Including How to Clean Your Home When Someone is Sick

We’re in unprecedented times, spending most of our time in our homes instead of the other way around. This is a great time to catch up on cleaning, right? But if that’s something you’ve been hiring out because you were so busy, maybe this is a great chance for a quick refresher!

The biggest advantage we have as professionals is that we have a cleaning strategy when we come into your home. The good news is that we are happy to share it with you so you can efficiently get the job done. 

1. First things first, throw on some tunes, find a podcast or a good audiobook! You’ll need the motivation to keep yourself going, so make sure it’s music that makes you want to move, or an engaging podcast or audiobook. Cleaning can be entertaining, too!
2. Pick up. Before you grab any cleaning supplies make sure your home is ready to be cleaned. Time to put everything back in its place and tuck the clutter away. This is when it can be tempting to get caught up in organizing your closets, drawers or pantry but this isn’t the time. If you get distracted easily set a timer in each room and make it a game to finish before it beeps. The reason cleaning professional are faster than you is that they do not get distracted.
3. Choose your scent. A clean house should smell good. We ask our home owners what they want their house to smell like because we use essential oils with our Nurturals cleaning products (unless you request no scent). It’s essentially like an aromatherapy session for your home, our favorite scent right now is tea tree because it’s antibacterial but maybe you like bergamot, lavender, lemongrass, peppermint, orange, wintergreen, lemon, cinnamon leaf, or pink grapefruit.
4. Dust first. Start left to right, top to bottom with microfiber cloths. You want to go over all of the surfaces. If you don’t have microfiber cloths they are a professional cleaners secret weapon because their microfibers lift and hold dirt, grime, bacteria, liquids and grease. The cloths include both negative-charged nylon fibers and positive-charged polyester fibers that attract and grab whatever is on the surface you clean. They also lower allergens and improve the air quality in your home.
5. Wood furniture check. Living in the high desert the wood in our homes dries out pretty quickly. Check on your coffee table, dining, table, etc. and if the wood appears really dry it’s time to oil, wax or polish. If it looks good then your dry dusting with the microfiber is all that is needed.
6. Suck it up! Start with an empty vacuum bag and get those floors. Make sure you don’t trap yourself in a corner – start at one end of the house and work your way to the kitchen since you’ll want to empty the vacuum bag there. Don’t forget to vacuum the couch cushions too, every little crumb, hair or fuzzball that falls on the couch settles there.
7. Clean the floors. The last step is to wipe down or mop any hardwood or tile floors starting upstairs or the room farthest from the kitchen. After every 4 x 4 foot area stop and rinse your mop, or spray a new section of floor for a wipe down like we do using Nurturals Totally Floored cleaner.

House Cleaning Checklist

BEDROOMS

• Put away clean laundry
• Empty trash & replace with new liner
• Dust surfaces from top to bottom
• Dust baseboards
• Clean interior windows
• Remake the bed with fresh linens
• Sweep or vacuum floor or area rugs
• Wash floor (if hardwood or tile)

OFFICE

• Empty trash & replace with new liner
• File or toss mail and paperwork
• Dust surfaces and equipment from top to bottom
• Dust baseboards
• Sweep or vacuum floor or area rugs
• Wash floor (if hardwood or tile)

LAUNDRY ROOM

• Empty trash & replace with new liner
• Clean inside rim of washing machine
• Clean exterior washing machine & dryer
• Clean sink
• Dust baseboards
• Sweep or vacuum floor or area rugs
• Wash floor (if hardwood or tile)

BASEMENT

• Empty trash & replace with new liner
• Dust surfaces from top to bottom
• Dust baseboards
• Sweep or vacuum floor or area rugs
• Wash floor (if concrete, hardwood or tile)

When someone is sick with a cold or flu (or you are worried about COVID-19), or if you simply want to disinfect your home we recommend using disinfecting cleaning products on all the high touch areas of your home. We’ve put together a checklist to make it easy for you.

Disinfection Cleaning Checklist for High Touch Areas

GENERAL AREAS

• Disinfect hand rails
• Countertops
• Window sills
• Equipment controls (thermotstat)
• Cabinet & file drawer knobs & handles
• Chair arms
• Mouse, keyboard, printer tables, dressers, etc.
• Remotes
• Telephones
• Door knobs
• All handles
• Light switches
• Nightstands
• Hard surface of bed
• Blind pulls