Once you get the idea behind deep cleaning and de-cluttering you see that these are activities that can't be indulged in very often.
It's exhausting and mighty work.
You want to put it off as long as you can and not go back there once you've done it — for a good while, at least.
Do you know what I mean? Have you noticed that calendar at the beginning of Martha Stewart Living? The one that reminds you to power wash your siding and re-fold your linens to avoid permanent creases? As in “take out perfectly folded things in order to re-fold them”? I'm pretty sure the people who do stuff like that don't need to be told to do stuff like that.
I don't even know if she still has that thing. I like looking at the pictures in the magazine at the library, but I've learned to be in deep denial about that calendar. I quickly skip past the place it might be.
The truth is that once you know how to pull everything away from the walls and clean underneath, or wipe molding from the top down, or dust books and shelves before restoring order — and once you've figured out to approach a chest of drawers with a couple of bins for sorting, putting back only those things you really want and need — you will start to know when it needs to be done.
Tip: do your deep cleaning and de-cluttering when ordinary methods fail to please. No schedule necessary other than the one imposed by holidays, season changes, and weird odors.
Me, I'd rather work-avoid reading the guides than work-avoid cleaning the room. I pick my battles.
Besides, there's more to life than cleaning.
Buuuuuttttt……paradoxically…………. in order to get to that “more,” you have to have order, so cleaning is a must.
Enter the “moderate clean” and the “blitz.” These are your “ordinary methods” — habits that are going to keep that deep clean working for you so you can do other things.
If you don't master the “moderate clean”–
{aka “sparkle and shine” — but the truth is that I never called it that myself, and when I heard it called that recently I thought, there goes a better mother than I. More cheerful, more upbeat. A natural sanguine sunshiny person. Making me look all bad. I call it “chores” myself}
— and the “blitz,” you will be in the dread cycle known as the “boom and bust.”
Do you know what I mean? Where things just go downhill fast after the Sisyphean burst…you never really enjoy your clean house, because you're always either exhausted from deep cleaning it or living with it dirty. You boom — get mad at yourself and go on a cleaning binge — and bust — let that binge get you all depressed and convinced that you can't maintain that level of energy for long. Which you can't.
So we'll talk about how to get on a more even keel. Wouldn't that be nice?
scmom (Barbara) says
Season changes and holidays are always good for a great cleaning burst, as are sacraments (we're having First Holy Communion tomorrow), but I find some good anger is really beneficial for cleaning energy, although it doesn't always last as long as necessary! ;-)PS I don't recommend picking a fight with one's husband just to get the bathrooms sparkling.
Pippajo says
ACK! Don't leave me hanging like that! Pleeeeeeaaaasssssseeee!Sorry for typing like a teenager (with all those superfluous letters).I am in the pre-Boom and Bust muck right now. I feel like I cannot keep all of these plates spinning and am just waiting for them to start dropping. And then I'll have to clean THAT up…Please (see? normal lettering) post the follow up to this soon!
Milkmaid says
You are so speaking my language. I'm all ears…
The Kampers says
oh my, I am so in the boom and bust right now! We were on a very nice routine in the winter, things were sparkling and everyone was happy…and then things changed…more responsibilities got added to my plate and I fell off the wagon! HELP!
Anonymous says
I am loving your blog! I can't remember how I found it, but it is such a godsend! I have a small-ish family. Only 3 kids (although the oldest is 4 and the youngest is 1 so it FEELS like a lot of children most days.) Anyway, I am really looking forward to the next part of this article. Cleaning is very much all or nothing at our house. Being on an even keel as you said almost seems too good to be true.Leah
Breanna says
Thanks for the kick in the pants… I KNOW, in my soul, that when I follow the schedule that I myself drew up (realistic! sane!) for myself, that everyone is happy and does better. And yet I find myself in my bathrobe at 9am with unwashed dishes from supper the night before on the counter, out of… I don't know, malaise? morale problems? sloth?Esh. I'm going to go dress in something decent, put on perfume, and scrub. Then I can get back to maintaining. Amazing how much entropy can accumulate in a house after only a week of malaise/morale/sloth.Breanna
Bobbi says
HAHAHA I laughed right out loud when you explained the blitz/boom and bust! HILARIOUS and oh, so true!!!
Shawna says
Wahhhh!
