Many people carry a sense of shame when their home is messy, disorganized, or unclean, all of which are different things and all of which have other dependencies that need completed first, not realizing that they didn't fail to "clean," but more often than not, their space failed them at making cleaning accessible and efficient.
The cleaning pipeline is a 5-step process necessary to complete a cleaning task effectively and efficiently, and starts with design and construction, which sets up the space to be organized - a pre-requisite to tidying (which picks up objects from the floor and puts them where they "belong" thanks to organizing)- and finally, cleaned at the end of the labor pipeline. Each step can be defined in a measurable way.
Construction & Design
C&D is a pre-requisite task that's foundational for completing both the organization and cleaning tasks. Organizing a home requires storage space, flat & horizontal openings of materials for objects to be placed on, and futhermore fixtures made out of natural materials (i.e. stone, hardwood, glass) require their own sets of rules for being cleaned using chemicals and other materials. Everything related to the daily upkeep of your home starts with the construction practices and design stage. Our company can help plan home renovations to ensure that homes are setup for cleaning success (in older homes with few power outlets, vacuuming isn't easy or acessible to every area - refrigerators that are too close to a wall cannot be cleaned if doors don't open all the way, and tiny kitchen sinks are a great way to guarantee that you'll never be able to clean again without drenching your feet in water, or having to stack dishes in a pile that easily can be knocked over and damaged.)
De-Cluttering
Some categorize de-cluttering as a part of organization, but we think it's important to separate the 2 categories. De-cluttering is a hugely emotional process. It means to get rid of (to either donate, or throw away) personal belonging that no longer serve us, and our sentimental attachments to our belongings are not shameful. We've cleaned a lot of homes, and we appreciate everyone's living style whether its with 3,000 nick-nacks, mirrors, or hobbies scattered about, or whether a homeowner owns absolutely nothing, such that there is nothing in the home to be moved around. The personal choice is strictly that - personal. Creative personalities make us interesting personalities worth a conversation and connection with other humans, and minimalistic personalities give us breathing room to feel like our true selves. Regardless of your style, the point of de-cluttering is to remain conscious about what personal items actually serve your lifestyle. If the answer is "all of them," well, that's fine with us! If your belongings cause you stress, however, it's important to look into ways to utilize and appreciate your belongings that allow you freedom and enjoyment. The process of de-cluttering is working through the emotions and functional needs of your "stuff", while making decisions about how you feel most at-peace in your home. The later stages of the cleaning pipeline rely on being at peace with this critical stage that is de-cluttering.
Organization
Organization is a fundamental part of setting up homes for success to staying tidy, for the items that remain after de-cluttering. Organization is defined by the decisions that we make that rely on our emotional de-cluttering, but also physical construction and design decisions of the building. For example, the decision to use the left side of a kitchen split sink is a result of there being a split in the sink to begin with, and there being limited cupboard space. If there were no split sinks, there would be no motive for using the sink to store clean dishes...would justify accomodations like larger amounts of cupboard space instead, making dishes washing easier because your work area is bigger and more accessible. (Who doesn't want an easier time washing dishes, followed by a safe space to actually place clean dishes when you're finished?) With bigger sinks, one should be inspired to store their dishes in cupboards in a very natural way. Built-in shelving in a home allows for books, photos, plants, and other memorabila to be displayed without having to purchase new belongings. It's less wasteful. Organizing spaces utilizing what you already have built-in to the home is the best way to reduce waste, and save time and money.
Tidying
Tidying is the action of placing objects in their micro-homes that exist within your home, which was decided through organizing. If within the construction and design stage, a large built-in bookshelf were integrated into a living room, it would be easy to place books and memorabilia onto its shelves. Bookshelves are a perfect micro-home for books to be stored within the home, yet most homes do not build in this extremely basic function. For homes that don't have any type of shelving installed that's designed to withstand the weight of books...well, f-k your books, I guess? (We suggest lining up books along the floor of an empty/extra room, or contributing to landfills and wasting your time by purchasing another bookshelf that takes time and money to assemble, re-decorate with, and place smartly). This stage within the cleaning pipeline relies so heavily on organization already having been completed, which is limited to the constuction and design qualities of the building, that maybe you can feel the blockages in the cleaning process already backing up the pipeline from the start.
Cleaning
Finally! Our home is built and designed, and we've de-cluttered, organized, and tidied up. It took us 4 months to get here. Now that horizontal surfaces and floor space are exposed (trash is already thrown out, toys were picked up and put away into their homes, and books were put away), tripping hazards are removed, visual de-cluttering has allowed for a mental capactiy to actual think through our cleaning strategy, we can begin the cleaning process using our chemicals & materials knowledge (still reliant on the construction and design stage) to ensure that we don't etch marble or glass, stain or warp wood with standing water or colorful chemicals, and that our home ends up looking as beautiful as it ever was. The technical knowledge of cleaning chemicals and strategy can make the cleaning stage more efficient, effective, safe, and fun, but it all relies on the pipeline pre-requisites already having been in place. We could write a hundred aticles about "how to clean," but we leave the end of the description of our pipeline here.
Anyone who feels a sense of shame about the state of their home most-likely was raised and taught - or assumed - that cleaning is supposed to be "easy" and intuitive, which couldn't be further from the truth. Cleaning is a difficult task that relies on so many other dependencies (other, unrelated tasks that need to be completed before this one can be started). In fact, there are so many additional dependencies that we haven't listed such as grocery shopping and meal prepping, laundry, and obviously living your life around other timelines like work, health, relationships...why did we assume that managing the logistics and physical state of every surface, fixture, and object around you was supposed to be "easy?"
The truth is that regardless of whether you "clean as you go" (which doesn't make cleaning faster - just that all tasks in your life now take 30% longer to do, but constantly) or you let it buildup for a bulk-cleaning session every couple of weeks on a weekend, it makes no meaningful difference other than to whichever provides you peace of mind. Choosing one method over the other is not owed to anyone, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Call us to get help if you're in or near Pittsburgh! Throw your shame away, de-clutter your expectations - don't lower them, just define them), and work on it over time. There is no race. It's hard. It always was. And you're doing just fine.
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