Summer clean!

sylphraven

Oooo, I am so looking forward to the rest of my week! I have a 15 week old baby & havent been able to give the house a thorough clean since he was born (emptying cupboards to clean them, washing walls etc), I was also rushed into hospital very ill before he was born so didnt get chance to finish a lot of DIY jobs either but as of tomorrow I can get started on them!

I have organised a "batch" of babysitters for the rest of the week to keep LO amused so I can get on with it. What I would like to have is your opinion on how to get started? Should I clean all the rooms then start on the DIY (mainly painting & shelves to be put up) or should I clean 1 room, do the diy in there, clean up any mess made by this & then close the door on it to move onto the next room? Should I start downstairs where theres less to do & work my way up, or start upstairs where theres a lot more to do as dust thats swept up will probably float downstairs?

Also I've got my stardrops, soda crystals & microfibre cloths ready, & am picking up vinegar today, but what have you found each best for cleaning & is there anything else you would advise using?

DOnt think I've ever been excited about cleaning before!

overlykeensaver

Congratulations on your new baby! Hope everything is going well for you now.
You are very organised having your sitters arranged so you can get your DIY done - I think I was still sneaking a sleep everytime my baby slept when she was 15 weeks old.

I have always read advice which says start at the top and work down (top of the house and top of the room) so you are not cleaning or wiping the same dust twice.

As for the order - depends on your priorities - if you want your house clean and tidy - go for tidying all the rooms first. If you are keen to get shelves up, take one room at a time.

Have you seen the flylady thread? there will be loads of advice there to help you get going and keep motivated. Good luck and remember you can always get your sitters in again to finish things off.

sylphraven

Thanks overlykeensaver. Was partially my MILs idea, I asked them to have LO for a few hours so I could give a bit of a better clean & she suggested roping my SIL to do a few hours allday, lucky for me they've both offered to do a full day each! Its worked out as OH is off tomorrow, then SIL is having him on thurs, MIL on fri, OH off agian on Sat & finally my Moms popping in on sunday.

I really want the place clean & tidy so I may get the shelves up tomorrow so I can tidy up by putting things on them, & leave the decorating until everything sparkles!

Thanks for the advice, I have seen flylady & thinks its a fab motivator, though I havent tried it yet, once the place is done I shall try using it to keep on top of things.

As for naps, I am thinking I'll squeeze one in after lunch each day to give a boost of energy & catch up on what I miss the night before - I live on coke for the caffeine, lol. I'm also kinda used to having 5/6 hours sleep at the mo, never thought I'd cope without 9 hours before, lol.

p.s May write my progress on here each evening to keep me motivated, I shall keep away from the laptop during the day, I shall keep away from the laptop during the day, I shall keep away from the laptop during the day lol

overlykeensaver

Ooh yes let us know how you get on - good on you for making time for sleep, it makes you feel so much better to catch up on even half an hour during the day! I was a 8/9 hour a night person and just don't know how I managed on 6 broken hours a night! It DOES get better though so hang in there!

I find the FLylady emails great and very motivational but I registered to receive them all as one long message once a day, rather than dozens a day - makes it much easier to manage.

Good luck with the tidying and decorating..

csarina

Start at the top, one room at a time, put up shelves etc, do what ever needs doing DIY wise, then clean the room. Close the door and move onto the next room and just keep going until you have finished.

Good luck.................

LJM

I personally would do all the diy first,then work from top to bottom cleaning,saves cleaning same room twice

sylphraven

Thanks all for your tips & comments.

Well, I did a tiny bit of tidying upstairs last night, mainly putting things in piles so it looks a bit tidier, I can get at all draws & cupboards & am ready to get started.

Have just finished getting downstairs straight incase anybody pops by. Popped online while I have my brekky. Shall get started on the piles of junk next while waiting for my friend to arrive so we can go get some wood & brackets for shelving. Shall let you know how I get on tonight.