Cape Cod homeowners, your life is about to get a lot easier. We’ve put together the ultimate cleaning checklist to help keep your home clean a breeze. From top to bottom, we’ll walk you through everything you need to do regularly to keep your property looking its best. So, roll up your sleeves, and let’s get started!
Start by decluttering your home and getting rid of any unnecessary items
If you’re around the same age as Josy and Rob, reading this paragraph may have you thinking of Betty Wright’s 1971 hit ‘Clean Up Woman,’ the hook of which goes, ‘Just makin’ it easy for the clean-up woman.’ At the time, I didn’t understand that the song wasn’t really about housecleaners, but old habits die hard.
You do not have to do our job for Liberty Siqueira; however, you can make our job a little easier by removing clutter and items that do not need to be in clean spaces. You can think about this process as the first step in freeing up your time to enjoy your life on Cape Cod without cleaning. After this initial uncluttering step, the best part is that you’re off the hook—Leave the rest to us!
Vacuum all the floors and furniture, then wipe them down with a damp cloth
This is the way we clean floors at Liberty Siqueira. We begin by sweeping to remove larger particles that might be difficult to lift with our vacuum. A simple broom and dustpan will be all you need. The second step, vacuuming, is not as difficult as you might think; you need only to have a system. Begin in the corner of the room farthest from the door and work your way to the room’s entrance. Make sure to vacuum under furniture and beds; a surprising amount of dust accumulates there, particularly in rooms with wall-to-wall carpeting.
The final step (damp wiping) goes for non-carpeted floors and furniture. We use old standbys for this step. We may use very lightly damp, clean rags for final wipe-downs. For wood surfaces, we use Lemon Pledge. For floors, we use a very light layer of Bona.
Dust all the surfaces in each room, including the ceiling
When we dust rooms at Liberty Siqueira, we use a Swiffer on the end of an extension arm (available at most supply stores) and run the wand around the entire circumference of the room where the ceiling meets the wall. This is one location where cobwebs may easily form. Please consider using the Swiffer for ceiling fans (if this could be done safely) because dust likes to accumulate here as well. While you still have the Swiffer in hand, clear off breakable items from all furniture surfaces and dust here, first with the Swiffer and then with a damp rag with our without Lemon Pledge, depending on your taste.
Clean the windows and mirrors
Our old standby for windows and mirrors is Windex and standard paper towels. Like all other steps, use a system. Start at the top and work your way down. Consider using vertical sweeping motions with the paper towel instead of a circular motion; the latter is more likely to leave streaks than the vertical method. For mirrors, the same system applies. If a mirror is not securely attached to a wall, you might consider taking it down and leaning it against a wall to clean to reduce the possibility of damaging the mirror or the wall behind it.
Deep vacuum carpets and rugs
Not all vacuums are created equal, but you don’t have to buy the most expensive device. At Liberty Siqueira, we use Miele vacuums. They are not the least costly, but they are not top-of-the-line either. We like them because they’re reliable and they provide good suction until the day they stop working altogether. We’re not big fans of central vacuuming. Some systems work very well, but we stick with classic models because of their reliability and performance.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, we suggest beginning with your home. Declutter your living space by getting rid of any unnecessary items and then vacuum, dust, and clean all the surfaces in each room. Polish all the metal fixtures and windows until they gleam. You’ll be surprised at how refreshed you feel after giving your home a good cleaning! If you need help getting your home clean, give Rob a call at 339-221-4702 or email rob@libertysiqueira.com