Yearly Chores for Your Apartment
Daily and weekly cleaning regimens will maintain your apartment’s cleanliness, however some chores are easy to lose track of as they only have to get done once or twice during the year. While it’s easy to remember to clean under your furniture and your bed, when was the last time you cleaned your furniture and your mattress? Keep every aspect of your apartment clean and tidy with the assistance of the following list.
Window Covers
The window curtains, drapes, and shades are extremely easy to forget about as you most likely don’t include these in your daily and weekly cleaning routines. Especially if you have dark drapes and shades, they might not even look dirty, when in reality they are covered in dust. Fortunately, they’re pretty easy to clean, as you can usually find a tag with instructions stating the proper way to carefully clean them. Some fabrics may require a cold water soak prior to washing them, while others just need to be washed in cool water on a gentle cycle. Aside from water temperature, if you use a strong laundry detergent, you may need to purchase a milder laundry detergent for your drapes and curtains. Shades can be cleaned rather simply with the help of a microfiber duster or even a vacuum with a brush attachment. Now that your windows are exposed, this will be the most convenient time to clean the windowsills and glass. If you have crank out windows, be sure to open them up so you can wipe away all the bugs, cobwebs, and dirt that got trapped. It’s important to have clean windows so you can let as much natural light in as you can get, which will hopefully allow you to turn some of your lights off, saving both energy and money. While you’re at it, be sure to give the curtain rods a solid wipe down. The places on the wall where your window coverings overhang should also get wiped down too.
Patio Furniture
If you’re fortunate to have an outdoor patio or balcony, you most likely have furniture so you can enjoy the outdoors. Even if you’re disciplined to clean your outdoor furniture, you should still make sure you clean it when you first bring it out at the beginning of summer and before you put it away in the fall. The best day to clean your outdoor furniture is a hot day with no rain in the forecast so the water will evaporate.
Carpet and Furniture
It is important to keep your furniture and carpet clean so you don’t have to look at gross stains or smell unpleasant odors, aside from seeing your security deposit returned to you. Home improvement and hardware stores often have carpet shampooers available for rent at hourly rates, saving you the expense of buying one. Schedule a day during the summer without rain where you can spend the first half thoroughly cleaning your apartment, as everything will fall to the floor. Once everything else is clean, it will make shampooing more worthwhile. Move as much furniture as you can off the carpet before you begin. After you finish shampooing the carpet, you will want to have a few fans running to help you carpet dry faster. If you have a large apartment or the means to, you can hire professional cleaners to come in and do it for you.
Mattress and Mattress Cover
When was the last time you cleaned your mattress? Most likely, you haven’t. Most people spend their sick days lying in bed trying to get rest, so you want to remove any germs or bacteria that might be hanging around still. Take all your bedding off your bed and wash it. Then, take the mattress cover off, place it in the washer, and set it to “sanitize.” With your bedding in the dryer and your mattress cover in the wash, grab your vacuum and clean every side of the mattress. Before you flip it, remove any stains on your mattress with warm water and fabric cleaner. Next, flip your mattress over and repeat the process. Flipping your mattress helps make it last longer, just as rotating the wheels on your car does.
Every Cupboard, Cabinet, and Drawer
It is important to rid your house of expired food. Go through your cabinet, drawer, and cupboard disposing of everything expired. With all food products on your counter and table, wipe down the inside of each cabinet. As you put your food back into the cabinets, keep track of what you have and what you will need to add to this week’s grocery list.
The Linens in The Closet
It would be wise to wash each linen before folding and putting it back in the closet. While you may not need to clean the closet often, as everything being placed in there is clean, it’s imperative to vacuum and dust it at least once each year as cobwebs and spiders may have made this closet their home. While everything is out of your closet, sort through all the linens and donate any you haven’t used. Every linens that’s ripped and torn can be disposed of (or repurposed if you have a use for it). A good way to sort your linen closet is by season. All linens used often should be placed near the front and on top for easy access, and everything else folded neatly underneath in order of the seasons.
Filing Documentation
The trend to go completely paperless has rose in popularity, however everyone still has more than enough paperwork to keep track of. One day each year needs to be set aside so you can comb through paperwork and digital files. All paperwork no longer required as a physical copy needs to be scanned and saved on an external hard drive. Prior to scanning physical paperwork, delete any digital files you don’t need anymore, allowing more space for the new physical paperwork. You can save your critical documentation, such as taxes and medical forms, in the cloud so you have a backup.
