How To Deep Clean Your House In 1 Day, According To An Expert

With some planning and prioritizing, you can tackle every room in your home for a deep clean.
Declutter to put things back where they belong, and work from top to bottom in every room.
Keep rooms clean longer with regular cleaning and managing clutter and unused items.How many times have you opted to throw a big party at your house, only to leave the cleaning for the day before? Whether you're in a serious time crunch and need to deep clean your whole home, or you just want to dedicate a whole day to cleaning and getting it over with, this is the guide for you.
We asked Jacqueline Stein, a professional cleaner and the owner of Home Reimagined in Austin, Texas, for her thorough tips on how to deep clean your whole house in one day. Yes, it's possible, but will take quite a bit of effort to get it all done!
While cleaning the entire house seems like a Herculean task, the rewards are worth it. Thankfully, it only needs to be done once or twice a year. Use this guide to clean it in one day or to break up tasks throughout a longer time frame.
Before diving into this big project, it's important to remember that not everything has to be 100% perfect. Do what you can in the time allotted and don't give up—you can achieve more than you think in a day.
Before deep cleaning your entire house in one day, there are a few things you should consider:
Plan Ahead: Make a schedule or task list for each room and allocate time for each task. This will help you stay on track and ensure that you are able to clean everything you need to in the allotted time.
Gather Supplies: Make sure you have all the necessary cleaning supplies and a sufficient amount of them before you start. 'And remember to always use proper ventilation when using chemicals, and always use protective gear when cleaning (e.g., gloves, masks, etc.),' suggests Stein.
Declutter: Before you start cleaning, declutter each room by removing any unnecessary items. This will make it easier to clean and help you see what needs to be done. 'Removing all items that block your vision of the rooms will allow you to clean quicker and not get distracted during a clean to put items away or back in another room,' says Stein.
Prioritize: Focus on the most important tasks first—this should be your dirtiest room first. Typically, this is your kitchen and then the bathrooms. Stein suggests cleaning these first, as they will take the most motivation, momentum, time, and energy.
Get Help: If possible, enlist the help of family members or friends to make the cleaning process go more quickly and efficiently.
Start at the Top: Start cleaning at the top and work your way to the bottom. 'Clean the tallest items first, then work toward the ground last—dust falls and there is no use in mopping those floors if you are just going to be pushing dirt and crumbs onto it from the countertops,' explains Stein.
Vinegar
Spray bottle
Multipurpose cleaner
Bathroom cleaner
Tough scrub brushes
Soft scrub brushes / sponges
Microfiber rags (fuzzy and the lint-free ones)
Duster
Dusting gloves
Glass cleaner
Floor cleaner
Mop
Vacuum
Broom
Specialty cleaners (if applicable)
Granite cleaner
Stainless steel cleaner
Laundry detergent
Upholstery cleaning machine
Bar Keepers Friend Soft Cleaner
Dish soap
Bucket
Dishwasher cleaner like Glisten
Rubbing alcohol
Oven cleaner
Toilet bowl cleaner
Washing machine cleaner tablets
Lint brush
First, declutter the space. Remove any items that have landed on the countertops, put them away, and remove the towels, bath mats, and shower curtains. 'Pop them in the washing machine, so they can be washed while you clean,' suggests Stein.
Start from top to bottom and dust everything in your bathroom, or use a handheld vacuum and brush attachment to remove all debris and hair from the surfaces. 'Remember, it's crucial to remove all dust before applying any cleaning products to your surfaces, so you aren't just pushing wet debris around,' warns Stein.
Spray the shower and tubs with cleaner and let it sit for 15 minutes while you disinfect the toilet seats, handles, backs, base, and more. Clean the base of the toilet that is on the floor and all the knobs, too. After that, scrub the inside of the bowl before moving on.
Clean the mirrors with glass cleaner or rubbing alcohol and a lint-free rag, paper towel, or even newspaper.
'Spray the sinks and countertops with disinfectant—let the disinfectant/cleaner sit on the surface of the countertops for a few minutes while you wipe down any of those cotton ball jars, cotton swab containers, soap dispensers, or other items you put aside,' says Stein. 'Scrub the inside of the sink with a good scrub brush, faucet included, and then wipe down the countertops after for a fresh start.'
