A squeaky clean playlist and other tips
July 21, 2023 1:28 PM
I am planning on doing a maaajor spring clean this weekend. Looking to the hivemind for some advice on a few things to make it a less annoying experience.
I'd really appreciate some inputs on -
A kick-ass playlist to get though it
How to sequence cleaning sofas/beds/bookshelves/cat trees and cat toys and...cats?
Best cleaning hacks for all of the above.
Organizing hacks for closets for someone with wayyyy too many clothes (not all of which fit :/)
How to decide about stuff that needs to go.
A tidy home is a happy home! Help me tidy up please. Thank you
I'd really appreciate some inputs on -
A kick-ass playlist to get though it
How to sequence cleaning sofas/beds/bookshelves/cat trees and cat toys and...cats?
Best cleaning hacks for all of the above.
Organizing hacks for closets for someone with wayyyy too many clothes (not all of which fit :/)
How to decide about stuff that needs to go.
A tidy home is a happy home! Help me tidy up please. Thank you
Top of the room down.
I would get the cat stuff as one item. Fight the hair. Beds I usually use to put things on as I clean so they come last but before vacuuming or sweeping. Couches same.
If you have not worn it in 12-18 months or cannot fit into it unless you diet for 12 months, donate it.
Advice, I think I read here, is to take pictures of sentimental items and toss them if they have no value beyond your sentiment.
I listen to Skull and Roses or Europe '72 by the good old Grateful Dead. (I heard a rumour they are not for everyone, but it works for me.)
posted by JohnnyGunn at 2:31 PM on July 21, 2023
I would get the cat stuff as one item. Fight the hair. Beds I usually use to put things on as I clean so they come last but before vacuuming or sweeping. Couches same.
If you have not worn it in 12-18 months or cannot fit into it unless you diet for 12 months, donate it.
Advice, I think I read here, is to take pictures of sentimental items and toss them if they have no value beyond your sentiment.
I listen to Skull and Roses or Europe '72 by the good old Grateful Dead. (I heard a rumour they are not for everyone, but it works for me.)
posted by JohnnyGunn at 2:31 PM on July 21, 2023
I've been trying to de-cat-hairify my house, while organizing, decluttering, and deep cleaning. Ideally, don't do this. Primarily just clean, or just declutter, unless bouncing from thing to thing works for you (it's not as efficient, but it is chaotic and fun imo)
For the order: cats definitely first, because they are mobile hair dispensing machines! And if they're shedding horrific amounts like mine are, plan to brush them & vacuum the hair tumbleweeds on the regular if this isn't part of your regular routine. I have a little basket with a furminator, slicker brush, and shedding blade, so I just grab it when the opportunity presents for a brushing. I haven't liked the rubbery brushes or gloves, but they're great for some cats.
Then get (most of) the hair off cat trees, cat beds, cat cushions, any fabric that's harboring a bunch of cat hair. Rubber dishwashing gloves are great for this! I do like rubbery cat brushes for this too, and vacuum up hair clumps as I go. Lint rollers are a waste of time and lint roller sheets imo unless you've got like 5 hairs to pick up.
Then you might want to do a quick vacuum of the floor. Normally conventional wisdom is to dust top to bottom, but if you've got cats and a good amount of cat hair floating around, you want to get as much of that up as possible.
Then top to bottom dusting. I use a vacuum with a duster brush when I've got a shamefully thick layer of dust to remove then wipe with a cloth. I don't really "get" microfiber cloths so I use whatever rag cloths are on hand. (If you have ceiling fans, those Swiffer duster fluffs are nice but not necessary for the blades.) I recently used pledge duster spray on the cloth when dusting a bookshelf and found it very satisfying.
Then wiping down any other surfaces and vacuuming floors & sofas. I'd air out my mattress the next day.
For the clothing situation, I like konmari since I can keep the pretty things I'm unlikely to wear but love anyways. I also like the way she folds, and have squished a LOT of clothes into drawers and boxes that way. Is your closet basically just a clothes rail, or what do you have going on in there? I like shelves and boxes for fitting a lot in a small space.
Music: Spotify's "ultra gaming" playlist got me through cleaning two horrific litterboxes recently
posted by Baethan at 2:48 PM on July 21, 2023
For the order: cats definitely first, because they are mobile hair dispensing machines! And if they're shedding horrific amounts like mine are, plan to brush them & vacuum the hair tumbleweeds on the regular if this isn't part of your regular routine. I have a little basket with a furminator, slicker brush, and shedding blade, so I just grab it when the opportunity presents for a brushing. I haven't liked the rubbery brushes or gloves, but they're great for some cats.
Then get (most of) the hair off cat trees, cat beds, cat cushions, any fabric that's harboring a bunch of cat hair. Rubber dishwashing gloves are great for this! I do like rubbery cat brushes for this too, and vacuum up hair clumps as I go. Lint rollers are a waste of time and lint roller sheets imo unless you've got like 5 hairs to pick up.
Then you might want to do a quick vacuum of the floor. Normally conventional wisdom is to dust top to bottom, but if you've got cats and a good amount of cat hair floating around, you want to get as much of that up as possible.
