Spring cleaning anyone? Share your plans/progress - Page 4

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

@Mominohio I agree. Anyone who thinks their house is clean without washing the walls - you would do a complete turn around on that after dumping out the first bucket of filthy water. It's amazing how dirty the walls are, plus as Mom in ohio said - as you go along you wipe down things like pictures etc. Homes are way dirtier than you think they are.

OKPrincess · ‎03-10-2013

DD who lives in Houston pays for us to have Merrymaids to help with deep cleaning i.e. baseboards, ceiling fans, blinds, mopping floors, bathrooms. That's our Christmas, birthday, Mother's day, Father's Day. We really appreciate it. We vacuum regularly because of the cats.

Skyegirl21 · ‎03-20-2010

I agree with Kathy M, washing walls must be a holdover from coal furnace days, not necessary anymore... I keep up with the routine cleaning and just checked my walls... they’re not dusty or dirty. My cleaning mantra is ‘only clean where it’s dirty’!

Now curtains do need routine vacuuming or washing from time to time, but vacuuming is much easier !

I’m semi-retired and have way more time than ever before, but I still never get to the end of the list of chores! What’s that about?

qualitygal · ‎10-04-2010

I'm retired, so there's only see it and do it here. That's the new take on Spring cleaning.

I love that info on Spring cleaning coming about because of coal use in homes. Sure makes sense and no coal use here.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@OKPrincess wrote:
DD who lives in Houston pays for us to have Merrymaids to help with deep cleaning i.e. baseboards, ceiling fans, blinds, mopping floors, bathrooms. That's our Christmas, birthday, Mother's day, Father's Day. We really appreciate it. We vacuum regularly because of the cats.

@OKPrincess

That is a wonderful gift(s)!

The gift of help, even if DD can't be there to do it with you, is truly thoughtful and loving!

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@Skyegirl21 wrote:
I agree with Kathy M, washing walls must be a holdover from coal furnace days, not necessary anymore... I keep up with the routine cleaning and just checked my walls... they’re not dusty or dirty. My cleaning mantra is ‘only clean where it’s dirty’!
Now curtains do need routine vacuuming or washing from time to time, but vacuuming is much easier !

I’m semi-retired and have way more time than ever before, but I still never get to the end of the list of chores! What’s that about?

If you haven't done it (washing walls in today's world), don't discount it.

And when one is washing walls, one is doing baseboards and the getting behind heavy furniture and other things, door tops and the tops of door trims, places that just dusting doesn't get all the hidden dirt.

Vacuuming walls will get the cobwebs, but most heating and cooling systems are putting dirt on surfaces that need to be washed of on some kind of a regular basis. We have electric baseboard heat, supposed to be some of the cleanest out there, but it isn't as clean as one would hope.

Unless one paints every couple of years, one has more dirt and dust on the walls than one knows.

I'm getting back at it later today, and I may post a picture of what the water actually looks like, in the home of someone who washes the walls every year, and cleans well in between.

Then you can judge just what a room that never gets the walls washed might really be like.

People assume that if their walls look clean, they are. Not necessarily so.

My cleaning mantra is 'if one can convince one's self their house is clean, that is probably good enough for them, but I will put in the work to know it is'.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@151949 wrote:
@mousiegirl If you ever washed your walls or had them washed and experienced the wonderful clean feel and smell of the house when it was done - you would do them every year. I would have my carpets steam cleaned at the same time - OMG ultimate clean, like a brand new house.

It does make the house feel like new @151949, doesn't it?!

Everyone has their own level of what they consider 'clean', and everyone lives in different environments (kids/no kids, pets/no pets, country/city, cooks a lot/cooks a little windows open a lot, or not, various types of heating systems etc) that contribute to the elements that are in their rooms (and on their walls!!)

In our home, the kitchen and master bath garner the most dirt off the walls when washing. Our family room does as well, and for us, this is because they are the most heavily used rooms.

If I had to scale back the wall washing because of inability to do the work anymore, I'd still have to do those rooms as I know from experience how bad they really do get.

I used to do my upholstery and carpets at the same time too, but most years I now split those things till summer, it just depends on when I'm done with the other things, how much stamina/strength I have left! LOL I would prefer it all be done at the same time for that over all totally squeaky clean effect, but since the kid is raised and gone, the level of dirt has diminished already, and the heat of summer allows for faster drying too.

Regardless of how it is approached, whether it is all done under the umbrella of 'spring cleaning' or just set on a schedule where every week or month the 'big' jobs like wall washing, steam cleaning etc get spread out and done. I can't imagine living in a home where it didn't get done once a year or so.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

I don't spring clean until it's actually spring and we won't get anymore snow. Right now with the snow, everything is just dirty and well, icky. No matter how well I clean, we are going to be dragging some of that mess into the house. With the cold temps we are using our woodburning stove which also creates somewhat of a mess. If I did major spring cleaning now I would just feel like I needed it to be done again when the temps got warm.

When it does get warm, all my walls will get wiped down, windows done inside and out, woodwork wiped down, curtains washed, knick-knacks all washed in soapy water and what carpets I have will be scrubbed.

I did clean really good before I decorated for x-mas and when I took the decorations down and put the house back together. On a regular basis I move all my furniture and clean behind it, including the woodwork. I regularly dust/clean my ceiling fans and light fixtures.

To the poster who asked, when I wipe my walls down, I get a bucket of Mr. Clean water or some other type of cleaner like it and a microfiber cloth. I dip the cloth in the bucket, ring it out and wipe down a section, redip and ring the cloth and keep going until the walls are down. You'd be surprised what the water looks like when you dump it. I cannot imagine never wiping my walls down. Just common dirt gets on the walls.

In the kitchen, things splatter. You'd be surprised. Same in the bathroom. Walls gets soap scum on them, overspray from hairspray and other hair products, deodorants, etc.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

@GCR18 wrote:
@Mominohio could you swing by here when you're done please. LOL. I need to finish up thinning out my decor room before I start serious cleaning. I am tackling it by one job a weekend, so it will take a while. Last weekend, I emptied the fridge and cleaned the glass shelves and drawers. This weekend, I want to scrub down the master bathroom.

@GCR18, can you please tell me how the inside of the fridge gets so bad? LOL I fairly recently took absolutely everything out of mine, cleaned all the shelves, etc. The other day I looked inside and it needs to be done again. There is only DH and I. I'm not a spiller so what is going on?

And don't get me started with INSIDE of cabinets. I took every single thing our of our china cabinet to move it when we were having new flooring put in. The inside was disgustingly dusty. Everything is closed. How did everything get so dusty inside? LOL

Snicks1 · ‎07-28-2012

I'm doing my spring cleaning along with my purging. That is one reason (just one, lol) why it is taking me so long to get through each room. Today, all bets are off about if I will get anything done. Just back from taking my dog to the vet and have a doctor appt for myself this afternoon, I seem to have ruptured my eardrum, or something (not sure, but ears don't normally bleed, so.....). I will at some point today be wiping out my oven as I ran the "clean" cycle on it last night.

"To each their own, in all things".