Amazing tip for Cleaning

[WeasleyMum]

... but only for fellow messies like me. So all this time I thought you were supposed to 'clean from the top down'. Whenever I'd start straightening/ tidying a room, I'd do surfaces (like the kitchen table, the coffee table, top of the piano, etc) and work down to the floor. Well of course half the time the floor never got done, or not till the next day or whatever.

Now that I have a crawling baby, I have to keep the floor clear of any clutter, and vacuumed/ mopped, so that it's not hazardous to him. And what do you know, it's so much better-- if you have to clean only part of a room-- to start with the floor! I think partly because it's the biggest area of any room, so when it's clean, the space looks clean. For example my living room looks tidier if the coffee table is a bit of a mess but the floor is clear and vacuumed, then if the table is shiny clean and there's clutter on the floor. It's also very practical; no tripping or kicking random things out of the way, stepping on sharp pebble that came from who-knows-where, etc.

Obviously those neat tidy folks out there are going to think, "What? Why not clean both!" or "How messy would this room have to be before it would even matter?!" but other neatness-challenged mamas might understand. Just wanted to share this lightbulb moment.

[accountclosed3]

sweet! you rule!

[Katie T]

I definitely agree with you especially on the living room floor being clean making the whole room clean.

I have a weird way of cleaning that goes against the only touch each item you are picking up once rule and that is to put anything that doesn't belong in that room on the dining room table till I am done with the whole house. Then I put all that stuff away.

Sometimes It does stay on the table longer than I would like but it makes cleaning FEEL like it is going to much faster lol!

[MrsMike]

I always start with the floor. Just having it vacuumed makes me feel better instantly.

[The Amber Lily]

I find the same thing with the kitchen. The whole house could be cluttered, but if the kitchen is clean then the house seems ok. However, if the whole house is pretty good, but the kitchen is a mess, then it's hard to enjoy the clean parts. Lol.

[Gray's Mommy]

Originally Posted by MrsMike

I always start with the floor. Just having it vacuumed makes me feel better instantly.

i do this too!!

[almadianna]

I agree with you. if the floor looks ok I think the rest looks better by association.

[ssantos]

I recently discovered this also, but it took a flea infestation to figure it out! We have pretty much gotten rid of the fleas (from a previous tenant), but now it is so easy to tell the kids to get everything off the floor (even if it gets piled onto the coffee table) than to tell them to take their stuff upstairs and put it away. It does seem so much cleaner when the floors are cleaned! In their bedrooms, their beds have a lot of toys on them but before you could not take a step without stepping on a toy. We are still working on our storage situation.

[*bejeweled*]

Originally Posted by The Amber Lily

I find the same thing with the kitchen. The whole house could be cluttered, but if the kitchen is clean then the house seems ok. However, if the whole house is pretty good, but the kitchen is a mess, then it's hard to enjoy the clean parts. Lol.

[dex_millie]

Originally Posted by Katie T

I definitely agree with you especially on the living room floor being clean making the whole room clean.

I have a weird way of cleaning that goes against the only touch each item you are picking up once rule and that is to put anything that doesn't belong in that room on the dining room table till I am done with the whole house. Then I put all that stuff away.

Sometimes It does stay on the table longer than I would like but it makes cleaning FEEL like it is going to much faster lol!

I don't think that is weird at all. I do it all the time. If I were to touch each item at a time and put it away I would be making mutliple trips to the same location, which would get tiring. I just pile things on the table or chair and then deal with them after the floor is clear and vacuum..It also may take me longer to get to it put the place will still look cleaner.

[mommathea]

I had to smile at this. Exept for the kitchen I always do the floor first.
Even if the floor is cluttered, I sweep up toys and all, and the kids have to rescue their stuff out of the pile. What's left is a pile of trash and dust.
I'm sure anyone else watching would pass out, but I got tired of having to go around and pick everything up, or ask the kids to pick up a room only to find that they cleared the first 5 steps into the room. With all of their stuff piling up in one spot made it easier for all of us to get a room clean!

