General cleaning - what is it and how often should it be done?

For many, the approach of spring cleaning feels comparable to the approach of a natural disaster. And I will prove to you that if you approach this matter wisely, you can enjoy not only the result, but also the process.

What is spring cleaning

Many people understand this differently, so first it’s worth deciding on the terminology. In fact, there is no point in arguing about whether general cleaning of window glass is sufficient or not; a slightly different formula works here, in which this same cleaning consists of two components: the rarity of its implementation and the scale. Well, specific types of activities are already individual for each apartment.

If we return to the already mentioned windows, then if washing them once or twice a year is enough for a subjective feeling of cleanliness in the apartment, feel free to classify it as general cleaning. If they become so dirty that you have to wash them every month, or even more often, there can be no talk of any “generals”. It's the same with scale. Even if you add wiping glass every six months to daily rituals such as folding things and brushing crumbs off the table, this, to put it mildly, is not quite the same.

To put it very simply and not bother you with formulas, then general cleaning is when all those actions to make the apartment clean, which you have not done for a long time, are suddenly done in a couple of days or less.

How often should you do general cleaning?

A logical question immediately arises: how long is “a long time”? Well, as they say, everything is learned by comparison, so let’s try to understand the classification of all different types of cleaning:

1. Daily. Here the name speaks for itself: it usually includes washing dishes, laying out and hanging things (which includes not only clothes), making the bed and much more. For some, this category includes sweeping and even washing floors. In order to understand whether this or that action is considered daily, ask yourself a simple question: “Will the apartment look uncleaned if I don’t do this for more than a day?”
2. Weekly. Usually this also includes what is done 2-3 times a week. As a rule, this includes dusting, walking with a vacuum cleaner, doing laundry, and mopping the floors.
3. Monthly. Removing dust from upholstered furniture using a vacuum cleaner with a special attachment, wiping lamps and sconces, blinds and baseboards, washing the doormat, sorting out accumulated items and throwing out unnecessary ones.
4. Once every three months or six months. Cleaning the stove, oven, microwave, sweeping away cobwebs from corners, washing windows.
5. And finally, the queen of all cleanings is general cleaning. I'll tell you about it a little lower. Accordingly, it, as the most grandiose, is held once or twice a year.

Reference! There is also the so-called unexpected cleaning, which, as the name implies, is never included in the plans of the home owners. Usually it is carried out either in front of unexpected guests, or in case of a “sudden mess” - broken dishes, spilled coffee or scattered cookies on an expensive carpet, an unexpected flood that does not require repair - it can be anything.

Stages of general cleaning

Now we come to the main thing. Good old planning will help make cleaning easier and much more enjoyable, which will be its first stage. How? I'll tell you now.

Planning on paper takes a little more time and attention than a quick glance around the apartment, but before your eyes there will be an objective list of tasks, which, as a rule, differs from the subjective “Oh my God, what a mess!” This is the first.

Second. It often happens that in the process of spring cleaning you have to make an even bigger mess than before (for example, take out all the books from the cabinets and place them on the floor). When you look at this, your hands may give up, you may feel that there is no progress. However, a sheet with completed items ticked looks very reassuring.

It is best to divide the apartment into zones and systematically clean each of them, from smallest to largest, so that what you clean now no longer interferes with what you clean in the future.

Attention! As you complete each item, you can write down the time spent next to it; such a list can be very useful when planning next time.

The second stage is preparation. Get all the necessary supplies: rags, sponges, brushes, detergents, mops, buckets and basins, a vacuum cleaner and/or dustpan with a broom, etc. Check them against the to-do list, and if something is missing, go to the shop now so as not to waste time later. If there are not a lot of things in the apartment that are out of place, then their analysis can also be attributed to the preparatory stage.

The third is the action itself.You choose the sequence of rooms yourself depending on what is more convenient, but I recommend leaving the bathroom and toilet for last, since this is where you will most often go to wash rags, empty water from buckets, etc.

The optimal order is from top to bottom. The logic is clear: dirt and dust from above, with all the care, can get onto the floor and other surfaces located a level below; it is most effective to wash them last.

Of course, the actions themselves are individual for each apartment, so I can’t give any specific advice, so here’s just a little “reminder” of what is often forgotten:

• washing walls and, if possible, ceilings;
• chandeliers;
• walls and floors behind and under the gas stove and other massive objects, including beds, wardrobes, sofas and a bathtub with toilet;
• paintings;
• heating batteries;
• pipes and mixers;
• handles, switches and sockets;
• kitchen hood;
• refrigerator insides;
• control panels (even if they are in a plastic case);
• cups for toothbrushes.

Believe me, despite the laboriousness of such work, when you look at how one by one the points of the plan are crossed out and you have less and less of them left, you get great pleasure, which compensates for everything. And if you can’t compensate completely, a clean and sparkling apartment in every corner, even the most hidden corner, will do it. Happy spring cleaning!