Year-End Cleaning: How-To

The basic order

Deciding the order before you start changes everything. The basic five steps:

1. Declutter (throw out): with fewer things around, every later job goes faster
2. Set soaking jobs: range-hood fan, stove grates, bath fittings - the slow ones, first
3. Top to bottom: knock dust down from lights, shelf tops and curtain rails
4. Water areas: kitchen, bath, washroom and toilet, matched to each cleaner's chemistry
5. Floor and entrance: wipe the floor last, and finish by cleaning the entrance that welcomes the year deity

"Back to front" is a rule too: working from the back of a room toward the door means you never tread over what you just cleaned. Track your progress with the Year-End Cleaning Checklist.

Matching cleaners to grime

The biggest difference-maker is cleaner choice: use a cleaner of the opposite nature to the grime.

Never mix chlorine and acidic cleaners. They release toxic gas. If you must use both in one place, do it on different days and always ventilate.

Find sesquicarbonate Find citric acid Find mould remover

Room-by-room steps

Kitchen

Start by soaking the range-hood fan and filter in hot (about 60°C) water with an alkaline cleaner. While that sits, do the grates and stove, then the sink and drain. For the fridge: sort the contents (check dates), remove and wash the shelves, then wipe the interior with alkaline electrolysed water.

Bath & washroom

Cloudy limescale on mirrors and taps yields to a citric-acid pack (kitchen paper plus cling film to hold it against the surface). Paint chlorine mould remover onto black mould in the rubber seals and leave it. Wipe the ceiling with a floor wiper and a disinfectant sheet for safety.

Living room & bedroom

Lights, then curtain rails, shelves, windows, and floor: top to bottom. Window glass shows streaks better on overcast days, and sash rails need a pressurised spray or brush to lift the grit. For the air conditioner, washing the filter is as far as you should go yourself; leave internal cleaning to a professional.

Entrance

Sweep the floor and wipe it with a well-wrung cloth. Wipe the door handle, intercom and nameplate too. Because the entrance is seen as the year deity's pathway in, it is the ideal finishing point. Top it off by putting up your New Year decorations.

Decluttering: make a "throw-out day" before you clean

• Use "not used in a year" as the test: if unsure, put it in a maybe-box. If the box stays shut for a year, that is your sign to let it go
• Sort by category, not by place: doing "just clothes" or "just papers" makes decisions faster
• Work back from the collection day: check the last rubbish day and the bulky-waste booking deadline first. Miss it and you carry the rubbish into the new year
• Sell or give away by November: shipping and donations take time, so keep December for "throwing out"

To fit this into the wider schedule, start with "declutter by December 13" in the Year-End Prep Countdown.

Find rubbish bags Find a cleaning-supplies set