It’s usually easy to see which areas in your home need cleaning: your kitchen when there are piles of dishes that need to be done, your laundry area when the hampers are overflowing with dirty linens and clothes, or the bedrooms when things are out of place. There’s usually a visual cue that lets you know it’s time to get cleaning.
After taking care of those things, you might think everything has been cleaned but there are some parts of the house that a lot of people forget to clean. Do you clean these spaces in your home, too? If not, it might be time to add them to your cleaning list so you don’t forget about them next time.
#1 The undersides of your furniture
You dust the surfaces of your furniture regularly and vacuum them, if possible, but do you pay mind to their undersides? You might be surprised at what you find when you get down on your knees to clean these areas. Vacuum or run a dusting wand through the undersides of your furniture at least once every quarter. There might be spider webs, eggs, dust bunnies, and other icky things hiding there that you’d be thankful to get rid of before they turn into bigger problems for you later.
#2 Baseboards and walls
Dirt knows no bounds. They cling to any surface, including the walls and baseboards so take a good look around the room you’re cleaning and see if there are any noticeable dirt marks that need to be wiped off. Even if you don’t see any, it would still be a good idea to wipe your walls and, while you’re at it, wipe down your baseboards too. Start by getting a broom and sweeping the top of your walls to get rid of spider webs forming in the corners and work your way down. Next, get a clean rag and spritz a bit of cleaner on it and wipe the walls and the baseboards.
#3 Air vents and filters
Centralized cooling and heating is such a blessing, especially on days when the temps are just extreme and unbearable. To keep the air in your home clean, don’t forget to clean the air vents and the filters. Dirty vents and filters can fill your home with unclean air which compromises the whole system and your health. Here’s a helpful article on how to clean the AC filter of your home’s centralized HVAC system.
#4 The floor in your closet
Cleaning out your closet doesn’t just mean decluttering, folding and hanging clothes, and making sure everything is in its place. It also means hauling everything out of the closet, giving it a good wipe-down, and, most importantly, cleaning the closet floor. It doesn’t matter how big or small your closet is, you need to clean the floors, especially if you store used shoes there. Those things track dirt, soil, and possibly even bring in bugs that you wouldn’t want hanging out anywhere near clean clothes. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do this every week. You don’t even have to do it every month. Deep cleaning your closet (floors included) only need to be done at least once every season.
#5 The cleaning tools that you use
Your vacuum, your broom, your sponges, and the rags that you use — they all help you clean your home but are you cleaning them as well? Your tools won’t work efficiently if they’re not clean before you use them to clean. Make sure to clean the tools and equipment that you use thoroughly after every cleaning session and before storing them again. Empty the vacuum bags and rinse them with water if they’re reusable or put a new one in if they’re disposable. Wipe the vacuum inside and out too. Wash, rinse, and dry the mop heads, rags, and brushes and spray everything down with disinfectant so they’re ready for next time.
Sometimes, even after a full day of cleaning, you’re going to take a look at a room and think “What did I miss? Why does it feel like I missed something?” These areas/items mentioned above are probably what you missed so go ahead and add these items to your cleaning checklist now so you don’t forget them later!