Living in a clean space

I want to make sure everyone understands the basics of hygiene for your home. Clean can be defined in different ways depending on your culture, it is not for me to tell you which version of cleanliness is correct.

I grew up spending lots of time in horse stables, public schools, and libraries so clean became relative to the location. What I mean is to clean a horse stable to the same level as a library is near impossible, the fact there are living horses indoors makes cleanliness shift forms.

We did our best to keep the open spaces swept, clean surfaces off when we could, and the constant movement of horse bowels had to be dealt with too. A public school has similar issues, in the form of children. They happen to carry and grow some of the wildest collections of germs known to man. Not fun things to think about, I apologize.

I do have a point though; your space will have its own conditions that determine what cleanliness can be achieved. If you live in a 1 room apartment with no pets and rarely host guests, you can probably manage to clean at a level above a public school. If you live in a farmhouse with 5 cats, a dog, kids, and lots of plants then cleaning may need to be focused on health rather than aesthetic.

No matter what, something must be done because germs exist and no matter how great your immune system, they will eventually impact you. Let’s discuss the basics.

Setting a schedule for yourself sounds boring and may even hurt your little adventurous spirit but it is the first step to gaining a little control over the concept of clean. I will add a little list you can use as a starting point at the end of this section.

How about we do this from easiest things to do to keep your space clean to hardest?

I Think the easiest approach is good old dusting and sweeping. And dusting does have a real purpose other than just being fun to do while listening to Disney Princess songs and calling yourself Cinderella. Human beings replace all our skin cells every 7 days, that means our body is constantly shedding tiny bits of dead skin that float through the air and lie on surfaces. If you have pets, they do the same thing plus fur. Dusting and sweeping should be a combo deal, start by dusting all the high up things first, work your way down, and sweep when you are done.

Some people choose an alternative device over a broom and dustpan when it comes to cleaning the floor. I am partial to a good vacuum; I live with lots of animals and I feel like the vacuum is quicker and more effective. There are also many floor mops that are marketed as an alternative to brooms (swifter being the main company), but that only really works for hard wood floors and leaves behind a wet feeling for a few minutes that I don’t love.

A notch up from simply dusting and sweeping is surface cleaning, to achieve surface cleaning you must first do the horrid decluttering. All those things on your counters and tables? Where are they supposed to be? Put them away. If some things do live on top of the surfaces, relocate them temporarily for this next bit.

Now grab a surface cleaner. I have grown up using something called Simply Green spray or just plain Dawn Dish spray for any wooden or laminate surfaces (fake marble is usually laminate). But I have also liked using all-purpose sprays or even scrubbing bubbles. Pick your cleaning substance and spray it all over. Some sprays need to sit for a minute to kill germs, read the bottle. Once it is time, grab a sponge/paper towels/hand towel to wipe that stuff off there.

If you used a particularly harsh chemical, you might need a damp sponge/paper towel/hand towel to get the chemicals off your surfaces.

Depending on how often a surface is used and for what, you can clean them regularly. I suggest anything used for eating or food making gets cleaned before food is consumed or at the end of consuming food. Just is easier to remember if you center it around food. If it is the top of a table where only books, papers, and knickknacks live then maybe you can clean it only once a month. Bathroom surfaces probably deserve a weekly clean cause the particles your body creates in the bathroom are not super sanitary.

Once a month you should also switch your surface cleaning to a more chemical substance. I am talking about a bleach or maybe baking soda solution that will allow you to clean everything off. When you are dealing with harsh cleaning chemicals, I recommend wearing gloves, these chemicals will not be good for your skin. If you have a kitchen, add on your fridge door and oven door to the cleaning list for the day.

Note about bleach, when using bleach be sure not to get it on any clothing you like it will bleach the clothing. It just will. Cold water neutralizes bleach but cannot undo its effects, so go over everything with cold water afterwards.

A note about baking soda-based cleaners. The best baking soda cleaner I have ever used is a simple mix of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, that stuff will remove anything. But it is a chemical reaction so it must be done on the surface you are cleaning. For example, if you are cleaning a stove top, sprinkle baking soda over it and then add a 3% hydrogen peroxide (nothing higher than 3%).

This will create a small bit of noxious gas so no tight spaces with low oxygen levels. The 2 will bubble up and break down anything in their way. Some people try a less potent method by adding dish soap or water to the mix, but I have no personal experience so tread lightly.

Let’s do a special on bathrooms. Bathrooms are just gross places. If I must explain why bathrooms have a particular set of germs that nowhere else accumulates then you may consider revisiting preschool, as a former preschool teacher I promise it is on the syllabus. This means that your bathroom is going to need to be cleaned.

Like I mentioned previously, surfaces can be cleaned with any of those easy cleaners although I prefer something harsh to kill off bacteria. I use bleach on the sink, toilet, and shower basically every time. The toilet needs to be cleaned not just on all surfaces (it has many surfaces) but also in the bowl. There are wonderful toilet bowl cleaners that make this easy. The bathroom mirror probably needs to be cleaned with a glass cleaner.

For all glass cleaning, be sure to use a clean microfiber towel or old newspaper. Anything else will leave behind streaks and fibers on the glass. This goes for the advanced cleaning practice of windows as well.

Second special topic for fabric or clothed based things in your home. Carpets can obviously be cleaned with a vacuum. If you want a deeper clean for a carpet or even a cloth couch, try looking into carpet cleaning mixes. I usually just skip those and go right to carpet cleaning machines or steaming machines because they take less steps. Find a hardware store and they probably offer rental carpet cleaning machines, if you don’t want to buy one.

Your bed sheets and blankets need to be cleaned too, luckily, they all fit in this magical device called a laundry machine which we will discuss later. Apparently, we are supposed to clean our sheets, pillowcases, and blankets every week. I only seem to get to them once a month though. Any throw pillows might need to find their way to the washing machine every few months. I think that should be everything cloth or fabric wise in your home. I mean, clean your clothes and towels please.

Otherwise, that covers most of the cleaning you have to look forward to. Please use this very extensive cleaning chart below to build your own little cleaning schedule. You don’t have to write it down, but I think it is a good idea to try writing it down first until you get the hang of it all. Cleaning is not optional, it must be done. I hope you feel less afraid of it now.