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5 Responses to “How do I clean a really, super duper, really, really, really, MESSY house?”

1. JenM Says:
   March 29th, 2010 at 1:50 am

   Ok- as thankfully, I’ve never had one get that bad, I’ll do my best. My advice is think "baby steps"
   Pick a smaller room, or area say.. the one that has the dining room table. Then ATTACK it for 1 hour only. Set a kitchen timer somewhere. Really. Get all the clothes off it, and into plastic garbage bags (you’ll do a BOATLOAD more laundry- if you bring it ALLLLLL to the laundrymat and take up 10 machines at once.. then taking the next 3 days doing nothing but laundry). If it’s clean- then it should be put away. Do clothes first- it makes a big impact. You’re likely to keep going, if you see results fast. Then- take any and all dishes and put them in the kitchen.. as NEAR the sink as you can. Don’t worry about doing them now. They were already dirty, you’re just working the dining area. Then take all the papers, and make 2 piles. Keep/file, trash. That’s it. 2 piles. If there are toys, homework, electronics, etc still left— then put those away. Now wipe down the table and chairs, and sweep or vacuum the floor. don’t worry about dusting, or cleaning windows or baseboards, seriously? That’s waaay down the road. After you have this little haven of cleanness, do NOT let anyone put ANYTHING on the table. If you eat at it- you may NOT leave the table without taking the dish with you, etc.
   Then… the next day, tackle anohter room, say.. the bathroom. Then the living room, THEN the kitchen. While the kitchen may be the nastiest around, it also takes the longest to clean, and if you have the REST of the house coming together, you’ll want to finish it up.
   Good luck!
   References :
   trying to clean up after 3 boys regularly

2. Catherine Says:
   March 29th, 2010 at 2:30 am

   the first thing is to find better ways of storing the stuff that your Mom is holding for resale, otherwise this will be a permanent problem that will just re-occur even after a good cleaning spree.

   1. This solution for clothing will take up space, but because it is organized it will be much less stressful than thing hanging everywhere:

   See if you can track down some flower pot hangers that have at least 10 inches between the hook and the wall. Choose a room where you can do the following:

   Borrow a stud finder and screw a flower pot hanger into every stud (use a level and/or measuring tape to make sure that they are level.

   Check with your friends, or go to a place like habitat for humanity and see if you can get some lengths of steel pipe - the kind used for gas lines. You can use copper too. Run the piping through the hooks on the flower pot hangers.

   Get hangers from a second hand store, or ask friends, most people have more hangers than they really want.

   hang up very clothing item you can find.

   2. For paper:

   To deal with new paper coming in the door, check…http://www.sensible-house-cleaning-solutions.com/organize-clutter-mail.html, but to deal with the current stuff…
   get a recycling container of some kind, boxes from your local grocery store will work well
   if you have shredder, get it out if not - no big deal
   get some kind of folders to put away the useful papers, including articles worth keeping, bills, etc

   first of all- collect everything that is obviously going out the door - old flyers, advertising, out of date coupons. You may surprised how much of the paper you don’t need. Put it in your ‘recycling box’. Anything that has personal information, like credit card offers, should be shredded if you have a shredder. If not, rip it up at least a couple of times. Get this out of the house as soon as possible.

   Take everything left over and put it in one place so that it can be sorted.

   1st priority - label your folders with your main kinds of bills - put paid bills in those folders. Label one folder ‘unpaid bills’, and but your current bills in there.
   2nd priority - put aside any magazines. Go through the old ones and tear out any articles you or your Mom want to keep. Put them in folders by topic. Any new magazines, or anything younger than three months, keep whole until you are ready to deal with them in the same way.

   If you can’t afford to buy some kind of file box or filing cabinet, keep your eyes open on garbage day - you will likely find something that will work. In the meantime, use a box from the grocery store that isn’t too big.

   3. For other re-sale stuff, keep your eyes open for unused book cases, kitchen cabinets etc. these can be arranged to hold all kinds of items out from underfoot.

   Keeping your Mom’s resale items organized will also make it easier for her to see what she has and plan selling strategies,

   Good luck!
   References :

3. Chrissey Says:
   March 29th, 2010 at 3:04 am

   Living Room
   Get a trash bag and gather all the trash in the room.
   Take everything off any furniture/place everything in one place where it will soon be put away.
   Pick up any clothes, books toys, etc., and put them away where they belong.
   Dust and wipe surfaces with a wet sponge.
   Put everything you gathered earlier where they belong.
   Wash windows, TV, and framed glass (paintings/photographs) with glass cleaner (or vinegar
   dilution).
   Spray your favorite air freshener very lightly to freshen the room.

