My family is getting ready to move into a new house. I want to clean it really well before we move in (we have 2 small children). Most likely, I will be doing all the cleaning by myself -- my husband will be busy with working, painting and heavy lifting; and we don't have any family in the area to help either. (Hiring a service is not a good option, as we are spending a lot of money on new furniture, tools, etc. and want to save money in areas that we can do ourselves.)
While I think about this daunting task, I am picturing myself spending hours and hours and going through a crazy amount of cleaners and paper towels. Do you have any tips for cleaning large areas really well? Would it be better to make my own cleaning solution with ammonia or vinegar or something? Any other recommendations?
Thanks so much!
Thanks for all of the advice everyone! I have made a plan and started putting together a cleaning & supply box, so now I feel much better.
I worked for a post construction cleaner at one pint and she used of all things, joy dishwashing detergent. Now it cleans ducks and houses! It worked really well, and it can be found very cheaply. Unless you are into the vinegar smell, the smell is nice, too.
You might be surprised at how little a service will cost to come in and clean an empty home...
call around and get quotes...you just might be surprised....
When we moved into this house, we waited to move the furniture in for a few hours. I was pregnant so my best friend and husband took a couple of brand new mops and a bucket with some Lysol disinfecting cleaner and did a quick wash down of the walls and slate foyer. They did a tougher cleaning on the bathrooms. They took some Murphy's Oil Soap and did the wood floors and other wood surfaces.
It was really just to get dust off of surfaces and didn't need a deep cleaning since the previous owners took good care of the house and cleaned really well before they moved the month before.
We left our kids with grandparents for a few days to clean. We had no electricity and it was over a 100 degrees. The house was absolutely filthy. After the electricity was turned on and the home was clean (about 3 days later) the grandparents drove 5 hours up to bring us our kids.
Do not use ammonia... it will seriously leave you gasping for air if you are doing a large amount of cleaning. If you use something to make your own cleaner, use borax or vinegar!
Definitely use gloves. A mix of paper towels, rags we can rewash and sponges are good to have on hand. We went through so much cleaner, I just went to the dollar store and bought it. So really, it depends on how dirty the home actually is. Ours looked like it had been occupied by a pack of pigs.
We scrubbed down the bathrooms and kitchen first, then the other living areas come next.
As far as painting, you do need to clean the walls baseboards first.
Well your husband is painting the walls so you don't have to clean the walls and baseboards. If he doesn't know that is part of the painting process I would suggest you point it out because if he doesn't the walls can peal and look awful.
So in the bedrooms, family room, living room all you have to do is vacuum and wash the windows. See how much easier I have made it for you. :)
I would let him paint the bathrooms before you clean them. The dirt makes a nice barier against spilled paint plus you will have to reclean them because of paint spray afterwards anyway, why clean twice. :p
Kitchen is kinda the same story as the bathrooms.
I would say you might want to help him prep a few rooms before you start cleaning so he is always a room ahead of you.
i like use those micro towels, it picks up everything, yet wont scratch. and can reuse. be sure to wear gloves to save ur skin and nails for a big job like that.
I wouoldn't concentrate on cleaning up too to much because with everyone in and out it's just going to get all messed up again. Personally I would concentrate on cleaning the areas that wouldn't necessarily get a cleaning on a normal basis (Ex: where the fridge is going to go or furniture) then once everything was set up and placed where it needed to go THEN I would do a very good cleaning. I would just make sure to take one room at a time because for me if I try to do everything all at once-I get overwhelmed. If I do one thing at a time or one room at a time-it goes alot smoother.
Personally I clean with old rags. To me you can just toss them in the washer machine but for the really nasty things that I don't particulary want to hang onto....coffee filters. They are cheaper and work better than paper towels. Paper towels to me are sooooooo overpriced and with a big job like that I would prefer to use those instead of having to turn around and buy yet another roll of paper towels!!! You can find some cheap ones at the dollar store! To save on the "cleanser" part yes vinegar is a great option! Don't forget about baking soda as well. You can also mix vinegar and orange peels to make your own cleanser. I have SEVERAL "recipes" i guess you can call it for all-natural cleansers and to me a little goes a long way. I also clean my mirrors and glass with straight rubbing alcohol-it doesn't smear or leave beind anything. I also heard someone say taking old newspapers and cleaning windows with vinegar works well but I haven't tried that yet because to me would the ink rub off onto whatever you were cleaning?? Also I am a germaphobe and to me you don't know where that newspaper has been-lol!
Congrats on your new house! We are also moving into a new home in 2 weeks, so I will be doing the "big clean" as well.
I use vinegar for all my cleaning. I just buy a big jug and fill up a spray bottle. A jug is maybe $3 and lasts so much longer than most cleaners, and there are no harsh chemical fumes, which give me a headache. You will notice with vinegar that it smells for a bit but as it dries the smell goes away. It disinfects and deodorizes.
I personally hate paper towels, so I just use washcloths to wipe things clean. I bought a bucket at the dollar store that I keep under my kitchen sink. After I use a washcloth to clean up, I chuck it in the bucket, and when the bucket is full I was them in the washing machine with some bleach and laundry soap.
If I were you, I would probably see if your husband will tend to the children and give you 2-3 hours to clean the home before you move all the boxes and furniture in. Take a caddy of all your cleaning supplies (and you can get those caddies at Dollar Tree.) I would take the vinegar, maybe 1 roll of paper towels and windex for windows, a pack of sponges, some bath/shower cleaner like Tilex or Kaboom, a bucket, washcloths, your vacuum and mop and that should be good. I usually just dilute the vinegar with some water for mopping. I bet you can get the whole house done in that amount of time if no children are around. Good luck!
Not sure the age of the house or the condition you will find it...but when I have moved I have typically washed all walls with Murphy's Oil Soap, had the carpets replaced or professionally stem cleaned, cleaned the bathrooms with a vengeance as well as the kitchen.....
Personally, I hate that vinegar smell when I use it to clean.
I'd buy:
Murphy's Oil Soap
Viva Paper Towels
Clorox Wipes
Method Grapefruit Multi-surface cleaner
Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Magic Erasers
What about just trying to do & put together O. room at a time? I'd do the bathrooms & kitchen, then the bedrooms, then the living, family and dining rooms...in that order.
Good luck!
I'd just clean the bathroom and kitchen real well as you would when moving into any new place.
Between the headache/hassle of having children around while you try to clean a new home... and all the money and time spent on getting, using and replacing cleaning material - I think it may be the better option to just get a maid service for this one time - BEFORE hubby stars to painting... then you can clean up after husband's repairs and maintain what the cleaners did.
