How To Deep Clean Your House With Free Checklist

Deep cleaning is dreaded but must be done on occasion. I love cleaning and know a lot about it, however, most online deep cleaning checklists are missing something- certain specifics that are crucial to the deep cleaning process. I wrote this post for you because of this. Deep cleaning is simple, and it won’t take long to clean an entire room when you know what to do. If two people tackle the room, you can get it done pretty fast.

Deep cleaning is cleaning an entire room thoroughly; moving items and cleaning underneath them, cleaning light fixtures, vacuuming the curtains, cleaning the mattress with baking soda and the vacuum cleaner, then flipping it, wiping down doors that collect dust and grime, washing the walls, and so on. The essential rule of deep cleaning is to start at the top, then work your way down, otherwise you will have to re-clean all over again. The reason is simple; deep cleaning means you clean everything thoroughly, so if you clean a room and end with cleaning the crown molding, knocking down spider webs, and cleaning ceiling fans, you just knocked all the dust down on your clean surfaces.

What do you clean when deep cleaning in every room? Let me explain, from start to finish. Do not forget to print my cleaning checklist at the end of the post. It’s free.

In every room start with the crown molding or edges/corners of the ceiling, then move on to the light fixtures and ceiling fans. Always! If you use an extendable duster, you can finish this easily in record time.

Next step is to remove any shower curtains that are in the bathroom and wash them. If you have curtains in the room or blinds, you clean them. Either remove them and wash them or use a vacuum cleaner or duster.

Then wash the walls; start from the top and work your way down. Just a little soap and water. Wring out your sponge or cloth, though, as it shouldn’t be too wet. You can skip washing the walls in most rooms! Washing the walls is not negotiable in the kitchen and bathrooms.

In Kitchens and Bathrooms, wipe cabinets inside and out, especially the doors and drawer’s flat surfaces. The bottom edge of the cabinet doors/drawers are usually coated with grime and grease. If you looked from below the cabinet and drawers’ edges, it may surprise you.

In the kitchen and bathrooms, remove everything and clean counter tops. If you often neglect cleaning the counters, go over them twice. It would shock you to see more dust and dirt on the second pass.

Wipe down the door. This means wipe the front, back, bottom, side, and top edges.

In the bathroom, wipe the toilet from the tank to the bolts. Then scrub the toilet bowl.

Wipe baseboards.

In the bathrooms clean the tubs/showers.

In the kitchen, clean your stove, then the oven. Clean the crumbs out of the toaster. Also run your coffee maker with up to 4 cups vinegar, then run with water to rinse.

Vacuum, sweep, and mop (depending on if the floor is carpeted).

In the bathrooms, steam or water spots will ruin your clean mirror, so save the mirror for last.

Lastly, disinfect the light switches and door handles. In the kitchens and bathrooms, drawer pulls and handles should get a cleaning too. This is the time to clean your keyboards and remotes.

Deep cleaning seems like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Wiping a counter or a door takes a few minutes. Deep cleaning a smaller home or apartment takes only a few hours at most. Having the knowledge and the right tools is key.

The key is decluttering before you start the deep cleaning, which is a different, somewhat daunting task all together. I have a post on how to do that without making it stressful, so check it out. You do not have to declutter to deep clean, but if you have clutter lying around it makes it much harder. Another option is to put all clutter and wayward items in one box and sort it out later. If you have little clutter to begin with, then start deep cleaning.

I hope this helps you. Deep cleaning really is not as horrible as it seems. Once you read the checklist provided, you will know there is little to deep cleaning a room. Do you enjoy cleaning, or is it a task you dread? Comment below and let me know.

Download the checklist here.