Use a good scrub brush or scrub mop to clean the walls, floor, corners, door, water guard on door, and grout between tiles in the bathtub/shower. Use a soft sponge or brush to clean the fixtures (shower head, handles, and tub spout), so as not to scratch them. Rinse the shower well. If you have hard water remaining on your glass shower doors, Stein suggests spraying vinegar on them and letting them sit for 15 minutes to 12 hours, before scrubbing with a sponge and rinsing clean.
Once you're done cleaning the shower, you can squeegee the entire shower and dry all fixtures and any water remaining on walls, floors, doors, etc. 'A dry shower is the best way to avoid water spots, mold and bacteria,' explains Stein.
Clean the windows and window treatments by dusting or washing blinds or curtains, according to their care instructions. Then, use a glass cleaner and a lint-free cloth to clean the windows.
Wipe the cabinet and drawer doors (inside and out) and take the time to remove all bins or items in the cabinets and wipe the inside down. 'You can also do some light decluttering if you are up for the task,' suggests Stein. 'Remember to empty the trash and disinfect the wastebasket bin too.'
Vacuum the floors and mop them for a perfectly clean room. If time allows, scrub the grout with a tough scrub brush and some cleaner before you mop those floors to remove any deep-set-in stains. Stein suggests replacing towels, shower curtains, shower liners, and bath mats before exiting the room.
Start by removing any items that do not belong in the kitchen, as well as any small appliances, utensils, or dishes that are cluttering your countertops. 'Take everything off the countertops, including small appliances, cutting boards, and other items, and store them in their proper place,' suggests Stein.
Dust the entire room first, and take out any kitchen towels, floor mats, or other linens and launder them at this time.
Remove the stove burners and grates and soak them in hot, soapy water in the sink. 'While they soak, wipe down the stovetop with a degreaser, making sure to clean any spills or residue that has accumulated,' suggests Stein. 'You can also use a handheld vacuum to suck up any crumbs on the stovetop, before wiping it with cleaner.' After you've fully cleaned the stovetop, use a little bit of rubbing alcohol or glass cleaner over it to make it shine.
Remove racks from the oven and soak them in the sink or put them in the dishwasher. Spray the inside of the oven and let sit for 30+ minutes before scrubbing it down. 'While the cleaner sits inside, wipe the outside of the oven down with a mild cleaner and then go over with a specialty cleaner,' suggests Stein.
Microwave a bowl of water and lemon for two to five minutes. Remove the bowl with oven mitts and wipe the debris from the inside of the microwave. 'You can wipe the exterior, following the same rules as the oven exterior,' says Stein. 'If your microwave is above the stovetop, remove the air vent filters and soak in the sink with the stovetop grates.'
Toss any expired food and wipe the shelves down in your refrigerator. Move on to wiping down the exterior of your refrigerator and freezer (following the same rules as the oven exterior), and vacuum the coils. Don't forget to clean the refrigerator's water and ice dispenser.
Wipe down small appliances, such as the air fryer, toaster, and coffee maker.
Return to the sink, and scrub and rinse all of the grates, filters, and racks sitting in the sink. 'Dry them well and return them to their appropriate appliance,' advises Stein. 'If any dishes, pots, or pans have also accumulated in the sink, wash them now or load the dishwasher and run it.'
Start scrubbing the sink by removing all the gunk first—pull out any goop in the garbage disposal and scrub it. Then coat your sink in dish soap and lightly scrub with a sponge to remove all food particles, stuck-on-gunk, and more. Rinse well, and follow up with the appropriate sink cleaner for the material you have (for example, if you have a stainless-steel sink, Stein recommends using Bar Keepers Friend). Spray generously on the sink and scrub it in with a cleaning sponge.
Make sure to scrub the sink faucet, handles, and any other metal fixtures with a soft brush or sponge to remove any buildup or stains. 'Let the cleaner sit for 10 minutes while you clean the cabinets,' suggests Stein. 'Return to the sink, rinse it well, and dry it out fully to avoid water spots.'
