they be taken somewhere? Well, I do not. We offer the most comfortable solution to the problem, namely, a service that will take away everything unnecessary and temporarily unnecessary from you. And such a service exists in Moscow - this is the Attic!

The attic stores things you need and value, but you want to empty your home of them while they're not needed—just so you can enjoy a clean space after a spring cleaning. You can deposit clothes, shoes, furniture, household appliances, sports equipment, exercise equipment, books, and personal belongings with us.

How it all happens:

you place an order on the website or in the application - literally in one click;
Our manager calls you to clarify what time is convenient for you for us to arrive;
on the appointed day, we come directly to your home, pack your things and take them to a warm warehouse;
you enjoy the space and cleanliness!

You don't have to travel anywhere, you don't have to buy packing materials, you don't have to pack your things. All you need to do is write to us and our friendly movers will do the rest. All your items will be displayed in your personal account, and when you need something, simply order a return.

You have things that need to be stored somewhere, and we have a warm, ventilated warehouse and professionals who will securely pack your things and take them to storage.

Children bedroom

If you properly clean such rooms, special attention should be paid to mattresses.

The bed linen and mattress pad (cover) are sent for washing, the mattress itself is placed in a vertical position for ventilation - with its edge facing the slightly open window, so that air flows around it on both sides. This will extend the life of the product and help keep the mattress fresh.

In the children's room, go through the toys and books in order to throw away what is hopelessly broken and torn and put in a separate box what can be repaired.

It is recommended to coincide with general cleaning by replacing the textiles used in the interior - by replacing bedspreads and curtains with products in a different color scheme, it is easy to update the appearance of the room. It lifts your spirits and adds coziness.