   Kitchen
   Throw all trash in a trash bag. Recycle anything that can be recycled.
   Empty the trash can and take everything out to the trash bins.
   Wipe down the counter tops.
   Fill the dishwasher up and wash so when you are done with the kitchen you can complete it
   with cabinets full of nice clean kitchen supplies. If dishwasher is broken then they have to be
   done by hand.
   Mop (if no mop either buy one; they are inexpensive or do on hands and kneew)the floors and
   wash any windows in the kitchen. Wipe tables or any furniture in the kitchen.
   Wash stove tops, microwaves, splash panels, and anywhere else that can accumulate kitchen
   splatter or grease.

   Bathrooms
   Gather all the laundry in the bathroom and make a pile by the washer and dryer for any clothing
   throughout the house.
   Throw out or put away anything that is out, like a brush, comb or makeup.
   Wash any rugs or mats you have in the wash.
   Scour the sinks,tub/shower and the toilet bowl.
   Hang up some fresh towels on the towel bars, and hand towels by the sink for guests to use.
   Clean the windows and mirrors. Spray a scent of air freshener.

   Bedrooms
   Throw out any trash hanging around. Hang up clothes that are are on the chairs or the bed.
   Gather up any dirty clothes and put them into the laundry.
   Tidy up the desk top and put away any papers or books that are out. Look around to see if there
   are shoes on the floor that should be in the closet.
   Change the sheets and make the bed. Vacuum the floor and dust the furniture. Clean a mirror if
   there is one on the dresser. Wipe down any thing that remains on the dresser for show.

   Hallways
   Remove any stray items that have accumulated in hallways and put them away.
   Vacuum hallways thoroughly.
   Clean any glass, mirrors, or windows with a glass cleaner (such a vinegar and water)

   I know this seems like alot to do and time consuming. Do one room at a time. Even if you do one room a day. Once it is done, you will feel great how the house looks and smells. Once it is done, keep it neat/tidy. Dust and vacuum weekly. Kitchen keep up with it daily. Baths wipe down as needed. You will also feel good about yourself. Put your mind to doing it; YOU COULD DO IT.
   GOOD LUCK!!!
   References :

4. Renee Says:
   March 29th, 2010 at 3:42 am

   Am I understanding that this home is a resale property? Something your mom wants to flip for income purposes? Or is this her home that she lives in? Your first few sentences indicate several homes that are in this state (which does not surprise me at all).

   I used to work in the Short Sale department of a Real Estate Agency. We would purchase foreclosed homes, fix them up and clean them, then re-sell them for profit. So I know a thing or two about quick turn-around for resale.

   First off, rent a roll off dumpster for a week. They are not too pricey and you should get your return when the home sells. Then I would take a day or two to separate every single item into 3 piles. One for tossing out, one for donations and one (hopefully small) for stuff you would like to keep.

   Toss out anything that is not needed, outdated paperwork that does not need to be saved for taxes or memories, ripped furniture, stained furniture, etc. Place it all in the dumpster.

   For the stuff you want to give away, many organizations will pick up items for you. They don’t mind dirty clothing, but I believe hand washing the dishes might be necessary. So, choose an organization that interests you, donate to them and make sure to get a receipt for your taxes at the end of the year.

   The items you are keeping needs to be placed in one room/section of the home. Before you place anything in there, however, rent a steam cleaner and clean the rugs, wash the walls, and if it needs paint, buy a neutral color paint and paint the room. Wash the windows as well. After the paint is dry, that’s when you can place everything in there.

   Once the house is cleared out, I am guessing about a week, make sure that you upkeep it so it looks good from the street for resale. You will need the help of a few strong men and women to get it all done. It’s a lot of hard work but I have seen homes turn around for quite a profit with only a good cleaning, fixing up some drywall, mowing the lawn and planting some flowers. A fresh coat of paint is also a great idea if your budget allows for it.

   NOW, if I misread your post and this is your home, I would still do the clean out in a similar way, but clean the rooms used the least first so that you can move items you are keeping into the rooms.

   I hope this helps some. You will have to purchase some sort of mopping device too, I use the Wet Jet because it works really well with little effort.
   References :
   Experience flipping houses for resale successfully.

5. Emily Says:
   March 29th, 2010 at 4:25 am

   You get a really super duper really really really big vacuum
   References :

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