Seasonal cleaning is more than just washing windows and vacuuming curtains (although it certainly is a part of it). It’s the little stuff that counts. Cleaning is all about the small details.


We all know and understand what Seasonal Cleaning needs to be. Maybe that is the time of year that we move appliances and clean behind them or clean out the dryer vent. Perhaps that is when we move furniture (if we aren't blessed with the "furniture moving gene" and frequently move furniture) and vacuum around it. This is when you look at the tops of your picture frames and knick-knacks, clean the tops of doors and window sills. If you have any door other than the flat panel doors, then even your doors are accumulating dust. So, look to the edge when you are cleaning the house this year. You’re sure to be rewarded with lots of dust on your cleaning cloth. And, you’ll see a little extra sparkle that you may not have seen there last year!


Here are some tips to help you get the nitty-gritty details of dirt:

(1) There’s going to be a lot of vacuuming going on and you might need an extra bag or two! Or do like I did and get yourself a fabulous Dyson (Review coming soon) that doesn't require bags. (LOVE THAT!!) and still has a HEPA filter that you can clean and reuse.


(2) The small brush attachment on your vacuum is invaluable for reaching into window sills and around door trim. If the dust is greasy and won’t vacuum up easily, spray with a cleaner such as 409 (or your homemade spray cleaner) and then wipe the panels clean. Then, vacuum doors tops and all around trim and baseboards.


(3) Use the brush tool on your vacuum to vacuum lampshades, furniture, and picture frames.


(4) The edges of the ceiling collect and enormous amount of cobwebs and dust – especially if you have tall ceilings. Put a large dust rag over a broom and sweep the edges where the walls meet the ceilings.


(5) This is where all the stuff that was once in the middle of the carpet migrates to. If you never use the crevice tool on your vacuum to run around the corners of the room to vacuum where the carpet meets the baseboard, I guarantee you are missing a lot of debris! So, don’t forget to edge that carpet.


(6) Shelves, especially open ones, are one of the worst collectors of dust. Take items off the shelf and re-evaluate whether you want to keep them before putting them back on the shelf. Then, once all the items are back up, consider covering the shelves with doors or glass or some other way to block the shelves from collecting more dust.


(7) Dust REALLY accumulates on the blinds and shutters in a house, so attack these areas with the brush attachment on your vacuum.


(8) The edges of ceiling fans gather tons of dust as they turn through the air. Make sure edges – and blade tops -- are dust free.


(9) The edges of bed headboards that accumulate all kinds of dust on the back side and may be responsible for that sudden stuffy nose you get every time you get into bed.


(10) It can also be on the little edges of wood furniture. Rather than just dusting the large flat sides of furniture, really get into those carved details to make sure the dust lurking in there doesn’t stand a chance against your dust rag!


Make it a Great one!