Then top to bottom dusting. I use a vacuum with a duster brush when I've got a shamefully thick layer of dust to remove then wipe with a cloth. I don't really "get" microfiber cloths so I use whatever rag cloths are on hand. (If you have ceiling fans, those Swiffer duster fluffs are nice but not necessary for the blades.) I recently used pledge duster spray on the cloth when dusting a bookshelf and found it very satisfying.
Then wiping down any other surfaces and vacuuming floors & sofas. I'd air out my mattress the next day.
For the clothing situation, I like konmari since I can keep the pretty things I'm unlikely to wear but love anyways. I also like the way she folds, and have squished a LOT of clothes into drawers and boxes that way. Is your closet basically just a clothes rail, or what do you have going on in there? I like shelves and boxes for fitting a lot in a small space.
Music: Spotify's "ultra gaming" playlist got me through cleaning two horrific litterboxes recently
posted by Baethan at 2:48 PM on July 21, 2023
Apartment Therapy has a series of guided “Cure” programs including the Spring Cleaning, New Year, and September Declutter that include various sequencing / cleaning / organizing hacks / decision techniques that might be helpful. You can sign up to receive future programs to your email but their most recent programs are posted on their website.
posted by KatlaDragon at 5:09 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by KatlaDragon at 5:09 PM on July 21, 2023
Clean from top to bottom, back to front. Start in the room farthest from your front door. Clean whatever is high up then clean what is lower down, then clean the floor. Go in the next room and do the same. Work your way to the front door. Yay, you're done!
posted by OrangeDisk at 5:10 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by OrangeDisk at 5:10 PM on July 21, 2023
Once I rented a cheap apartment, and below me was a funny guy who threw wild parties most weekends.
What made him odd wasn't the parties, it was how he woke up early and cleaned like hell the next morning. And every. single. time, he blasted Ring of Fire to start off, sometimes a few rounds in a row. At 6 am, which aways woke me up. And his house was always pretty damn nice and clean, especially for a raucous bachelor pad.
So I'd make sure to have that on the play list.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:10 PM on July 21, 2023
What made him odd wasn't the parties, it was how he woke up early and cleaned like hell the next morning. And every. single. time, he blasted Ring of Fire to start off, sometimes a few rounds in a row. At 6 am, which aways woke me up. And his house was always pretty damn nice and clean, especially for a raucous bachelor pad.
So I'd make sure to have that on the play list.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:10 PM on July 21, 2023
Arthur Russell's Time Away is about the psychological benefits of cleaning. Arthur Russell spans genres; his avant-garde disco might help to keep you moving.
Pace yourself. Take before and after photos. Drink before you are thirsty. Eat before you are hungry. Take a break before you are tired.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:05 PM on July 21, 2023
Pace yourself. Take before and after photos. Drink before you are thirsty. Eat before you are hungry. Take a break before you are tired.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:05 PM on July 21, 2023
Laundry needs to run concurrently. Wash your sheets/bedding first, then all your clothes, then the cat bedding. Be sure to get the cat bedding in the wash before you clean the floor.
posted by shock muppet at 9:17 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by shock muppet at 9:17 PM on July 21, 2023
I can’t believe I am typing this, but Abba, or A-teens, or Mamma Mia has a great rhythm to clean to…YMMV
posted by childofTethys at 9:52 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by childofTethys at 9:52 PM on July 21, 2023
Not especially about cleaning, but how about Finlay Quaye recycling a Bob Marley tune in a way that may well "make you want to move those dancing feet.." - Sunday Shining
posted by Nerd of the North at 10:05 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by Nerd of the North at 10:05 PM on July 21, 2023
Go watch the video for I Want To Break Free. It's definitely cleaning adjacent, but I'm not sure it's cleaning encouragement.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 11:43 PM on July 21, 2023
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 11:43 PM on July 21, 2023
Clothing is deeply personal. If you want, you can keep 1 not-large box of things you really loved. But the US has a massive oversupply of clothing, it's difficult to recycle, causes problems in the countries it's shipped to. People think of Goodwill/ thrift shops as the lucky recipient of their lovely items. Nope. Goodwill is the nation's largest recycler, taking that once splendid, fashionable, current color trend, crisp garment that is now no longer in fashion, maybe faded, stretched, missing a button and possibly selling it. Wash any clothing you donate if it needs it, to improve its chances of having a 2nd life. I love the Marie Kondo habit of thanking it for its service. Then put it in bag for donation. Some things will work on Buy Nothing or freecycle, but that takes a bit of effort.
Over time, I've slowly gained weight. I've given the box of really nice things that are 2 sizes too small to a friend who has gained or lost, and it's a fun transaction.
I like show tunes, so a Schmigadoon or Broadway playlist. Or, Jimmy Cliff, The Harder They Come, the album that always got people moving at parties. Any dance music you really like is good.
posted by theora55 at 8:50 AM on July 22, 2023
Over time, I've slowly gained weight. I've given the box of really nice things that are 2 sizes too small to a friend who has gained or lost, and it's a fun transaction.
I like show tunes, so a Schmigadoon or Broadway playlist. Or, Jimmy Cliff, The Harder They Come, the album that always got people moving at parties. Any dance music you really like is good.
posted by theora55 at 8:50 AM on July 22, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:47 PM on July 21, 2023