Cleaning Tips For A New, But Used Home

One of the worst feelings when first walking into your new home is the feeling of disgust. The floors are dusty, the walls are black, the bathroom is grimy and filled with hair from the previous tenant, the kitchen has dried up food stuck to the floor, and your head is spinning from that noxious odor. Don’t panic. There are several things you can do to turn this current mess into a home where you can feel comfortable and relax.

1. Preparation: Before you do any cleaning, you have to be physically and mentally prepared. Physical preparation includes:
   • Put on some clothes you don't mind getting dirty and smelly.
   • Wear comfortable shoes.
   • Have cleaning materials ready.
     • Spray cleaners
     • Rags
     • Paper towels
     • A dull knife
     • Broom/Dust pan
     • Mop/Bucket
     • A large trash bag
   Mental preparation includes:
   Telling yourself that cleaning now will give you the home you want. Once you do these things, you will be ready to start cleaning your new home.
2. Clearing the space
   Before you get down and dirty, you have to get rid of the garbage that’ll get in your way of cleaning the messier and dirtier areas. Stuff like old newspapers that were left behind, a toothbrush found under the bathroom sink, or a broken clock left on the wall, all must go immediately. With the removal of these wayward items, access to the rest of house will be made easier.
3. Sweep, sweep, then sweep some more
   If you couldn’t guess, it’s time to sweep. Often, used homes acquire an abundance of dust. This dust should be swept away immediately. If you go directly to the spray cleaner stage, you will end up with clumps of wet dust sprawled all over your floor. By sweeping at least two times, you can make spraying a lot easier.
4. Spray, wipe, spray, wipe
   When using spray, make sure you have one window cleaner and one all-purpose cleaner. With the window cleaner you can clean windows and glass to ensure that they’ll shine. With the all-purpose cleaner you can scrub everything else. Make sure you spray and wipe multiple times. This will ensure you really get rid of the slime and grime.
5. Using your hands
   You can surely use a mop to wet the floor or disperse cleaning liquids, but this doesn’t mean you can get out of getting on your hands and knees. By using paper towels or rags you can really scrub the floors and walls much better than with a mop. But using your hands does not end here. With a dull knife you can scrape away all the dried food and gum wads left behind by the previous tenant.
6. Garbage
   Take your large trash bag and use it for all the scraps, dust, used paper towels, grime, food, and everything else you need to throw away.
7. Look it over
   Once you do all of these things, look over what you’ve cleaned. You may see that it needs to be cleaned more and have to take back out some towels and cleaners. But when you’re finally happy with what you’ve done, just sit back, relax, and enjoy your new home.