While your sink cleaner is sitting, clean the exterior of your cabinets. If you have wood cabinets, a mixture of warm water and a tablespoon of dish soap in a bucket is a great cleaning solution, according to Stein. 'Use a microfiber cloth, dip it in, and wring it out very well—the rag should be barely damp,' she says. 'Wipe the exterior of the cabinets and drawers, drying immediately as you clean.'
If time allows, remove all items from the cabinets and drawers, and wipe down the interior with a damp cloth. Remove any liners and replace them with new ones, if necessary. Organize the contents of the cabinets and drawers and throw away any expired or unused items.
Using a disinfectant cleaner, wipe down the countertops. 'Clean the backsplash tiles with a gentle cleaner and wipe down the grout with a toothbrush or scrub brush,' says Stein. 'If you have granite, I would recommend going back in with a granite cleaner to clean up the countertops.'
Empty the trash, recycling, and compost bins as necessary, and scrub them with soap and a scrub brush.
Once the dishwasher is empty, use a soft scrub brush to remove any gunk in the corners, empty the filter, and run a cleaning cycle with a dishwasher cleaner.
Sweep or vacuum the kitchen floor to remove any loose dirt or debris, and then mop the floor with a heavy-duty cleaner, making sure to clean any spills or stains. 'Pay special attention to the areas around the stove and sink, as they tend to accumulate the most dirt and grime,' says Stein. 'Replace all towels and floor mats with clean ones and your kitchen is done.'
The first thing you want to do is remove any clutter in your bedroom—think clothes, books, and any other items that should be put away into their respective spots. Use a damp microfiber cloth and a dusting brush or a vacuum with a brush attachment, and dust everything from the top of the ceiling fan or light fixtures to the baseboards. 'Remove any dust from the ceiling, walls, fans, light fixtures, window sills, and corners of the room before moving on to dusting the night stands, dresser, shelves, picture frames, lamps, and other decorations,' suggests Stein.
Clean your bedroom windows. Dust or wash blinds or curtains according to their care instructions. Then, use a glass cleaner and a lint-free cloth to clean the windows.
Strip off all of your bedding, including your sheets, pillowcases, comforter or duvet, and mattress topper/cover. 'Wash them according to the manufacturer's instructions, and don't forget to clean any decorative throw blankets and pillows, too,' says Stein. 'Clean them now so they will be washed and ready to return to the room by the time you are done.'
While your sheets are off the bed, this is a great time to clean your mattress. Dust mites can be in your mattress, so make sure you are vacuuming the mattress first and steam cleaning with a handheld steamer after. Let the mattress dry completely. To remove odors, Stein suggests sprinkling some baking soda on it and letting it sit for about 30 minutes. Vacuum it up using your vacuum cleaner's upholstery attachment.
If you have an upholstered bed frame, you'll want to ensure you are vacuuming it now to remove dust and debris that gets stuck in it. While your mattress airs out, or the baking soda is sitting on the mattress, move on to wiping the surfaces. 'Use the appropriate cleaner for the material of your dressers and nightstands, and wipe all furniture to clean it,' says Stein. 'This includes the front of the drawers and handles.'
While deep cleaning the bedroom, this is a great time to hang up any clothes that are on the floor, reorganize drawers, or go through your closet and donate items that you no longer need. When in your closet, make sure to vacuum or dust the shelves and wipe them down for a clean room. 'Replace all bedding, pillows, or other linens you laundered,' suggests Stein.
Stein suggests wiping down the door knobs, lamp cords, doors, and light switches. Then vacuum the floors, including under the bed, and any carpets or area rugs in the room. Don't forget to vacuum any upholstery or curtains, if you haven't already done so.
'Start by removing any items that don't belong in the living room and find a proper place for them,' suggests Stein. 'Then, organize any items that are left in the room, such as books, magazines, or remotes.'
Using a damp microfiber cloth, a dusting brush, or a vacuum with a brush attachment, dust the entire room starting from top to bottom. Remove any dust and cobwebs from the ceiling, walls, fans, and corners of the room before moving on to dusting the shelves, picture frames, lamps, and other decorations.
