Disney’s Classic, Cinderella, gave us all certain expectations about how cleaning happens. It involves singing, friendly mice, and helpful birds. We’ve since learned that we were way off base.

 Not a single member of Clean Club Calgary has yet to see one mouse, one bird, one critter helps us with cleaning - even when we sing a lovely little song. Personally, we believe it’s because these creatures merely have a misunderstanding of what cleaning a house entails.

 So, if the neighbourhood chickadees aren’t yet sweeping your home, we thought it best to provide some insight into how we professionally clean a house just in case you need to clean…without the help that Cinderella had.

 1. Your Home; Your Cleaning Schedule

Some families complete chores one day a week. Others, complete smaller chores each day. The best schedule for your home is the one that works best for you.

 What we do recommend at Clean Club Calgary is that if you have a busy household, tidy up every day or two so the build-up of “stuff” doesn’t start to overwhelm you. For example, do not leave dirty dishes and food on the kitchen counters, especially if you have pets. Pets will jump up with ease if there’s any hint of food on the counter. I personally have seen a dog eating a full birthday cake, knife and all, without even a second thought! Don’t worry, they survived.

2. Bust the Bathroom Fear.

Bathrooms are not as challenging as many of us think. It’s knowing what techniques and tools are available to you that make it easier. For instance, if you have hard water and glass shower doors (not the best combination if you ask me) make sure to take 10-seconds after each shower and squeegee the glass. This helps to reduce/prevent scum and hard water stains on the shower. Our personal method for cleaning this type of surface is starting at the top corner and working your way down to the bottom right. Go through and wipe down surfaces. If you stay on top of this, a scrub down of the surface will not be required each time you clean, but a simple wipe down. Another bathroom buster that reduces the heavy bathroom cleaning lifting is ensuring you clean your toilet the right way. Yes - there’s a right way! Here’s an article that gives you the step-by-step details to sparkling up that toilet (and freshening your whole bathroom) with ease!

3. Let the Bedsheets Breath.

Clean bedding should not be an afterthought when it comes to cleaning. There are often hidden, itty bitty dust mites, sweat, dead skin cells, hair, and fur (for pet families) and sometimes even bugs. A few things you can do to reduce these yucks are:

1. Make your bed every day,

2. Wash your bedding weekly and at least every second week.

Super simple! This is the first place I typically recommend people start with cleaning their house. Once the bedsheets are changed, dusting will be a breeze  too, as you shook all the dust around and it can now be wiped with ease. 😊

4. Kitchen Nightmares Become Dreams.

Our kitchen can seem overwhelming to clean at first. There are all these corners, random spills and splotches, and food burnt onto the stove that seems to have made its home there. This nightmarish feeling doesn’t have to be. Begin building “every day tidying up” into your schedule (5-10 mins/day max). Since you clean or wipe down your kitchen after each meal, the more in-depth cleaning will be easier later. There are, of course, a few cleaning hacks we have to help along the way:

1. Microfibre cloths are the best to wipe down surfaces, both when wet and dry.

2. Soap and water are all you really need. Although, if you want a little extra kick, we recommend Bar Keeper’s Friend.

3. Make your stainless steel appliances, glasses, and faucets sparkle with an amazing cleaning cloth.

4. Remove pet and kid prints from cabinets with a damp, soapy microfiber cloth. Wipe down the cabinets with the damp cloth, then use a dry microfiber cloth to dry and polish up the cabinets again.

5. A Dust is an Absolute Must!

A quick once around the house with your dusting materials is all you need once a week. If you want to do a deeper dusting, we recommend dusting the baseboards and vacuuming the vents. Realize that dusting can also become quite cumbersome, particularly if you have lots of knick-knacks and other items that collect dust. However, dusting is one of the things that will immediately improve the air quality of your home, along with how “fresh” a space feels. To learn more about the ins and outs of how to properly dust, read this post on dusting tools and techniques .

6. Vroom Vroom Vacuum.

Our floors have so much more on them than we can ever imagine. Whether wood, cork, tile, or carpet, there’s dirt, dust mites, grit, and so many other hidden ickies that it’s best not to mention them further. Vacuuming is always required if you want a clean home. If you have pets, we recommend vacuuming a minimum of once a week. Every couple of months run the vacuum along the edges of your carpet as dust just loves it in these groves. And don’t forget under the bed! These areas are the biggest dust and dirt collectors. If you find yourself regularly waking up all stuffy and sneezy, ask yourself when the last time you vacuumed under the best was. To learn the ins and outs of vacuuming and on different floor types, read this post .

7. Mopping the Good Ol’ Way.

Mopping is not fancy. All it takes is a bucket of water with a mop and microfibre cloth. A good wash and wipe down of the floor is always the best. If you really want, you can add some essential oils to the soap and water to give a little extra zest to the smell. Start in one corner and work your way to the other. Take our advice though and be careful not to mop yourself into a corner where you can’t move until the floor is dry. It gets tricky trying to leap over the wet floor.

With each of these steps for professional cleaning, we created this simple cleaning tool list, outlining the top 10 cleaning items you need to get your home all sparkly clean . Have these tools, follow the above insights, and your home will look as though the professional did it!

Of course, there is an eighth way to clean your house, especially if the above simply leaves you saying, “no thank you!” Hire a professional cleaning company. We’d be happy to help 😉. Request a quote today.