Though it is an overused term, I am legitimately a neat-freak.  I cannot stand disorder and mess and make sure I do not have to deal with either.  When I used to work in dentistry, I often spent time in between patients tidying areas that had been neglected in the offices.  Eventually, I got a reputation as a picture-straightener and workaholic, but that also meant I often got asked by friends and colleagues about my preferred methods for tidying and cleaning.  In truth, though, I have seen worse cases than me, as I like both plants and animals inside with me.  I just happen to like organized chaos.  Similarly, my method is not at all elaborate, being relegated to a simple process with simple inexpensive products. So, for what it is worth, this is my entire cleaning process.

Daily Regimen

Daily I just make sure dog toys are picked up and the kitchen is clean, which is enough of a job in itself!  Our kitchen is in constant use, like a restaurant that works from morning to night, so dishes, counter surfaces, tables, and stovetops are time consuming in themselves. As with anything, though, if I ever have something that gets soiled more than usual, I borrow from any one of the following methods to correct it.

Weekly Regimen

Each week I try to dust my furniture surfaces and attending knick-knacks (including glass, porcelain, brass, and pewter) with an old washcloth dampened with water and a bit of fabric softener, probably not more than a drop to 2 cups of warm water. I use my sweeper’s crevice tool around the woodwork and to suck down corners that have gathered spider webs.  Next, I use the floor head of my sweeper for my hardwood floors then switch to carpet mode to sweep my rugs.  The floors get mopped with a tub of warm water mixed with a bit of dishwashing liquid.  Finally, I clean bathroom sinks, tubs, and toilets inside and out with more soapy water.  On the faucets, I use straight vinegar applied to a wet cloth to wipe everything down, and then quickly follow this up with a rinse of clear water, and buff the surfaces dry.  I usually do all of this on the same day as my laundry, which I do just once a week to conserve on both energy and water, as I can make larger loads.

Once a month

At least one time out of the month I devote myself to a little more thorough cleaning, which includes sweeping the furniture with an upholstery head, cleaning the rag rugs in the washing machine, and spot cleaning any large rugs with some diluted laundry detergent on a rag.  I do not bother with these items more often because, while I appreciate cleanliness, I also know the more you scrub the faster cloth will deteriorate.  So far, I have not had to refresh my upholstery more than twice in the 30 years we have had our furniture.

“Spring” Cleaning

I use the term “spring cleaning” loosely, as I often clean in preparation for spring during the month of January, right after the Christmas decorations get put away. Because we use wood heat, and since I put up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving, and keep them until Epiphany in the first week of January, the house accumulates quite a bit of dust during the holidays. Moreover, spring is my favorite time of the year, and is very busy for me with the greenhouse.  I just cannot be bothered with cleaning during such a happy time of year, but during the winter months, what else is there to do? For me it is a perfect time to clean.  

During the big clean, all ceilings, knick-knacks, walls, shelves, furniture surfaces, picture frames, and woodwork get stripped and wiped down with cleaning water made from warm water and dishwashing liquid. The curtains and furniture get stripped and cleaned with water and soap, then rinsed, and dried with the wood heat on full blast.  I polish up all the pewter and brasses in the house, using dishwashing liquid and a water rinse for my pewter and a fresh cut lemon to rub down my brasses. I always make sure I always dip the brasses in diluted dishwashing liquid, rinse with water, and buff with a soft dry cloth.   Next, I run through my house and touchup all of my rugs and painted and stained surfaces, plus any holes in the drywall get patched fresh mud and painted.  This is also a great time to do a thorough cleaning of my cellar, and make sure all of my decorations and storage supply is tidy and well organized.

The only items that do genuinely get left until spring are the rugs, which need a good, hot, sunny, breezy day to dry.  I usually take my rugs outside and dump laundry detergent diluted in water directly onto them.  I then proceed to scrub them by hand then rinse them with the garden hose on a jet stream.  After I am sure the soap has been completely rinsed from the fabric, I squeeze the rugs dry with both a large and small window wiper.  This simulates the large rollers found in professional rug cleaning facilities.  I rinse and dry as many times as I need to get the soap and dirt out of the rugs and to get most of the water out of them.  I later drape the rugs over a couple of lawn chairs directly in the sun and let nature do the rest for me.  I use this same process for all of my rugs, including my more expensive wool rugs upstairs, but do use Wool-lite on them, instead of laundry detergent.  Two of the upstairs rugs are more than 2 inches thick with wool, so cleaning them is quite a process. Because they are also relatively small, I get extra water out of them by wrapping them in a few old towels multiple times until they are merely damp.  Once again, nature is left to dry them.  It is important, however, to get just the right day to dry these, as putting any of the rugs away damp with leave them stinking very quickly, and it will takes years to get out that smell, if ever.  

Touchups

All told, my spring cleaning usually lasts about a week, not including rugs.  I will go back in September and do a mini-spring clean.  The September clean is not quite as intensive, but it gives me a chance to get rid of dust, organize my cellar, make sure there are no gouges, holes, or heavily soiled spots, and to get rid of any bug droppings on my ceiling before beautiful decorations go on top of them. As always, though, I reserve the right to revisit any one of my spring cleaning techniques any time of the year I feel things have gotten desperate, which, in the past, has been precipitated by almost anything, from a clogged chimney to a flooded cellar!