Decluttering: The Secret to a Serene Space
Growing up, I inherited my mom’s penchant for cleaning and organizing. Ever the cleaning superstar, she’s cycled through various scouring, categorizing, and disinfecting eras of her own. I recall a particularly lengthy period when her sole focus was identifying the best method for cleaning grout. She hasn’t found CleanTok yet, but when she does, there will be signs.
Not only is my mom famous for her cleaning and organizing, but she also adheres to a strict cyclical rotation of seasonal decor. Every month and a half to two months, she’ll completely upend the house, carting cardboard boxes of decor up and down the basement stairs, singularly focused on the task at hand. Allow me to detail her decor schedule for your reference.
It wasn’t until recently that I pieced together how her seasonal habit not only serves to make our home a whimsical, comforting, and inviting place but also presents the perfect opportunity for frequent scheduled deep cleans. My mom begins the process by replacing one season’s decor into storage boxes. But in doing so, she is forced to remove nearly every item from every surface of our home, similar in theory to the move-out method of decluttering. As she stows away countless snowmen, birds, or watermelons, she quickly and intuitively assesses which items may need repair, replacement, or retirement. While it’s easier simply to toss everything back into a box and wait a year to deal with the aftermath, my mom wisely closes out the seasons properly – a gift to her future self.
A Holistic Approach to Cleaning
Some decorations require more care or maintenance than others. For seasonal dishware, items must be cleaned before storage, and chipped or worn items can be disposed of, making room for new options my mom may have purchased on a whim somewhere. Additionally, linens like blankets, tablecloths, place mats, and towels must be laundered and neatly folded to eliminate wrinkles, making next year’s unpacking less burdensome.
After the house is stripped of its decor, the runway is clear for my mom to tackle the surfaces. Tabletops, shelves, mantels, and other surfaces are dusted and polished. Bare surfaces also simplify vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping since furniture is easily moved without the weight and fragility of additional decor.
Next out come the next season’s boxes. My mom piles these on our kitchen counter, which serves as the decor home base or distribution center. Dozens of Uncle Sam’s turkeys or carrots taste the joy of freedom as they’re freed from their container and placed strategically throughout the house. Box after box is emptied, then returned to their shelf in our basement storage room.
This process requires multiple days for our household’s major holidays like Christmas or even Halloween. My mom powers through it, subsisting on Triscuits, sliced cheese, and TCM playing black-and-white movies in the background. Once the new season’s decor is placed and storage is hidden away, we’re in the home stretch. The kitchen might get a quick vacuum and mop to erase evidence of unusually high traffic, and the countertops are disinfected. Lastly, my mom lights a scented, seasonally-themed candle for a comforting ambiance.
Maintaining a Clean Home with Furry Friends
As much as I love a good cleaning hack, I must confess that I have a weakness for my two golden retrievers. They may look innocent and cute as they snuggle at my feet, but those drool puddles all over my new carpet tell a different story. I can’t make my dogs act more adult-like, nor do I want to spend hours cleaning up after them. But through extensive research and a solid game of trial and error, I’ve learned it is indeed possible to keep the pet dirt at bay and keep your free time free with just a few preventative measures, some household items you probably already have on hand, and a deep breath.
One of the best things I ever did for my kitchen and my sanity was to paint all my lower cabinets in Gloss Black by Behr. Dark paint does an excellent job of hiding smears from wet noses and mud from wagging tails, and an indoor-outdoor option like Behr’s is especially easy to wipe down. You can take the paint to cabinets and walls in other areas of the house too, making cleaning with pets a whole lot simpler.
Another game-changer was using a quick spritz of cooking spray to keep stains on food dishes from setting in – and it won’t add any calories to your pets’ diet. All my pets get their own place mats, too. That’s just common sense. Forget about spending half an hour ripping off layer after layer of your sticky lint brush. Instead, slip on a pair of latex gloves and rub your hands along your sofa, chair, and car interior to get rid of pet hair – it really works. The fur sticks to the gloves, and afterward, you can just run your gloved hands under water, and the fur will come right off.
Tackling Tough Stains and Odors
You could spend a ton trying out every last miracle pet stain product, but shaving cream works best, even on the toughest stains such as dog vomit and cat pee. Make sure to use foam, not gel – my favorite is Barbasol. Simply spray the stain, let it sit and foam for a minute, and then wipe with warm water. I recently used this trick to get dog barf out of a very old oriental rug, and it worked like a charm.
For those hard-to-reach spots that pet dirt loves to settle in, like cracks between hardwood floorboards and bathroom corners, wrap a skewer with a baby wipe. Tossing a cozy blanket at the end of your bed or over the seat cushion of your favorite chair allows both you and your pets to relax, and it will seriously prolong the life of your furniture. Go for 100% cotton or an acrylic-cotton blend – both fabrics can handle wear and tear and are machine washable.
Finally, fill a squirt bottle with half water, half white vinegar, and a drop of Dawn dish soap (or your favorite substitute, but trust me, Dawn is tops). This pet-safe cleaning agent will work on everything from floors and walls to the brand new suede sofa you just brought home.
Bringing It All Together
My mom’s reliable and habitual system eliminates frequent cleaning and decluttering. While some tasks must be completed during different times of the year, especially in our Midwestern region, the pressure of spring cleaning is off. Throughout the calendar year, she’s got it covered. And while I have neither the energy nor storage to adapt her cyclical decor tradition to scale, I’m grateful to have inherited her knack for cleanliness, order, efficiency, and whimsy.
So, whether you’re a cleaning enthusiast like my mom or a pet parent like me, these ingenious techniques can help simplify your home upkeep. Remember, the home you love starts here – with a little creativity, a few handy tools, and the determination to keep your living space looking and feeling its best.
