I always feel amazing after I get this monumental task done. I usually do this kind of deep cleaning alone - my kids know to just leave me be for the duration of my super deep clean. They will help me cull the items in their rooms, and will perform an occasional task if I ask them to, but for the most part they just let me hum right along to my own song as I work through each space that makes up our home.
Generally, I like to do these kinds of deep cleans in the early fall and spring. I love having the windows open as I move from room to room especially after the air conditioner has been running all summer and the furnace has been running all winter. There is something about having fresh air reinvigorate the house that gives a sense of ultimate cleanliness.
I love being able to have us all get into bed the evenings after I deep clean each bedroom with every sheet, blanket, and pillow washed and dried out in the sun. One of my favorite 'clean' smells is laundry that has been hung on a line to dry. There are fewer things that I associate with deep cleaning like sun and wind infused clothes/linens.
I had intended on deep cleaning the house in late September/early October of this year, but I wasn't feeling particularly motivated when the time came. Sarah had just made the decision to withdraw from public school a couple of weeks earlier because on-line learning wasn't working out for her and she did not feel safe going back to school in person because of COVID even with the abundance of caution the school was taking with its safety protocols. (I don't blame her. She doesn't have the luxury that you and I have of making choices that increase our risk of getting the virus.) We were working through what her homeschool experience was going to look like during those weeks and that took precedence over the house getting a thorough deep cleaning.
With the holidays coming up, I made the decision a few days ago that I was going to just do what needed to be done and plow through a deep clean. I am so glad I did. Not only does the house physically shine from top to bottom, inside and out, but it also mentally feels 1,000 times better. For me, being a homemaker, I just adore when I know that my house is in tip top shape. I love knowing that no drawer has been untouched and no corner has been left alone. The atmosphere is different after a deep clean - I don't know why, but it just is. Because we are spending the holidays alone this year, I think that this deep clean really came at the right time; it has mentally lifted the collective family's spirits during a time when we were feeling a bit down because we know that we are the only one's choosing to abstain from family get togethers.
Generally speaking, I like to make as many of my cleaners as possible. The partial hippie in me doesn't like the thought of spraying caustic chemicals in my home if I can find a safer alternative, but I also want to make sure that I am disinfecting my house. Since moving to Indiana I have gone away from do-it-yourself bathroom cleaners for my toilets and tubs/showers though. Our water in this part of the state is so hard and calcium filled that it leaves hard water calcium spots in both the toilet bowl and on the walls of the showers. No matter what homemade recipe I used there were still hard water spots remaining; I now use The Works and Lime Away for those surfaces. (I still use homemade cleaner on the toilet seats/sinks/ cabinets though.)
If you are looking for a good recipe book for homemade cleaners my favorite go-to-book is shown below. I have been using this book for multiple years. There seems to be a recipe for just about everything.
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