'Take this time to clean any knickknacks and décor items before moving on to the big stuff,' says Stein. 'I like to use dusting gloves to clean small items first, then I move on to lint roll the lamp shades, wipe coasters down, and wipe fake plant leaves.' Don't forget to dust and wipe any electronics like the TV screen, game console, remote control, and more with a microfiber cloth.
Toss all throw blankets, pillow covers, couch covers, curtains, rugs (that can be washed), and any other fabric linen into the washing machine and launder before returning to the room.
'Wipe down all hard surface furniture such as tables, chairs, shelves, and more,' suggests Stein. 'Wiping with the appropriate cleaner for the item, don't forget to clean the legs and under sides of the tables and chairs, too.'
For fabric furniture, start by vacuuming it first, then, if needed, use an upholstery cleaning machine or spot clean any stains.
Clean the windows and window treatments. Dust or wash blinds or curtains, according to their care instructions. Then, use a glass cleaner and a lint-free cloth to clean the windows.
Vacuum or sweep the floors thoroughly to remove any dirt, dust, or debris. Make sure to do any spot cleaning on rugs at this time, too. Then, wet mop or steam mop the floors to remove any stains or marks.
Declutter any items that shouldn't be in the laundry room.
'Dust the room or vacuum with a handheld vacuum and brush attachment,' suggests Stein. 'Dust the shelves, cabinets, tops of the washer/dryer, and any utility items in there.'
Clean the washing machine first. Stein suggests running the cleaning cycle, or if you don't have one of those, run the hottest and longest cycle with a cleaning tablet in it. While this is cleaning, head to the dryer and remove all lint in the lint trap. 'Take out the lint holder and use a lint brush to clean deep down inside the dryer's lint trap,' says Stein. 'Or, use a long vacuum attachment and clean out any trapped lint.'
Wipe down the inside of the dryer with a damp rag and clean the door, too. Then, clean the exterior of the dryer. Returning to the washing machine, once the cleaning cycle has completed, open the machine to let it air out. 'Pro tip: always leave the washing machine door open after a load to let it dry completely so that your clothes do not smell like mold and mildew,' suggests Stein.
Wipe out the inside of the machine, cleaning the drawers/compartments that hold the detergent, and drum around the washing machine. If you have a front-facing washer, Stein suggests making sure to spray some cleaner into the drum and let it sit for a few minutes to remove any mildew and gunk. Then, dry the inside completely with a clean rag, including drying the drawers and any compartments for the detergents, and then wipe down the exterior.
Clean the exterior and the interior of any cabinets, after removing any items. 'At this time, refill any products that need to be filled or add it to your grocery list, reorganize cabinets, and make sure they are all wiped clean,' says Stein.
Wipe any countertops or folding tables, including the underside and the legs. Making sure you are also checking on any utility items in this room like water filters, water heaters, and other items to ensure they are all in safe and working condition.
Vacuum the floors and mop for a clean laundry room.
Declutter and put items away, moving the cars or any vehicles so you can fully clean. Use this time to reorganize or put boxes away that may have been left out. 'Donate anything that is not being used or put the donations into your car to drop off,' suggests Stein. 'Make sure to put all tools away, [place] ladders in the correct location, and charge any lawn mowers, weed whackers, or other lawn equipment that requires it.'
Dust the ceiling in the garage and make sure to remove cobwebs and other particles that are on the shelves or walls.
Wash and clean doormats and rugs or any fabric item that lives in these outdoor spaces.
'Wipe any hard furniture, gym equipment, shelves, or tables that are in the space,' says Stein. 'Sweep up any debris on the floor and then hose down or power wash the floors if needed.'
To keep your home clean for longer, get rid of clutter before it accumulates. Set aside a few minutes each day to put things back where they belong. Stick to a regular cleaning schedule each week to prevent buildup of dust, grime, and dirt. Focus on areas of the home that get heavy traffic. They may need more frequent cleaning than less-used rooms. Tasks like taking out the trash, tossing expired items from the fridge and pantry, making the bed, and wiping down surfaces often will help maintain a clean house.