[77sugaree]

Yes, Yes! I can't stand dirty floors. I really don't mind if the rest of the house is a little mesy but dirty floors gross me out. I usually walk barefoot inside and I hate it when crumbs and stuff stick to my feet.

[Mommabean]

I just have to say that I am thanking God my dh got me a roomba for our anniversary this year!

I will say that now I can tidy up in 10...I wipe the counters, table, and whatever else is a crumby mess to the floor. Then I clean out the sink, pick up the big things, and go over and push the clean button on Roobie (the boys named him the day he came home ).

Then I get a drink, and sit on my keester while he vacuums my entire house. I have had constant clean floors since February and my house hasn't felt cluttered and crazy since either.

So I agree clean floors does make a house seems very clean!

[autumnfairy76]

I agree about the clean floors.
I'm definitely neatness-challenged, as OP put it! But one of the few chores I enjoy is vaccuuming and mopping.
It makes a big difference to the room!

[Usually Curious]

I did this yesterday - it's true! Thanks for the tip.

[MamaJenese]

The only touch thing once would never work for me. I put two laundry baskets and a trash bag on the dining room table when I clean downstairs. There is an upstairs basket,downstairs baskeyt and trash. As I clean everything that needs to be relocated goes into one of those three places and at the end I walk around with the baskets and put it all away.

[sapphire_chan]

It's even better to have higher tables in a room to pile the stuff you've picked up off the floor. Then the baby/toddler can't reach it to spread it around, and as you walk around and around and around and around....and...around and around the house after them you can grab a couple items off the tables in passing and move them to the room the belong in.

[laohaire]

I've noticed that people tend to focus either on "clean" or "decluttered." My DH, for instance, is a "clean" guy. If the floor is swept/mopped/vacuumed and the counters wiped down and the dishes washed, he feels satisfied. He does not mind the clutter on the counters or the dining room table etc. as much. I, on the other hand, am a "declutter" girl. If I walk into the kitchen and the counters are clear, I feel happier than if I walk in and the counters are cluttered but the floor mopped and the visible counter wiped.

Obviously we both agree that having BOTH done is the IDEAL! But anyway, I suspect folks on this thread are "clean" folks. I'm not. So I still leave the floors till last, and it doesn't bother me TOO much if I don't get to them! (Obviously, crawling baby is a factor that must be considered).

Originally Posted by MamaJenese

The only touch thing once would never work for me. I put two laundry baskets and a trash bag on the dining room table when I clean downstairs. There is an upstairs basket,downstairs baskeyt and trash. As I clean everything that needs to be relocated goes into one of those three places and at the end I walk around with the baskets and put it all away.

My mom is a "touch everything once" kind of person and she can't STAND how I clean. I admit I'm all over the place, I am not as effecient. But I am damn thorough (when I do clean). If I had to touch everything only once, I'd never get anything done because I'd always be wandering around, running up and down the stairs, and getting distracted.

[*bejeweled*]

I'm a declutter girl too. I have GOT to have clutter free surfaces, even if it's not sparkling clean. For me,

clutter free spaces = quiet mind

Originally Posted by laohaire

I've noticed that people tend to focus either on "clean" or "decluttered." My DH, for instance, is a "clean" guy. If the floor is swept/mopped/vacuumed and the counters wiped down and the dishes washed, he feels satisfied. He does not mind the clutter on the counters or the dining room table etc. as much. I, on the other hand, am a "declutter" girl. If I walk into the kitchen and the counters are clear, I feel happier than if I walk in and the counters are cluttered but the floor mopped and the visible counter wiped.

Obviously we both agree that having BOTH done is the IDEAL! But anyway, I suspect folks on this thread are "clean" folks. I'm not. So I still leave the floors till last, and it doesn't bother me TOO much if I don't get to them! (Obviously, crawling baby is a factor that must be considered).



My mom is a "touch everything once" kind of person and she can't STAND how I clean. I admit I'm all over the place, I am not as effecient. But I am damn thorough (when I do clean). If I had to touch everything only once, I'd never get anything done because I'd always be wandering around, running up and down the stairs, and getting distracted.

[mommathea]

Originally Posted by *bejeweled*

clutter free spaces = quiet mind

exactly!