Deep Cleaning Before Baby Comes

Today I wanted to share my plan for how I’m cleaning the ol’ house in preparation for little one’s arrival. 

First off, I love a good deep clean in any situation, but it feels extra appropriate with the impending due date. 

I think any good clean starts with a declutter. And this is something you can do as you move throughout your space to clean it. If you haven’t done any sort of declutter before I (and everyone else) definitely recommend picking up a copy of Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. She takes you through her process and sometimes it’s just easiest to have someone else tell you what to do. 

Depending on how far along you are in your pregnancy and how you’re feeling you may or may not be able to do a full declutter. But I recommend it if you can. 

I’m not going to go over general tidying but it helps to have everything put away where it goes before pulling the big guns out. 

1. Start with dusting — because gravity, duh! Get up in those ceiling corners to grab any cobwebs that have been built, dust along the top of windows, doors, tall furniture, light fixtures, vents, shelves, tops of frames and art. Top to bottom is the mindset you should have when you should go to each room. It also can’t hurt to give the walls a quick wipe while you’re at it. 

2. Windows — often forgotten in our regular cleaning it’s nice to vacuum up all the dust, bugs and crunches that collect on and in our windows before wiping down the glass. 

3. Light switches and door knobs — do you ever wipe these down? I don’t, but nesting Victoria does. Think of all the people who touch these things and how we never clean them. Yeah, just give them a quick wipe down while you’re in there. 

4. Baseboards — Sometimes I remember to sweep these off, but while you’re in deep clean mode, go ahead and wipe them off. All that dust you’ve wiped off from up above has floated down and settled on them anyways. Plus you always find some sort of dried fluid splatter on them when you get down there close and personal like. 

5. Vacuum — Floors, rugs, furniture, anything you missed when you were dusting. I’d say we all vacuum or sweep most weeks, but don’t be afraid to pick up couch cushions, get under bookshelves and find all those dust bunnies and forgotten pieces of popcorn. 

6. Laundry — wash the bedding, pull down the curtains and throw them in while you’re at it too. And don’t forget about all of babies things. You’re supposed to wash it all before they wear it anyways regardless of whether it’s new or hand-me-downs. 

Now, let’s move into room specific cleaning!

Bathroom:

1. Wipe that mirror, the better to see you with. 

2. Scrub/wipe that sink and counter. Toothpaste and dried spit splatter, need I say more. 

3. Vacuum and wipe any drawers or cabinets. I don’t know about you but I find my hair everywhere. 

4. Ah, the toilet. I like to start by throwing in some toilet bowl cleaner to let it sit and do it’s work while I clean the rest of it. Wipe it down top to bottom, being careful not to miss the bottom of the toilet, below the bowel, where the urine splatter and dust likes to collect. Don’t forget to lift up the lid, and then the seat. And finally grab that trusty toilet brush and give it a good scrub, making sure to get up under the rim. 

5. On to the shower/tub. Not nearly as gross as the toilet, but possibly as dirty. First, take out all the soaps, shampoos and conditioners so it’s empty. I like to spray it down with some water first, and then go in with my cleaner and scrub it out top to bottom before rinsing it again. I’m always surprised with how much dust and soap splatter collects on the flat surfaces. 

Kitchen: 

1. Deep clean your dishwasher with some vinegar and baking soda. Take 1 cup of white vinegar and put in a dishwasher safe cup in the middle of the top rack in an empty dishwasher before starting it on its hottest, longest cycle. When that cycle is done, take the cup out, and sprinkle 1 cup of baking soda all over the inside of the machine before putting it on another hot, but short cycle. 

2. How’s your stove and oven looking?

3. What about that refrigerator? Get rid of any expired food, forgotten about condiments and give it a good scrub down. I try to clean the food out when I come home with new groceries and every few months try to wipe it down. You might even want to pull out the vacuum to suck up any crunchies in your fridge drawers. 

4. Don’t forget about that freezer! Are you going to be breastfeeding, pumping, aka in need of milk storage? It’d be smart to come up with a system before the baby arrives to store that precious breastmilk. 

5. Get in that microwave. But first put in a bowl with 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Set your microwave for 3 minutes at high power. If it’s super gross let that bowl sit for an extra 5 minutes before opening the door to let the steam work it’s magic. And then wipe it down, oohing and ahhing in amazement by how easily it wipes away. 

6. While you’re at it scrub out your sink and faucet with some white vinegar and baking soda. If you have a stinky garbage disposal a great hack is to freeze a few lemon slices in ice cubes to throw on there and hit the disposal switch!

7. I like to go around and vacuum out my cabinets and wipe out the drawers and shelves while I’m deep cleaning. (This is a great time to declutter what you have in your kitchen. Are there any appliances you just don’t use, old food?)

Laundry Room:

1. Deep clean your washer with white vinegar and baking soda (notice a theme yet?) Start with 2 cups of baking soda and run it on a hot, long cycle. After that throw in 2 cups of white vinegar (and 10 drops of essential oil if you so fancy, and have some on hand) for another hot, long cycle. 

2. As for your dryer, pull out that dryer lint vent and vacuum out any extra that’s been left behind. If your dryer vent tube if full it’s a good idea to unscrew it and vacuum that out. 

3. Give the machines a good exterior wipe down. 

Anywhoooo, that’s the cleaning plan I’ve been working on. What did you do cleaning wise to prep for baby? Let me know down below. 

