Thoroughly Cleaning Your Bedroom: The Complete Guide

This is the perfect time of year to really clean your bedroom. Dust and germs have a way of accumulating during the winter months and can make you sick if not properly dealt with. This guide can be applied to any room in your home, but since we spend so much time in our bedrooms asleep, I recommend starting there. I find it easier to work with music, so get our your favorite Cd's and prepare to work your tail off.

1. First thing is to gather all of your cleaning supplies. You will need furniture polish, glass cleaner, a broom, an old pillow case and a sturdy rubber band, old dusting rags or paper towels, and depending on whether you have carpet or not, a vacuum or mop. If you will be using a mop you will need a bucket of hot water with your favorite mopping solution added. My personal preference is Pine-Sol in the original pine-scent, but the choice is up to you. Bring everything into the bedroom and close the door. Now you have no need to constantly leave the room. It's also a good idea to keep the dust and mess contained.

2. Remove all pictures and decorations from the walls. Wipe them clean, front and back, then set them aside for later. Do not re-hang them, yet.

3. Take down the curtains and blinds, or shades. Wipe the blinds or shades with a cloth sprayed with window cleaner. Set them aside. Launder the curtains. If you are able to wash and dry them yourself, do so. If not, send them to the dry cleaner. I wash my curtains myself, and after drying them I always spray them with sizing and iron them. Sizing is not a starch. It is a fabric finish that removes wrinkles quickly, speeds up your ironing, and leaves a fresh linen scent. Set them aside for later.

5. Now is the perfect time to clean those windows. Start with the window frames. Clean them with furniture polish on a clean cloth. Scrub them from top to bottom. Clean the glass using window cleaner on a separate cloth. Don't worry. You don't have to clean the outsides today. Unless you want to.