Room by Room: Organize and Clean Your House with These Handy Tips
Let us start at the top of your house and organize your Attic first:
Attic
Make an inventory list of what you have up there. It will come in handy if you are looking for something and are not sure where it is. Label the sides of boxes with the contents so things are easy to locate. Another fun and colorful idea is to use colorful plastic storage bins for storing special items, like red for Christmas decorations, blue for spring and summer clothes etc.
When you are putting boxes in the attic make sure you leave a clear path for walking. Keeping boxes on the perimeter of the attic will help to easy have access to them.
Put some hooks in the overhead beams so you can hang holiday wreaths and bows. They won’t get wrinkled or smashed and you can locate them easily.
If you have an attic fan, lubricate the motor and the bearings.
Check for signs of any unwelcome visitors like rodents. If needed make an appointment with an exterminator to take care of any pests before they make themselves too comfy.
If you keep any furniture in storage in your attic be sure to cover the furniture with old bed sheets to protect them from dust and from any sunlight that may fade the colors.
Dining Room
If you have items in your cabinet like punch bowls or cups that you rarely use, concider donating or selling them to free up space. When you do need these items, you can rent them, or borrow them.
Make sure that special linens like tablecloths and cloth napkins are clean and ready for the next holiday by inspecting them and spot cleaning or having them professionally cleaned.
Here is a tip for those silk flower arrangements – blow dust off using a blow dryer outside and then bring back in all nice and fresh.
Wipe crystal chandeliers with a dry cotton cloth. If they are really dirty wipe with a cloth dampened with water. Polish with a dry cotton cloth.
Clean your glass in your cabinet doors with a soft cloth or glass cleaner if necessary.
Consider replacing harsh high watt bulbs with low watt pink or yellow bulbs that will add special warmth to the room.
Add color to the room by making a special centerpiece out of seasonal fruit or foliage.
Kitchen
Clear any clutter by keeping small appliances that are not used everyday in cabinets. Re-stain or re-paint your cabinet doors to give your kitchen a fresh look. Take a look at your dishcloths, towels and potholders and if they are worn, replace with new ones. Defrost your freezer, unless you are lucky enough to have a self-defrost one. Clean the top of your refrigerator. Put new magnets on the fridge or special photographs.
Place colorful rugs on the floor (non-skid backing of course).
Go through the cupboards and take any dishes you do not use and place them in storage or donate/sell them.
Take a look at your herbs, yeast and baking powder. Inspect the expiration dates, toss any that are expired.
Wipe down the cupboard shelves or re-line with fresh, colorful contact paper
Wash out the inside of the refrigerator
Vacuum the coils beneath and back of the refrigerator
If you use cutting boards you can deodorize them by rubbing them with the cut sides of lemon halves.
Remove stains and deodorize plastic and rubber utensils by rubbing them with a baking soda and water paste.
Need somewhere to keep wooden spoons, ladles, spatulas and the cheese grater? Try this: take a flowerpot, clean and paint it. Put these utensils inside and keep on your countertop. Pretty and functional!
Do you ever take off your watch or rings and then lose them? Put a hook on the near the sink like on the side of a cupboard and hang your watch or ring here.
Bedrooms
Replace stationary, stamps and flashlight batteries from your bedside drawer. Go through your jewelry box and toss any unmatched earrings, or broken jewelry. Go through your sock drawer and toss any socks that have no mates.
Turn your mattress over. Wash your mattress pad (if there is one). Launder or dry clean the comforter.
Put a vase of flowers on your bedside table or dresser.
Living Room
Sort through the entertainment center for old never used DVD’s or VHS movies and toss, sell or donate. Do the same for your music CD’s.
Organize your front closet by installing hooks or other hanging devices to put your brooms, mops, dustpans or other hangable items on. Have trouble finding the remote? Try using Velcro strips, put one part to the side of the television and the other to the remote. When you are done with the remote stick it to the side of the television. Now you know where to look for that pesky remote.
Wipe down the telephone receiver with a baby wipe or Lysol wipe. Dust ceiling fans, framed art, and bookshelves. Vacuum the floors, windowsills and lampshades. Spot clean sofas and carpet. Fluff the throw pillows in the dryer – toss in a clean tennis ball and a dryer sheet to keep the fillings of he pillows redistributed and the pillows fresh.
Vacuum fireplace and wipe down fireplace tools.
Declutter by weeding through magazines and books taking out unwanted, worn ones and toss or donate.
Clear out the cobwebs from corners and dust windowsills
Place pretty vases around on end tables and fill with fresh cut flowers.
Laundry Room
Pick things up off the floor. If you do not have a shelf for laundry items, install one above the washing machine. Find a hook magnet with a pouch over it to collect all those coins, buttons and odds and ends that you find in the washing machine and dryer. Clear off the surface of your washer and dryer of everything that has been piled up there. Wipe the surfaces down with a soft cloth. Do some sprucing up by painting the walls or the floor. If you do not already have a trash can near the dryer, put one there, to collect the dryer lint.
Closets
Clean out all the clothes that are not worn anymore, donate or sell them. If there is room install separate rods at different levels for different size hanging clothes. Put a shoe organizer on the back of the door. Store extra sets of sheets inside the matching pillow cases so that it is easy to find matching sets.
Wipe down the walls and doors, wipe or vacuum the shelves and rub metal rods with wax paper to remove residue and allow hangers to move more easily.
Check clothing for any needed repairs like rips that need mending or buttons that need tightening.
Paint closet walls with white semigloss to freshen them up
Store purses and wallets in a pretty basket on a top shelf or put on dresser top
Need a place to hang your bathrobe? Install a pretty plastic hook on the back of your bedroom closet door and one on the back of the bathroom door while you are at it.
Bathroom
Discard old medicines from the medicine cabinet
Use a shower caddy or organizer with pockets for holding shampoos, and other bathroom bottles.
Keep a covered colorful basket for all the beauty supplies on the counter. Have another rectangular basket for hair supplies.
Clean shower curtains and liners
Store extra rolls of toilet paper in a wicker basket on the floor near the toilet for easy access.
Buy new fixtures for tub and sink, maybe pretty gold or ceramic ones for a special change
Garage
Get a plastic trashcan with wheels to store dry bags of potting soil, fertilizer, birdseed and other dry garden materials.
Hang bicycles on wall hooks to save space and protect tires
Mount ceiling racks to store seasonal equipment like fishing poles, sporting goods and folding lawn chairs
If you do not already have your tools and garden stuff organized, a good thing to do is to hang a pegboard with hooks to store these items
I hope you have found these house tips handy for cleaning and organizing your home.
