Cleaning Up After Doing Home Repairs

Our house is barely a year old but repairs are already necessary to prevent further damage brought about by natural elements (and apparently, man-made errors). The house is in a good state, other than our kitchen sink that never really functioned well since the beginning. It seems like I committed a stupid mistake by not testing all our pipe lines a lot of times before the construction wrapped-up. I thought the water flow and drain will improve through time. Sadly, I was wrong.

We have decided to push through with the repairs last weekend. I made sure important things were covered to protect them from dust and debris. We watched, checked and prayed so hard that this time the workers will get it right.

Despite taking preventive measures, the dirt and dust as well as all the things we took out from the storage area (which is where the new pipe line was laid) still overwhelmed us me. M took a leave from work last Saturday so there's no stopping him from going back last Monday given the load of office work he has to do. I am left with a house to clean all by myself while looking after my son W.

My mom was worried sick last weekend after she saw how messy our house was. She knew I wasn't feeling well the past weeks and is concerned that I might not be able to finish cleaning up. My dad even commented, "Bagong lipat lang kayo?" (Have you just moved?) jokingly after he saw boxes piled up in our dining area. I am the one accountable for all those mess because I am not yet done unpacking boxes since our move last November. 

The clean-up after the repair was like shooting two birds with one stone. I cleaned the house and unpacked/sorted the items in the pile of boxes. It was a feat to finish in three tiring but fruitful days. The floors are shiny, the furniture are sparkling, and the kitchen sink is like spanking new. I was overwhelmed at first but took on the challenge - we cannot live in a house so dirty! 

photo from the cleaningcouple.com

How I Dealt with 'The Dirt and Mess'

PLAN - It took me just 10 minutes to write down my 'Things to do" and "Attack Plan" but those 10 precious minutes saved me a lot of time because I knew the sequence of areas I shall clean, thus minimizing repetitions and wasted effort. I have this habit of picking things to do randomly. Oftentimes, I fail to finish the task on time because I get easily distracted by another 'random' thing so planning is a must for me.

PREPARE - Have all the cleaning materials on hand to ensure the smooth flow of work. Make sure the vacuum cleaner is working and rags are aplenty. Also, wear protective gear to keep you safe - dust masks, hand gloves and even goggles. I am actually not allowed in dusty environments because of my health condition so all the more that I have to wear those.

DELEGATE - This is actually what I missed as I don't have M around to help me. Good thing my son W is very responsible and reliable. He helped me indirectly by taking phone calls, taking things upstairs and by just being a good boy while mommy is very busy cleaning. When M arrived home from work, I asked him to lift the heavy stuff as well as sort some of his belongings for keeping/throwing.

BE SYSTEMATIC - This I learned from my parents. I follow the Top-to-Bottom, Left-to-Right, Back-to-Front, Inside-Out, Dry-Wet Rules. The 'Top' areas are most often the most neglected and the dustiest among all. When you remove the dirt from the top, you won't have to worry if the dirt lands on the floor because you'll get to it later on. I use the Left-to-Right Rule to make sure I never miss any shelf or area. Same reasons for doing the back-front and inside-out rules.  Doing the Dry(dusting/sweeping/vacuuming/etc)-to-Wet(wiping/mopping/applying cleansers,etc) method minimizes the dirt floating around the area that will stick to wet surfaces, making it longer to clean.

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Cleaning after the home repair jumpstarted the 'Mrs. Clean' in me. I am now cleaning our room upstairs even if I'm still not scheduled to do so. Haha! 

Do you know of other tips that can help us clean up better after doing home repairs? Share it with us by posting a comment below. =D

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Xoxo,