How to clean your bedroom until it sparkles

Clean your bedroom from top to bottom, getting rid of the dust and grime that aggravate allergies.

Photo Credit: Hatem El-Toudy
By Michelle Gaut

Keeping your bedroom clean should be one of the most important cleaning priorities in your house, since you spend at least eight hours a day in the room sleeping, getting dressed and relaxing. If your bedroom has a dusty ceiling fan, dirty carpets and unchanged linens, you are inviting droves of dust mites to make themselves at home and create all kinds of health problems for you, including allergies and bronchitis. Even if you do not have allergies, a grungy environment is not fun at all! Let’s start from the top down and clean your bedroom until it glows.

When cleaning any room, you always want to start from the top. For example, if you clean the ceiling fan, and dust falls on a table, then you can clean the table, and the dust will fall on the floor. When you vacuum the floor, the dust is gone. Don’t make the mistake of vacuuming a room and saving the ceiling fan for last! So, for your bedroom, the ceiling fan and light fixtures will be where you will begin your cleaning expedition. This is the time to put away any clean clothes that are sitting around in baskets and to move any objects that cannot get dusty, such as a dry-clean only duvet, out of the room. Get a stepladder, a feather duster, some surface cleaner and a cloth and get ready to clean. You may want to wear a dust mask if you have a tendency to be allergic. First of all, dust the fan and the light fixtures with the feather duster. Then, wipe the fan blades and fixtures with a surface cleaner and dust cloth. If the light fixtures are particularly dirty, unscrew them and send them on a gentle trip through the dishwasher. This is a good time to also replace any burnt out light bulbs.

Next, take the dust cloth and wipe down the tops of all door and window frames. With your feather duster, clean any lampshades. Now, you should clean the window blinds, if you have them. If the blinds are Venetian, you can use the vacuum cleaner or feather duster to get the majority of the dust off, and then don a pair of cotton gloves and run your fingers along the slats. Be sure to get both sides of the blinds. If you have curtains, shake and vacuum them, or if necessary, take them down and wash them or take them to the dry cleaners.

Now take a look at the surfaces in your bedroom. Get a trash bag and throw out or donate anything that doesn’t seem to have a home. Ditch old magazines. If you must keep homeless items, find a home for them. Don’t simply move them from one spot to another, or you’ll be constantly dealing with clutter. Put all items in their proper place, and put all of the dirty clothes in the laundry room. Make sure that your drawers are organized and are not so full that they will not close. Strip down the bed and put the linens in the laundry room as well. With a clean dust cloth, wipe down all of the surfaces in the room. If there are stubborn stains, you may want to dampen the cloth a bit. To give wood furniture a glow, spray with furniture polish and rub until it shines.

Don’t forget to clean the dusty windowsills. Additionally, you may want to open the windows and vacuum out any dirt that has gotten into the track between the window and the screen. At this time, take some glass cleaner and clean all of the mirrors and windows in the room, in addition to any other glass objects that could use freshening up, such as television screens or knick-knacks.

The baseboards are next. Baseboards are an often-neglected part of a home. They can collect dust, cat hair and generally become very grimy. If neglected too long, they will become sticky with dust. If you are lucky, you will be able to dust the baseboards with your feather duster or a vacuum attachment. If the dust has decided to stay, you will need to do some light scrubbing with a damp cloth and a surface cleaner.

Now that the dust has made its way downward, you are ready to vacuum the carpet. Take any small area rugs outside and shake them out. Try sprinkling some baking soda on the carpet to get rid of any unpleasant smells. Make sure that you have a clean bag in your vacuum cleaner so that the vacuum will be at its most efficient. You may even want to put some scented beads in the bag to give your room a pleasant smell from the vacuuming. Be careful not to vacuum floors too quickly. Run the vacuum slowly over the carpet so that it has a chance to pick up the dirt and dust. Be sure to use your crevice nozzle to get into the corners and clean the dirt that has a tendency to collect there. If you have any upholstered furniture, make sure to vacuum it as well, using your upholstery attachment. Vacuuming your furniture will prolong the life of the upholstery, as dust and grime have a sandpaper-like effect on fibers, wearing them down.

If you have wood, tile or Pergo floors, try damp mopping them with hot water with a touch of dish soap and a splash of lavender oil. You will want to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your floor, but this usually gets floors clean and makes your room smell very nice.

You are almost finished. If you have washed any light fixtures, thoroughly dry them and replace them. Put fresh linens on your bed, and be sure to fluff the pillows. Replace any area rugs that you have cleaned outside. If you have a trash basket in your room, be sure to empty it, and clean and disinfect the inside. Now, take a look around you and enjoy your sparkling clean surroundings! Your clean bedroom should provide you with sweet dreams.