Going Real Deep in Spring Cleaning- GoCleanCo Challenge
I participated in the GoCleanCo Spring Cleaning Challenge and it made a HUGE difference in my home! We have not deep cleaned since I completed my Ultimate Nesting Challenge when I was pregnant with Bryce (Bryce just turned 2). Though my day to day cleaning and cleaning my cleaning tools helps me stay “tidy” this challenge really has you dig deep, clean the hiding places, and leaves you feeling lighter, cleaner air.
I go through how long the tasks really took me, and how often I plan on doing them going forward.
I believe that the reason this process was so hard for me was because many of these cleanings had never been done. By knowing what it takes for a good clean feel, I am better able to plan my time to make it more efficient and not get so bad going forward.
Outside
I started with such gusto! It was so nice to have everything fresh. This also had to happen because I don’t pack diaper bags, I pack the car! (watch that HERE). I needed to switch out seasonal stuff, get our our patio stuff, and clean the car when it was not too cold to do it.
We also have shelves next to the door that we had to trade snow gear out for rain gear.
One part we have yet to swing back to is taking all the screens off and cleaning the window wells that way. Some of our windows are really bad and they just need a full hose down, but we have yet (it is May) to have a warm day, with both of us home, and time to work on it.
We will do this again in the fall to switch out seasonal stuff-in both the car bags and the shelves by the door. We will also need to put patio stuff away and winterize for our long winter.
This deep clean can happen 2 times a year.
Bathrooms
The deep clean I did in the bathroom was not too bad. The purging meds and expired items was the most timely process. I would say that can happen once a year (spring cleaning). The trim and the baseboards should probably be done twice a year.
The rest of the cleaning in the bathroom was rather routine. I would say the cleaning of the bathroom stuff besides the drawers happens weekly.
Kitchen
Because I just painted our kitchen, I had a large portion of this process was done then-the pulling everything out, purging, vacuuming, wiping out, and putting back organized. I would say I would do this yearly, spring cleaning.
The patio door track was gross. I would say I would work on vacuuming it out more routinely, with a deep clean twice a year.
Cleaning the blinds was a first for me. It was very gross, but now I know how and I think it won’t be as bad in future cleanings. I would say this could be done yearly.
With white cabinets now, wiping them down has increased already, so that will be easy to maintain. I would say I would do this once a month.
Wiping every side of all the tables and chairs sucked. Those babies have a lot of sides. That being said, I would say I should do this quarterly.
Cleaning out the fridge shelves wasn’t too bad, and we have a system in place for shelves already. I would say I would do that twice a year.
Pantry I would say I would check for tiny chip bags, expired, and reorganized twice a year.
Bedrooms
This process was the hardest for me. I am AWFUL at purging clothes. The kids it gets a little easier as they outgrow clothes, but still a lot of work when there are 3 of them. Purging took way more than a week. This process was going on in the background for about 3 weeks. For me, the purge will likely happen once a year, and the kids as they outgrow sizes (about a year now with their age)
Cleaning the edges, walls, and trim and then dusting were not hard to do. They were worse because the time it has been since I did them last. I would say this should be done (to this extent) done twice a year.
Playroom, Home Office, Living Room
This deep clean would have been quick if I had not spiraled into painting as well.
The playroom we keep on top of. All the bins are labeled with either words or pictures so clean up is done often (and correctly). If a toy breaks, we toss in the “broken toy bin” in the kitchen. If I cannot fix it, I toss it. If I can, I fix and put back away. No broken toys are laying around. The vacuum behind the furniture and dusting could happen twice a year. I would wash the nuggets (minus a spot clean or an accident) once a year to not put too much strain on the fabric.
The office was not hard to clean, for me. The hardest part was rearranging to make it all fit. Dusting and vacuuming trim like this would likely happen twice a year.
The Living Room was hard because they little people were following me through the room taking out what I put away. This is also where the dogs spend the most of their time so the dog hair was insane. Cleaning out the toy bins and sorting through them I would likely do quarterly. The dusting typically is done with the change of decor so seasonally. Ceiling fans twice a year. Vacuuming out the couch (the back of our couch has velcro flaps to lift and clean out, our cushions are not removable) I would do quarterly, that held a lot of dog hair. Machine washing all the blankets just for a refresher, quarterly. Moving furniture and vacuuming trim, edging, and dusting walls probably twice a year.
Common Areas
The Laundry room was the worst. I made sure to clean out the dryer vent, and when I pulled the dryer away from the wall to clean under and behind it, I removed the accordion tubing and vacuumed the tubing out as well as the hole in which it attaches to. I would do that deep of a cleaning yearly, but make sure to clean out the vent trap every time and use an extender on the vacuum to clean deep into that trap once a month.
I will wipe out the surfaces of the washer probably once a month when I use the extender on the vacuum in the dryer. I will also clean out that top area with a wipe at this time. I will likely remove the door yearly. I use the lemishine or affresh washer cleaner once a month as well.
Closets I will stick to cleaning out once a year.
Hallway trim, edging, and dusting I will likely do once a year as well.
What this taught me
This challenge taught me the many aspects there are to a deep cleaned house. I am glad I did the challeng and completed the challenge in the time they did, but I am also exhausted. I also learned that many of the things I did was so hard because it had never been done. Now that it has been done and I know how to do it, I feel it will go easier. I also know how often to do certain things to keep it easier on myself.
I am exhausted and burnt out, but it is done. I will gladly keep up on this and do the challenge again next year. Next year I will have less overwhelm, build up, and probably wont decide to add painting a whole large room to the mix as well.
This schedule was grueling as part of the challenge. You do not have to keep up with this challenge. Maybe you pick one of these squares a month, a season/quarter. You do you. This is just a great compilation of all the areas in our life that can be deep cleaned and that should be cleaned at some point in the game for a deep cleaned home.
Many people hire companies such as GoCleanCo to do this deep cleaning for you. I know there are a couple people highly recommended near by in our area and see them referenced many, many times in local mom groups. If you do not have the time, headspace, or means to get this project done, there is no shape in hiring it out. Find one highly recommended and now you know what to ask for!
Shop my cleaning supplies
NORWEX from my friend Amy:
Thieves from my friend Sarah (email: sarahmarieh88@gmail.com to order)
Shop my organizing tools
You May Also Like
The hole after diagnosis
Going on a “Glamping” trip: Pack, Prep, & Tips (+ special needs modifcations)