Emily (Laundry and L says
I agree that you'll just "know" when to get to the deep cleaning. I used to have a nice neat schedule that told me when exactly I was supposed to do what…and it helped me for awhile when I was in the throws of brand new first baby. But now? It is definitely anxiety inducing.So now I clean when I think it needs it. And when I feel the urge. This past week I did some pull-out-all-the-stops spring cleaning, and it feels good! It needed it, I wanted to do it, and I'm enjoying the results. Is it all done? Heck no! But I'm glad that part of it is. 🙂
Kathleen says
Thanks for saying that one doesn't have to follow a schedule. You'll just know…ahhh…sigh of relief…whew…maybe i'm better at this than I thought!Eagerly looking at the next installment…
Margo says
I'm revamping my vocabulary right now to use "sparkle and shine." What a great point of view!I adore hearing about people's cleaning routines and wisdom – can't wait for more!And, I'm also thrilled to say I finished my "Gee's Bend" quilt – you had taken an early look and your comment turned me in the direction of Gee's Bend. Thank you! Here's the link:http://thriftathome.blogspot.com/2010/04/kims-quilt-revealed.html
Margo says
oh, and I meant to say: I love that blue cake plate/stand. So so so pretty.
Woman of the House says
For me, it is so much easier to do enough each week to maintain the level of clean we like. It only takes a few hours spread out over a few days and a couple people, and everyone is happy. It never becomes overwhelming, and we are never embarrassed when people come unexpectedly to the door.Another thought~I tidy every single day. Dirty clothes go in the hamper, dishes get washed, bath towels get hung up, things are put away. That really speeds the weekly sparkle and shine (love that term!) along and keeps it so that it doesn't take very long.By the way, I *love* your wooden chairs!
Anonymous says
Your yard looks so pretty. I was just thinking today (as I looked at some dust under the radiator in my hallway) that if you have a lot of children – you need to have them help you with cleaning just to survive -but you need to do their chores occasionally so that things really do get clean at least once in a while. Or else….Auntie Sue
Faithemmanuel says
I love your aside about cleaning books being material for an anxiety attack. Tee hee! We are constantly doing "blitzes" and "room rescues"… eagerly awaiting your next in this series! Oh– and we were raised on the Twins books! I can't wait to do some lapbooks for my little homeschoolers!Faith
Decadent Housewife says
"Weird odors" ha, ha, ha!
Esther says
What do you do when the house you moved into was dirty to start off with, and our everyday living just seems to add to that.Help me, I'm so sick of our house and the ingrained dirt. I can stay on top of the daily cleaning most of the time but don't seem to have time or energy for more than that. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels and not making progress.I'll have a burst of enerygy/anger and clean down walls or windows, but a month later it seems dirty again and it seems pointless.
Anonymous says
I live in beautiful Alaska and I absolutely love your blog…I am in denial of my own boom and bust so I have found my new trick is to take my 4, 2, and 9 month old outside so I dont have to look at it all. Talk about escapism.But I am getting better about laundry and knowing what I am cooking for dinner. You are awesome!
Leila says
Esther: I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but maybe this is it: the actual materials the rooms are made with are not clean! And aren't conductive to cleaning.That's the subject for another post, but I found that in our house as well. Walls, floors, windows — the actual building materials sometimes need to be replaced before you can be a clean housekeeper.That takes time, money, and effort, but it's WELL WORTH IT!!! I can't say that enough. Even my cheap soft pine floor in the kitchen, that shows every dent, is a million light years better that the old broken linoleum! Paint woodwork with semi-gloss or glossy paint (oil-based if possible). Paint walls — PAINT!If the color is a dingy grayish white with years of dirt nothing you can do will make it look good. If you paint, you will be amazed at how easy your job is. Always choose a warm white. Gray whites are for decorators with good lighting.If you can't clean your windows because the wood has dry-rot and the sash weights don't work and the screens are broken, replace the windows. This effort will pay you back in energy savings and your cleaning job will be significantly lightened. Install moldings where the walls meet the floors and ceilings.Caulk edges where they meet before you paint, using painter's caulk. It's easy and makes a huge difference. Dust and bugs come through those cracks! In the process of repairing, replacing, and painting, you have to move furniture away from walls (if not out completely) and take draperies and curtains down. And then you will be at the "deep clean" stage — you will do it despite your reluctance! And then the room will be clean.Remember — don't put back anything you don't need or love, and make sure the thing itself is clean before you return it to its place.I hope this helps!
Elizabeth says
Well, I am just going to go outside and plant things until you post the rest of your wisdom about cleaning because I AM READY FOR IT. Also, thanks to your previous post, I think this really is the year that I my husband will buy me a sewing machine for my birthday. Any advice? Or…better yet, I'll call Annie and ask her to save you the time…I want that next post! : )
Shannon says
Sometimes finding things long after the series is done is a blessing, I can read the whole set without waiting on pins and needles waiting for the next installment! thanks for writing this I am enjoying it.