My Weekend Cleaning Check List

I’m not always in the mood to clean, who is, but about once a week, usually on the weekend I like to give my house a good deep clean. 

Day to day I just do dishes, make my bed and tidy up. And today I wanted to share my checklist to maybe share some inspiration with you. Now, you can tweak this based on the particular rooms you have in your home, but this is just what I do 

GENERAL START:

[ ] Go room to room, and pull everything that doesn’t belong in that room and take it to appropriate room

[ ] Start laundry (bedding, towels, dirty clothes)

GUEST BEDROOM/OFFICE:

[ ] Put clothes away (clothes I wore that aren’t dirty, as well as laundry when it’s done)

[ ] Clean off desk

BEDROOM:

[ ] Make bed (once bedding is done in laundry)

BATHROOM:

[ ] Clean off sink top (put items away + wipe down)

[ ] Clean Mirror

[ ] Scrub Tub

[ ] Clean Toilet

LIVING ROOM:

[ ] Tidy couch cushions + blankets

[ ] Straighten chairs

KITCHEN:

[ ] Put load of dishes in dishwasher

[ ] Clear off counter of dishes, food, etc.

[ ] Go through any mail or papers on counter

[ ] Wipe down counters

[ ] Wipe out sink 

[ ] Wipe down stove

GENERAL AFTER:

[ ] Dust surfaces (window ledges, counters, shelves, piano, etc.)

[ ] Vacuum + Sweep (bare floor and rugs)

[ ] Take out recycling (combine bin from kitchen + hallway)

[ ] Take out any trash if full (kitchen + bathrooms)

I like to get everything in its appropriate room first, because there’s nothin more frustrating than starting a load of dishes and finding a bowl or cup in another room. The same goes with laundry. 

And then I work from the back of my apartment to the front to start with the easy room and build momentum for the kitchen. 

And finally I like to save the dusting, sweeping and vacuuming for last because it’s just easiest to go and do it all at once. 

How does this compare to your weekly clean check list? Are there any tasks that you include in your weekly clean that I’ve forgotten on here? 

My Cleaning Products

If you’ve been following along for awhile you know I’m not a big fan of chemicals. 

I can get a bit neurotic about what goes in and on and around my body. 

And one thing that I’ve never talked about before, was what I use to clean around my home, and that’s where a lot of chemicals can reside.

[By no means is this me claiming I live a perfect, chemical-free life. This is just me sharing different ways I’ve become aware of the problem and have started to make the switch]

To wipe down most surfaces in my house that don’t need much i’ll simply use water and Norwex cloths. I dust, clean my mirrors, and wipe down my kitchen countertops each day in this manor.  

To clean my dishes I use two products, Mrs. Meyer’s Dish Soap and Seventh Generation Dishwasher Detergent Powder. So, depending on whether I’m hand washing or dishwashing I’ll use one of these two plant-based cleaners alongside a wood bristle brush to scrub my dishes. 

For cleaning our clothes I am currently using the Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent Powder. I’ve tinkered with making my own, but it’s obviously easier to just buy this in a box.  

And finally, when something needs a little extra grunge removing power I’ll use a diluted mixture of Thieves Household Cleaner, which is another plant-based cleaner containing essential oils. It smells amazing and depending on your cleaner to water ratio it really packs a punch. 

This has been a process over the past year, but I’ve been working hard to replace different products with a healthier alternative. 

Cleaning | Clutter Drives Me Bonkers

It’s true. It drives me nuts. I can’t think clearly. I have a really hard time focusing, and I am about half as productive as normal when I can see things out of place, or know that something is messy. 

And this is nuts considering I was once the girl who couldn’t see her bedroom floor because there was a layer of clothing covering the tile. I would dig through my “faux” carpet to find outfits and things I had lost. 

But I have started to become a bit anal when it comes to things being clean. Like right now, I have the dishes and such still out from making myself some coffee, and I keep looking over at it. I know in the back of my head that our bed isn’t made and that there are dirty clothes sitting at the bottom of my closet (I’m waiting on my new laundry basket to come in the mail). 

I have discovered that my brain just functions SO MUCH better when things are neat and tidy around me. 

It’s like writing my morning pages. I pull all of the gunk out of my head and put it onto the paper. And something about this process tidies up my mind, which then prepares me to stay focused and on task during the day. 

I also have noticed that if I’m stressed or having an uncomfortable conversation I start tidying up. It’s like a nervous, soothing tick I’ve developed. 

But it’s crazy to me, because I used to be the most unorganized, cluttered person. 

By no means am I at the level of going on the show "Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners”, but this has just been a big flip flop on my end. And I know OCD is not a laughing/joking matter, I would never dream of diminishing what those with OCD go through. 

I guess part of me is starting to feel like my mother, which is always a weird thing to notice. 

And I’m not mad about any of this.

No, quite the contrary. Becoming a tidy, organized person has revolutionized how I think, how productive I am — focused, creative, etc. I’m actually quite thankful that I have made this small habit change because it has helped me immensely with how much I am able to accomplish in a day’s time. 

This fits into my daily/weekly routine a few different ways. Firstly, I have found that I like taking 15-20 minutes every morning to do a quick tidy, which includes making the bed, putting away any clothes, and cleaning up anything in the kitchen that I missed from the night before. I also really enjoy a weekly deeper clean where I vacuum, dust and wipe things down. 

How do you tidy?