This is the 3rd part of my Witch’s Cottage Fall Clean Up series. This is the part where you get down to it and clean that cottage! There is only one more week until Thanksgiving if you live in the U.S. and that is usually a big family visiting time. It’s time to dust off your cleaning supplies and really get to work! Remember, you are a witch on a rampage!
- Keep a donate box ready in your garage at all times. As you lose your interest in items, clothes don’t fit, your style changes, or you are finally able to toss out random items, throw them immediately in the box so that when it is full, it came be taken to a Goodwill or other charity shop. Funny story: One of my old coworkers had kids who were major hoarders. So every time he went in their room, he would take a toy they hadn’t played with in a while out and throw it in his donate box in the garage. They never really noticed anything missing and assumed it was still in their cluttered room. He donated about a box every other month that way!
- Start at the top and work your way down so that the dust makes it to the floor. Once you are finished with a room, Vacuum, sweep, or mop the last of it up.
- Play music to put you in the mood. Nothing slow or relaxing. Play upbeat music that makes you want to move.
- Go easy and start one room at a time. If a room isn’t finished, don’t just jump to the next one unless you are trying to do all like items together such as all toilets at the same time or stripping all beds of their sheets at the same time.
- Fluff pillows and note which ones are flat or old. Even if it still looks nice, it may be a good idea to replace them anyways. Research shows that after two years, approximately 1/3 of a pillow’s weight contains dead skin, dust mites (which eat the dead skin), and droppings (poop from the mites). Ask yourself when was the last time you bought new pillows?
- Nothing freshens a room like a nice smell. Burn candles, replace automatic spray scents with a new scent, or burn incense. It will really add to the final overall product when you are finished cleaning.
- Clear out junk. If you have a storage shed, do you really need what is in there? If it spends its entire life in a Tupperware bin in the garage, is it doing anything for you? If it sits in the attic or basement for years on end, has it contributed to your household? The answer is no. Get rid of it.
- Ruthlessly deal with piles. This means even if you have to sort the pile into a smaller pile for later, it is still progress. If you have a chair that is covered in things you need to go through, then go through them. If you have to put a few items back on that chair to address later, that is ok!
- Wipe out sinks; kitchen, bathroom, and garage/ mud room alike. Sinks get gross. Pour some vinegar and baking soda down the sink before following that up with some hot water. There are garbage disposal lemon pods you can use to freshen up your garbage disposal.
- Put out new towels. Refresh your entire bathroom and put out a fresh set of towels or mix it up and buy some new towels for a new look in your bathroom.
- Open windows and let in fresh air and light. Clean the curtains and wipe the blinds to get rid of dust while also remembering to wipe your windows on both the inside and the outside.
- Dust plants. Plants collect dust too! Water all of your plants and dust their leaves, especially if they are fake. A layer of dust on the leaves of houseplants will block sunlight and reduce the plant’s ability to photosynthesize. Throw away any plants that are dead and dying. That includes inside the house and outside. I like to add crystals and little statues inside my plants!
- Wipe photo frames. Fingerprints can accumulate as well as dust so make sure to wipe them down. Also, change out the photos with new photos to update your living area.
- Wipe down all electronic screens carefully with approved products so you do not damage them.
- Finish straggling dishes in the sink. Fill it with hot water, detergent, and bleach, and wipe down the entire kitchen while you are at it. Use the sink mixture to go over all flat surfaces to disinfect them.
- Spray dawn dish detergent and vinegar inside of your microwave; add a bowl of hot water and microwave for 90 seconds, then rinse. This will break up caked on gunk and disinfect the microwave at the same time.
- Clean hot water dispenser on coffee pots or electric kettles. Brew with water and vinegar and run a cycle. Run another cycle with plain water to remove the vinegar afterwards. This helps break up calcium deposits and disinfect the system.
- Get stains out of your microfiber couch with isopropyl alcohol and a white sponge so that no color dyes mess with the fabric. Mr. Clean magic erasers are great for this!
- Bookshelves are notorious for picking up items that are not books or being incredibly cluttered with too many books. Go through them and toss things you know you aren’t going to read or watch and dust and remove the extra clutter sitting around those shelves. If you own the item digitally, get rid of the physical one. That is extra space it is taking up.
- Go through all storage furniture like ottomans and side tables and make sure there is no debris and junk inside them. Get rid of anything that does not belong in that room, and then organize the contents.
- Check boxes that are packed from previous moves. If you’ve had boxes of books or clothes or nik naks packed away for years, chances are that you don’t need them (and won’t miss them). Can you rearrange anything to make more space? Can you sell or donate anything you don’t need?
- Ask yourself a few simple questions:
- “How long since I last used this? Will I use this?”
- “Do I like it? Does it fit my lifestyle?”
- “Does it work properly? Is it broken?”
- “Do I have duplicates? How many do I need?”
- “If I keep this, what will I get rid of to make room for it?”
- “If I moved tomorrow, would I really want to pack this and pay to take it across the country?”
Cleaning and decluttering get easier with time but it is best when you make decluttering a habit. I hated cleaning growing up. Every Saturday was cleaning day and I had to do my chores. My best friend would tell me about washing her curtains (monthly I think) and I thought it was ridiculous. Now, I am all about it. I have lived both worlds and I much prefer the neat and orderly world to the hoarder’s world. Especially with 3 familiars shedding everywhere.
A habit I picked up was if I left one room to go to another, take an item that needs to go. If I am going to the garage and my drill set is out from hanging a picture earlier, take it in there with me and put it away. If I am going to the kitchen, grab any cups or other items from the room I am currently in that need to be washed. If I am going to my bedroom, grab my coat or sweatshirt and hang it up or put it in the laundry. Likewise, if I am going to my office, grab my bills that need filing and just open the drawer and file them. It takes a few extra seconds. Don’t let things pile up! Doing one or two items each time you move around your house on the daily demolishes the rate that clutter piles up and makes regular cleaning much easier. It’s that simple!
Make decluttering and neatness a habit!
Finally, after dropping off all those boxes at Goodwill or your local charity shop, drink some wine to celebrate and relax in your nice fresh clean cottage! Maybe even do a smudge or two…. Victory!
From our altar to yours, with love from the sea,
