How to Clean Like a Pro | CleansGreen Cleaning Checklist

Are you starting a cleaning business or just want to clean like a pro? Creating a cleaning checklist will help accomplish your goals, whether you are seeking to have a green cleaning business or just clean your house.

As a business owner you are able to increase the efficiency of your business. As an individual seeking to clean like a pro, you are able to increase the effectiveness of the limited and precious time you have.

Cleaning checklists are crucial because it is these details that make the result the most impactful.

In a green cleaning business, the cost of labor will far exceed any other costs of the trade. Hence a bit of planning and preparation will make all of the difference in the world! Realizing that time is money and paying attention to the details will ensure you have the time to do what you want. Your CleansGreen® Cleaning Checklist:

Time is Money

• Pick up before you clean. Without the distraction caused by out-of-place items, cleaning will fly.
• For maximum efficiency, clean one room at a time.  Stay focused, and clean that area thoroughly to avoid backtracking.
• Within each room work from the back to the front and left to right and top to bottom as you are moving your way around a room will ensure you are efficient yet comprehensive.
• Make every move count whether it is building the skill of using both hands or carrying your green cleaning products and supplies with you.
• Do not waste time, cut corners, or dawdle over the job; but stay focused on cleaning fast and cleaning right.
• Pros do not pause to follow television soap operas or check their e-mail. Turn off televisions and let the phone go to voicemail to stay focused on cleaning up … fast.
• Schedule cleaning as a job set up a regular weekly cleaning schedule.  Furthermore, do not quit until the job is done.

What does this mean practically?  You should always do the dusting first then do the vacuuming. Begin your dusting from the highest place in the room such as the shelves and top of the cabinets, moving further forward and lower as you move along. The dust you have not grabbed, but disturbed, will settle on the floor, where you can easily vacuum it away.  Dusting with a microfiber duster has proven to grab more dust than any other method currently available on the market.  A high quality one like the Fluffy Microfiber Duster by CleansGreen® will increase your productivity since it acts like a magnet!

Dress for Success

• Dress for the job, not for fashion.  As such comfortable, washable clothing that is designed for work. A cleaning apron with handy, well designed pockets keeps tools and supplies at their fingertips.  Supportive shoes and kneepads are recommended.
• Goggles, gloves, and other personal protective equipment (PPE) have been designed for a purpose, to protect against chemicals and other potential hazards.
• Use a bucket, tote, or basket and carry cleaning supplies with you so that you do not have to stop what you are doing to go find the right cleaner or cleaning tool (brushes, rags, duster) anything needed to finish the job is handy.  For the larger and bulkier items (vacuum, mop, mini-vac) keep them close to the doorway.

Invest in the Proper Tools and Supplies

• Do not get physical with your cleaning sessions invest in the best tools to get the job done.  Avoiding “elbow grease” as the cleaning method is a good thing!
• Want to be green and ecofriendly to the planet?  Focus on minimizing waste, for instance with the refill concentrate in reusable spray bottles and then dilute to create a perfectly balanced the ready-to-use rather than the standard buy and toss strategy.
• Color-coded, washable, reusable, high quality microfiber cleaning rags are worth the investment as they help to ensure the prevention of cross-contamination and reduce the inadvertent spread of germs.
• Additionally, color coded, reusable spray bottles speed up cleaning, as well since it becomes so easy to recognize the cleaner for desired for a specific task.
• Important to cleaning is removal of germs and pathogens.  An effective “spray and go” disinfectant is so much faster than the traditional disinfectant … the kind that you apply, wait the required dwell time (usually 10 minutes) followed by a through rinse.  EnviroCare Neutral Disinfectant is always my preferred selection!
• Invest in sturdy, well-made cleaning tools such as the Fluffy Microfiber Duster by CleansGreen® or a commercial bucket-less microfiber mop.
• Choose products that clean quickly and effectively while minimizing the exposure of cleaning solutions to your skin or surfaces (a.k.a., furniture / appliances).
• Starting with the CleansGreen® Cleaning Kit from Green Cleaning Products is a great way to obtain both the cleaner and high quality luxury color matched microfiber cloths.

Follow the Lead

• Think fingerprints.  Focusing on them will point you to the high use areas and ensure your cleaning is addressing the areas that demand the greatest amount of attention.
• Role model green practices starting with the purchase of efficient washing machines designed for minimal water use; limiting paper documents in your business, but using recycled paper when necessary; reducing the use of electricity by selecting Energy Smart PCs and laptops and switching to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in the office; adding power strips to eliminate idle current; as well as taking advantage of natural light whenever possible.
• Although many folks think that clean with vinegar and water is green cleaning.  Unfortunately it this combination is known to NOT kill any germs.  Using the EnviroCare Neutral Disinfectant is extremely cost effective with superior efficacy.
• As a green cleaning company or an individual homeowner, operational practices are as important as the selection of cleaning products.  For instance the “enviropaks” for the EnviroCare green cleaning product line have reduced packaging demands, ensuring proper proportions while simultaneously reducing the cost of transporting water.  So purchasing and use concentrated formulas.

Simplify

• Reducing the number of cleaners used will significantly ease your life.  Relying on a few multi-purpose solutions cuts time, money, and clutter in the cleaning tote.
• The world is full of so many choices that we get caught up in the “excitement of it all”.  Despite the potential to have a specialized cleaner for everything, this quickly becomes complex and time consuming, it is actually excessive and known to NOT be efficient.  While it might be equally tempting to do it all with just one all-purpose cleaner, the extra “elbow grease” required may cause more work and more time to achieve the same result.
• A nice balance is a set of core cleaners that targets specific aspects of the most challenging cleaning.  For instance the core five EnviroCare green cleaning products available from Green Cleaning Products are great:
  Tough Job as the degreaser (whether for body oils or the greasy kitchen stove)
  Glass Cleaner for a streak free clean
  Bathroom Cleaner to counter the soap scum and ureic acid commonly found in a bathroom
  Neutral Disinfectant to kill those nasty germs after the clean is complete
  All Purpose Cleaner as a general catch all for everything else.
  The pros know that these five simple products can handle any ordinary cleaning chore.

Two Hands are Better than One

• Investing in the proper tools are a start to ensure the critical green cleaning tasks are accomplished with less effort.
• Buddy up.  Cleaning as a team helps to stay on task and ease the boredom of a cleaning session.
• Learn to use both hands for as many tasks as possible.  For example, spray a mirror with one hand, wipe it down with the other or use the Fluffy Microfiber Duster by CleansGreen® with one hand and the vacuum with the other.
• Two people make a bed four times faster than one person working alone.
• In your home, make cleaning a family affair.  Fact (and an added benefit): family members are more reluctant to mess up a clean house when they have been part of the effort!

Think Long Term

• Conduct extensive initial training focusing on quality, consistency and the proper use of products, tools and practices
• A quick clean now is so much easier (and faster) than scrubbing later.  For instance a quick dusting of book shelves, picture frames, ceiling fan blades, lampshades, even baseboards today is so much easier than a scrub that requires you take it all apart, clean and reassemble later (or getting on your hands and knees in the case of baseboards).
• Tidy up now for next time when tools are returned to storage areas, totes tidied, spray bottles refilled and soiled microfiber cleaning cloths are sent to washer and dryer all enable you to hit the ground running next time.

As stated time is money. A fast, green, clean is the way to go! Just like Yoko Ono’s point, “Every drop in the ocean counts,” developing a green cleaning checklist to follow and ensuring every action has a purpose will make the difference between effectiveness and chaos.

Do you have other tips to share and add to this cleaning checklist that will help Green Cleaning Products or others to Clean like a Pro, as you do?