Read the original article on Southern Living

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'Is it OK for your kids to 'rot' all summer?' queried the New York Times earlier this month. These articles feel fairly useless, or even frustrating, to any family without a nonworking summer parent, or to any parent whose child would seize on a planless summer as an excuse to stare at her phone for 14 hours a day. They seem downright bizarre to people who live outside the blue-state, coastal places where one kid's summer of camps—aimed at enhancing and enriching a developing mind—requires an elaborate sign-up strategy and $14,000 in fees. (Where I live, in Ohio, the most expensive camp in town sets you back $250 a week, and I've never had trouble getting my daughter a spot somewhere good enough.) But there's something fascinating about this newfound devotion to summer de-escalation, in search of a connection to a bucolic past. Sociologist Annette Lareau famously called the dominant ethos of upper-middle-class parenting 'concerted cultivation.' 'Summer kid rot' shows how part of cultivation is now, also, de-cultivation. We readers of many legacy-media parenting articles may not be MAHA, but we're certainly quite carefully antimodern. 'Giving your kids everything' has become 'Taking some things away'—day camp, structure, screens, your own overbearing cruise-director presence—in a carefully calibrated recipe meant to produce the very feelings I get when I remember running across the lawn at the tail end of a family friend's barbecue, at twilight on the Fourth of July. Yes, I know this makes it sound as if I grew up in a magic-light ad for a Republican gubernatorial candidate; in some ways, I kind of did. Surely some of my classmates were 'rotting' in the TV way, not the fireflies way. But it's too late: This is what a perfect childhood summer feels like to me. Edan Lepucki, a novelist and Substack writer, wrote a newsletter entry last year about her own plan to skip camp for her kids, making her an early adopter in the summer-rot space. Lepucki is a college lecturer who doesn't have to teach in summer, with a full-time remote-working husband, three kids (5, 9, and nearly 14), and relatives nearby for occasional child care swapping, located in a high-cost-of-living area. For her, the price of camp would have been exorbitant, so she saw the choice to skip it in 2024 as a pragmatic one. She's doing it again this year, with the exception of one week of camp and some family travel. How's it going? 'They're watching TV, reading, drawing, playing Barbies/figures, playing 'baseball' in the yard with a tennis ball and a wiffle ball bat,' she wrote in an email. She doesn't think of this as being the same as 'rotting,' and said she would not let her teenager sleep in super late every day or have the kids 'die on screens for hours.' (These particular kids don't have access to iPads or phones.) It was the way Lepucki talked about a no-camp summer in her Substack last year—'What is childhood if not long afternoons of sunshine and fun, your backpack cobwebbing at the back of the closet, homework a far off concept as you burnish an image of your brand new, back-to-school self? What paradise!'—that first made me wonder if I was doing enough to make my own kid's summers feel properly endless. This is the third year since my own child grew out of having preschool coverage for the summer months—the third year of her day-camp era. There are a few things that have made her summers very different from mine: She's an only child, like an increasing number of American kids. Neither parent is a teacher, like my dad was, with the summer off to drive kids around; our neighborhood is walkable, but until this year, she hasn't quite been old enough, by today's standards, to ramble around and look for kids to hang out with. Besides, most of the other kids we know are … well … at $250-a-week day camp. Despite all this, three weeks into summer, she's acquiring that spaced-out, blissful look; she's deep into piles of middle-grade graphic novels, discovering an affection for Nerds Ropes; she's running into friends at the pool when we go together on the weekends. I know, this is her life, and it's 2025, not 1900 or even 1983. I know it's ridiculous to put on a little Truman Show for her, to strip away just the right parts of modern life so she gets those good feelings I still return to at moments of unmoored anxiety. But even so, next year, friends and I are planning a 'rot camp.' We'll find a good week to leave our calendars mutually blank. One or two of us who work from home in a walkable neighborhood will serve as base. We'll text people we know, figure out what other kids are home; we'll give them some spending money so they can feel what it's like to choose what to do. Yes, we're trying to subtly plan out serendipity, a year in advance. Yes, we're concertedly cultivating. No, my parents didn't think nearly so hard about providing me with my own Happy Hollister days. So I promise that if the kids end up watching a little TV, I'll try to relax.