The thought of tackling a deep clean can be overwhelming. The idea of hours spent scrubbing and tidying can be enough to make you give up before you’ve even started
But it doesn’t have to be an enormous task. If you split everything down to manageable jobs, you can just chip away at them over a month.
With this easy-to-follow 30-day challenge, you can transform your entire house by just committing a small amount of time to each task for 30 days in a row.
The challenge
Every home is different, so some tasks may take a little longer than others. If you need more time for one of the jobs, save it for a weekend and pick one that works for you on that day.
The cleaning challenge can be used as a guide, you can move tasks around, exclude some, or make up some of your own.
The tasks can also be done in any order, just cross them off the calendar as you complete them.
Day 1 – the fridge. Take everything out and throw away anything expired or mouldy or just not used anymore. Clean and wipe down all shelves and bins. Soak if you have to. Put back all food in an organised way.
Day 2 – the oven. Take racks out of the oven and scrub them down. Clean the entire inside of your oven with a chemical or natural cleaner. Don’t forget to clean the dials and sides too.
Read: How to clean an oven using pantry staples
Day 3 – sink and kitchen worktops. Remove clutter from benches and scrub with a cloth and disinfectant spray. Deep clean the sink and taps.
Day 4 – small kitchen appliances. Wipe out the inside of the microwave, descale the kettle and clean any other appliances, inside and out.
Day 5 – cupboards and drawers. Remove everything from the cupboards and drawers and wash the interior. Wash any utensils that haven’t been used for a while and place them back in their place. Declutter the cutlery drawer.
Day 6 – the pantry. Organise the pantry, throwing away anything expired or past its best. Ensure packets and lids are closed tightly to stop food drying out. Bring foods closer to the expiry date to the front so you can grab them easily.
Day 7 – the bathroom. Deep clean the bath and shower. Clean the toilet, sink and mirror, mop the floor.
Day 8 – the bathroom part two. Wash all towels and bathmats. Organise the medicine cabinet.
Day 9 – rubbish bins. Empty and clean all bins around the house, pour in boiling water and a cleaning agent to disinfect them. Place a few bin bags at the bottom of each bin before putting the new bin liner in place to make changing the bag easier.
Day 10 – blinds and curtains. Take down curtains to wash and iron if necessary. Clean blinds – use kitchen tongs with a microfibre cloth for Venetian blinds.
Day 11 – fans and vents. Wipe down all ceiling fans and vents to remove dust and grime. Vacuum vents and replace air filters if necessary.
Day 12 – baseboards. Clean all baseboards throughout the house. Dry brush the dust off, then clean with a cloth and warm, soapy water. Use cotton swabs to get into those hard-to-clean corners.
Day 13 – underneath furniture. Vacuum underneath all beds and furniture. Clean the walls and baseboards behind as you go.
Day 14 – rugs and carpets. Steam clean rugs and carpets.
Read: Carpet cleaning – hire a pro or DIY?
Day 15 – windows. Clean all windows and windowsills.
Day 16 – household linen. Wash your couch covers, pillowcases, and other linen used around the house. Don’t forget things such as the ironing board cover.
Day 17 – wardrobes. Declutter wardrobes and drawers by removing everything, deciding what you want to keep or donate and putting items back in their place. Bonus points if you wash the interior while it’s empty.
Day 18 – furniture. Vacuum and clean furniture and couches that can’t be washed.
Day 19 – washing machine. Run the self-clean setting, following the manufacturer’s directions, or run a cycle with two cups of white vinegar instead of detergent. Use a cloth dipped in warm water and gentle laundry detergent or vinegar to wipe down the inside, front, sides and top of the machine.
Read: How to clean your washing machine
Day 20 – electronics. Dust large electronics such as the TV and stereo. Clean small electronics such as remotes, computers and phones to disinfect them.
Day 21 – porch and outside area. Organise shoes and coats, clean the floors and welcome mat, rake leaves.
Day 22 – doors. Clean all doors in the house including the handles and door frames. Repaint if necessary.
Day 23 – pet items. Wash bedding, blankets and toys. Deodorise sleeping area. Organise leads, food and toys.
Day 24 – dust. Take a broom to the corners of the ceiling to catch any cobwebs in your kitchen, living room, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Use a dryer sheet or microfibre cloth to remove dust and cobwebs from light fixtures. Wipe lightbulbs with a feather duster or soft cloth to brighten up the space.
Day 25 – junk drawer. Every house has a junk drawer or cupboard. Today’s the day to dig everything out, throw things away and organise the items that are left.
Day 26 – high areas. Tackle those hard-to-reach areas such as the top of the fridge and kitchen cupboards.
Day 27 – mirrors. Clean all mirrors around the house until they’re gleaming. Bonus points if you tackle other reflective surfaces such as taps too.
Day 28 – garage. Organise the garage or shed.
Day 29 – walls. Wash the walls and wipe down light switches. Clean hanging pictures by dusting them or cleaning the glass in frames.
Day 30 – smoke alarms. Dust off smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors and test that they are working. Replace batteries if necessary.
How often do you deep clean? What items or locations have I missed? Why not share your cleaning schedule in the comments section below?
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