Happy Valentine’s Day! What better way to spend this day of love than by showing your home some love! Haha…just kidding. I definitely am not deep cleaning today. This day is all about showing the people in your life how much you love and care about them. So, this weekend or some other time this month, after you show the people in your life some love, here’s what’s for February Deep Cleaning to help you continue your journey to a well organized and clean home.
If you did not already, read my post with my Deep Cleaning Schedule for Your Whole Home. Print out the schedule, put it in a page protector, and put it up someplace in your home. You can check off when you have completed each month’s jobs. If you’re new here and have not started your deep cleaning mission, I recommended starting with the January job and bumping everything back a month. Or you can double up this month or just jump in with February’s deep cleaning jobs. Do what works best for you!
In January, we started at the top and cleaned the ceiling, the extra “stuff” on the walls – switch plates and outlets – the vents and fans, and replaced the air filters. This month we are working our way down.
February Deep Cleaning:
- Dust light fixtures.
- Wash walls
- Wash baseboards and other trim
Washing the walls, baseboards, and trim in the whole house can be time-consuming. But get your kids and hubby involved. It should still only take 1 Saturday or an hour or two over a few days.
Supplies to Use:
- Multipurpose Cleaner – I use my homemade all purpose cleaner or Branch Basics if I don’t have my own made up. (You can basically clean everything in your home with their concentrate and refillable bottles. AND it’s super safe, non-toxic, and effective! Get $10 off with the link above.)
- Microfiber Cloths
- Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds or Branch Basics concentrate – Both of these are safe and nontoxic. They’re made with ingredients that I trust won’t flare up my eczema or cause other harm to myself or my family.
What to Do:
1. Dust the Light Fixtures
Go room-by-room cleaning each light fixture. First, spray a little bit of the multipurpose cleaner onto your microfiber cloth. Then, dust the entire surface of the light fixture, including lampshades.
Dust all the light fixtures in your house – lamps, ceiling lights, and wall sconces.
Also, if there are any fixtures that have a light bulb that is burnt out, replace it at this time (or make a note of what size bulbs you need to buy and get them next time you go out).
2. Wash the Walls
Use a new, clean microfiber cloth for this. I fill a large bowl with warm water and a teaspoon or two of Sal’s Suds or Branch Basics concentrate. Dip your cloth in, ring it out, and go to town wiping the walls.
Go room-by-room cleaning the entire surface area of the walls (or all that you can reach). If you have a stubborn spot that’s not coming out right away, squirt an extra little bit of undiluted cleaning concentrate onto your cloth and scrub the spot until clean.
If your walls are not painted with higher-quality, durable paint, do not scrub too hard. The paint WILL rub off. I learned this lesson a few years ago. Since then, we have repainted the walls in our entire house with a higher-quality paint (Valspar Signature). It makes cleaning up marks and scuffs so much easier.
3. Clean Baseboards and Other Trim
Use the same process you used to clean the walls for your baseboards and other trim. You’ll definitely need to switch out your cloth for a clean one and make a fresh, clean bowl of warm soapy water. Go room-by-room again, cleaning all edges of the baseboards, chair railing, crown molding, and any other trim (except window and door trim – we’ll do those later).
That’s it for February deep cleaning. Great job! I know this one is time-consuming, as walls are the biggest surface areas of the home. But, make it fun! Play your favorite music. Dance while you clean. Or get your little ones and/or husband to join you and see who can clean the walls in their room the fastest. I played some of my favorite podcasts to learn while I clean (I know-I’m a nerd.)
How did this month’s cleaning go for you? Did you do anything fun while you cleaned?
Watch the video below to see these deep cleaning jobs in action!
