Rules and Steps in Cleaning a Room

The rules for cleaning a room are left to right, top to bottom and back to front. The idea is to get back to the door, knowing that each part is clean and that you have not gone over the same area twice.

It saves time to gather together your equipment before you start, to avoid having to stop and go and get something half-way through the job. The amount depends on the level of cleaning you plan to do, but at the very least will include dusters, cleaning cloths, some sort of cleaning fluid, a bucket and mop for wet work, a broom or vacuum cleaner for floors, and any specialist cleaners for specific jobs. Also arm yourself with a black plastic trash bag for emptying waste-paper baskets and any other rubbish.

Cover your clothes with an apron or overall and wear rubber gloves if necessary.

The first job is to open all the windows, which has the double effect of airing the room as it is being cleaned and also dispersing dust and chemicals in the air, which would otherwise be breathed in.

Don't start cleaning straight away. First, stand at the door and give the room a good, hard look. Look not for what needs doing, but for what does not. Your aim is to make as little work as possible.

Any big jobs, such as the windows, should be done first. Then tackle the rest of the room in an orderly fashion. Start at the door and work round the room in a clockwise direction, and from top to bottom. This might involve brushing cobwebs from the ceiling first, going on to dust shelves and their contents, starting at the highest, dusting furniture from top to bottom, and ending up at the bottom by dusting baseboards. Tidy as you go, putting any rubbish into the trash bag.

When you get back to the door, you know the whole room is done.

Finally, sweep, mop, or vacuum the floor, depending on its type, working from the back of the room to the door. As you finish, close the door behind you.

Dusting

Do not flock at things with a duster - all you will be doing is spreading dust round the room, ready to settle on everything you have just cleaned. Make a pad of the duster, tucking in the hemmed edges so that they do not catch on anything. This applies particularly to traditional yellow duster with loose-hemmed edges. For preference, buy flat-hemmed dusters.

First, dust the content of shelves. Take each piece off its shelf and dust it, putting it somewhere out of the way. It is easier to dust intricate pieces of china with a small soft brush - an old, well-washed blusher brush would be ideal.

Use the duster for large, flat surfaces. Press down on the dusty surface and pull the duster gently towards you, As you dust, keep turning the duster so that you are always using a clean surface. Dust from top to bottom and from front to back. If the surfaces are very dusty, sweep dust into the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner. Wash dusters regularly.

For skirting boards, high shelves and out of the way places like behind radiators. It is quicker to use a fluffy lambswool duster, which catches the dirt in its fibers. Wash dusters regularly.