Deep Cleaning vs Regular Cleaning: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters!

Deep Cleaning vs Regular Cleaning: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters

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What can I say? Do we really need to deep clean if we are cleaning regularly? What is the difference between deep cleaning and regular cleaning anway?

I’m going to be honest. I still struggle with keeping my house clean. I definitely am so much better at picking up after myself and keeping my house from going completely down the hoarder lifestyle hole!

But if I do my weekly cleaning, things really stay pretty decent.

And if I take that to the next level and do just a little bit of deep cleaning every week, then my house really looks and feels cleans. And my mind and mood follow!

But let’s talk about what is the real difference between the two and what we can do to make sure we’re covering all of our bases!

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What Is Regular Cleaning?

For me, regular cleaning constists of a few weekly cleaning tasks that I knock out pretty much on Monday morning.

These are what I can the “bare minimum” tasks that really need doing every week to keep the house looking and feeling fresh.

Here’s a quick run down of what I try to get done:

• Daily Cleaning
  • Keep the sink free from dishes
  • Do a quick vacuum of the main areas
  • Keep the dirty clothes picked up and in the laundry basket
  • Be sure to put mail away and other paper clutter in the trash or in the file cabinet
  • Swish the Toilet and wipe the shower
• Weekly Cleaning
  • Dusting
  • Sweeping and mopping
  • Wash and Change Sheets
  • Vacuuming
  • Wiping down surfaces
  • Taking out trash
  • Keep the Laundry up by doing a load every day or every other day
  • Throwing out old food and wiping down the refrigerator

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What Is Deep Cleaning?

Now, let’s talk about Deep Cleaning.

If you keep the weekly or regular cleaning done, then deep cleaning isn’t so bad! I find that if I let the weekly tasks fall by the way side, the deep cleaning days become arduous and frustrating.

And if I keep the weekly cleaning up, my house is pretty much company ready give or take 30 minutes or so!

What makes up my deep cleaning list?

• Deep Cleaning Tasks
  • Cleaning behind/under furniture and appliances
  • Scrubbing grout and baseboards
  • Washing windows and blinds
  • Cleaning inside appliances and cabinets
  • Descaling fixtures
  • Decluttering closets and drawers

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Regular vs Deep Cleaning: The Biggest Differences Between the two

The clearest difference is that the regular cleaning is light housework that keeps the surface area of your home nice and tidy!

I have found that the regular cleaning is really the most important part of having an effortlessly clean home. It’s when I avoid these few and simple tasks, I began to get overwhelmed with chaos. It really only takes about 15 to 20 minutes a day to keep my house clean, if I do it on a consistent basis.

When my house is surface level clean, then doing the deep cleaning is so much easier because I’m not fighting with the simple tasks- like putting away the dishes, or doing a load of laundry!

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When Should Clean regularly?

Regular Cleaning: Daily and weekly

As I’ve mentioned, I found that if I do weekly cleaning that my home stays pretty organized. Sometimes I’ll split up the weekly tasks over two or three days if I have a lot going on or sometimes, I’ll just knock it out in an hour to an hour and a half on Monday mornings. But the most important thing is to really set aside a time on your calendar to get it done. If it’s in writing, it’s real!

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When should I deep clean?

Deep Cleaning: Weekly, Monthly and Quarterly

I have a list inspired by Fly Lady where I have certain things that I deep clean each week. It makes it so much easier to split up the tasks and now I’m getting them all done.

Spending time each week doing just a few deep cleaning tasks really helps to keep my home free from clutter and organized. I have inattentive, ADHD, so just having a few things to do at a time keeps me much more on track. Otherwise I get very overwhelmed and just want to shut down and hide under the covers!

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Should You Ever Hire Cleaning Help?

I think this is a very personal decision.

I personally have never hired help unless it’s to clean right after we have moved everything out of our home. It’s almost impossible to load up a moving truck and then go back and clean. I’ve tried to do it, and it’s exhausting!

I think, though, if you are getting started and feeling incredibly overwhelmed, hiring help could be a good solution to save you from yourself.

Also, if you are in a situation that warrants help, perhaps you have hoarding tendencies, and the clutter is so bad that you can’t function. There’s nothing wrong with reaching out for someone to come in and support you as you go through all of the stuff that you have accumulated.

I have found that if I keep the clutter down, it’s so much easier to keep my home clean. And holding onto stuff, for me, creates a mental load that is too heavy to carry. I would say I am much better at letting go of things that my husband is. I’m not sure if that is normal or not!

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It’s never to late to start your journey toward a cleaner and more organized home!

If you don’t know where to start, you can certainly download my cleaning checklists! I even have a PDF with cleaning affirmations to help with the mental aspect. I hope this post has helped encourage you in someway and that you’ll leave a comment below letting me know!