to ask for advice on how to clean a flat in three days?

[CoolToned]

I loathe cleaning, I really do.

We rent a one bedroom flat. It will be inspected next week.

I feel overwhelmed. Where do I start?

I'm thinking of doing it in small increments.

Put a timer on for 20 minutes and attack a room for that time. You might feel like continuing. If not take 10 minute break then do 20 minutes more.

Check out Unfuck Your Habitat website and Ap.

You can do it.

Well how bad is it?

My routine when the house needs a really good "going over" is to begin in the kitchen...you can't clean a house with a messy or mucky kitchen.

Wash and put away all dishes,
Clean counter tops, cupboard and drawer doors, tiles and floor.

Use CIF and bleach if there are stubborn stains or grease.

In the rest of the house, clear all clutter....put away in cupboards, drawers etc.

Look for areas of clutter and clear them. If you have stuff which has nowhere to store it, try to put it neatly in boxes and choose an out of the way spot or put it at a friends.

When all clutter and clothing is away...(you must make sure all laundry is away) then you can dust and wipe marks off doors and walls.

Hoover and use polish on furniture to get a nice smell.

Open all windows while you hoover.

You say "we". So get your co habitor involved too.

You don't need three days! You can do it in three hours! Well. 2.5h probably.

1h tidy
30 mins blitz the bathroom.
30 mins blitz the kitchen.
30 mins Hoover and dust and wipe any surfaces in bedroom and living area

Unless you've trashed the place and are living in squalor it isn't going to take long!

Unfuck your habitat has a section called unfuck your weekend and will probably be ideal for you.

www.unfuckyourhabitat.com/unfuck-your-weekend-day-1/

Clear clutter first - dirty dishes, laundry, old newspapers....

Start at the top of each room and work down: so with the kitchen, clean the top cupboard and the extractor hood before you clean the counters and the hob, then the lower cupboards, then the kickboards. If the floors aren't terrible, leave them to do at the last minute: clean, fresh floors make everything look better!

Tackle one room at a time, starting with the ones least likely to get messed up again before the inspection (bedroom? Hall?). The 20 minute timer thingy is good - put the radio on, and JFDI...

*You say "we". So get your co habitor involved too.^

This.

It'll take a day at most and that's with breaks.

Step one is a walk through with bin bags. Get all the rubbish out. Then pick a starter room to tidy. Your main living space is a good choice, or the kitchen. Tidy each room in turn. Bundle some jobs together. For example, if you put laundry away while doing the master bedroom, also put it away in other rooms unless its so messy that that would be impractical. Don't hoover a thing until all rooms are tidy. The bathroom should be the final job after the hoovering. Scrub the sink, floors and loo then clean the shower while you're in it washing the day's graft off yourself. I keep myself motivated by lighting candles / setting flattering lighting in each room I finish.

I would go room to room with a bin bag and fill with anything that needs throwing away. I find this is the best start for me because it makes a lot of difference in a short amount of time so it doesn't seem so overwhelming.

DP thinks I'm odd for this but I have a system where after the bin bag blitz I put everything that needs putting away, just general clutter, in one place in the room like our bed for example. I then clean and tidy everything else including hoovering before I put everything on the bed away. I do this because if the floor is lovely and clean I am more inclined to actually finish the room properly. It takes too long to get to that point by putting things away as I go along and I lose motivation. Sorry I'm really tired and not sure if I'm explaining properly, does this make sense?

No matter how much you hate cleaning it shouldn't take you 3 days to clean a one bed flat. You can do this OP!

My husband works during the week and when he tries to help during the weekend, he ends up cluttering the place even more.

I go to uni and have time. But I'm dreading it - I'm such a hoarder and the place is really messy.

hide stuff in the boot of the cars. put away as much as possible.

kitchen first. cooker top, sink, bin.

bathroom, loo, sink shower/bath, round the dusty ledges/pipes.

then go round and do the worst areas of the house next, remember that the hall, if you have one, is the first place they see.

don't forget the garden.

Check out the Flylady website, no need to sign up to emails or anything.

Click on her 'crisis cleaning' bit - it really works. I do it regularly.

Have NC for this because I'm so ashamed but honestly OP if you saw my house your flat would seem like a breeze. But, I've finally started today, 10 bin bags so far out of one room Top tip, if you're getting rid of a lot of rubbish start early enough to make the tip before it shuts, I felt really dispirited because I was too late and it just felt like all I'd done was move the mess into the hall instead. Then I realised I could shove it all in the car boot and do the tip run before I start again tomorrow, I swear I lose every scrap of common sense when it comes to this stuff, it just feels so overwhelming. Will follow this thread because I'm determined to get the place straight this time, good luck OP, you're not alone

I'd tidy away all the clutter, have a basic clean and then call a cleaner in

Is it messy or dirty? You're entitled to live in a mess if you want to. Your landlord gets no say in that. Also dust won't damage a property. Concentrate on the bits which, if neglected, can be damaged or affected. As Pp have said, tackle it bit by bit. One hour in the morning, one in the afternoon, one in the evening. That's nine hours in three days, plenty of time. It helps if you make your flat smell fresh, l too (if it doesn't already ). Bread / citrus / cedar etc. But seriously if it's "mess" rather than "dirt", you don't have to worry. They will be looking for any damage other than wear and tear, not judging you on your clutter.

If you are crisis cleaning, this is the time to throw your ecological values out the window. So don't waste time sorting recycling, or using half-ass natural cleaning products etc. Dump clutter and rubbish in whatever way is quickest, use the strongest cleaners you can tolerate to get stuff clean on the first wipe, etc. You can resume ecological living if you wish after the urgency has passed.

And tiny things that make a big difference - try to get flat surfaces as clear as possible. Wipe any grubby marks off lightswitches. Dust your skirting boards. And one big one - clean the windows inside and out. These will make the most impact in having your place give off a clean vibe.

My personal approach when I get overwhelmed is to start at one end/corner and just work my way through - so literally start at the front windows in the living room and deal with things as I find them - it just helps me get started and then usually a more practical and efficient approach kicks in as I go.

Do a room at a time, I'd start with the kitchen personally. Your husband should be helping - give him some deep clean jobs (bathroom) or get him doing tip runs.

I second starting with the kitchen. We just moved out of our two bed rental, and I did the whole thing in 14 hours. Go in each room and go top to bottom, if you are cleaning windows, etc. be ruthless if you can, get it in bags and out before you can think too much about it. Good luck

A one bedroom flat should take no time at all. But it sounds like clutter and hoarding are your main problems. Just remember the rules, if it isn't very sentimental, useful , or valuable - bin it. You can do this in a day if you're determined. Good luck.

I would start with the easiest room first, normally the bathroom. Get this sparky clean and this should give you a sense of achievement and motivate you to do the rest

Then do a room at a time
Start with a bin bag and clear all surfaces and chuck out all rubbish
Do you have enough storage?
If you need to keep stuff it really needs somewhere to live
If dh clutters , then just tell him he needs to put stuff away

Usually inspections are checking for cannibus factories/illegal sublets/dogs when says no pets etc. They don't need a show home

Giraffes really? I've rented for twenty years in various houses and never have I thought they were checking for cannabis farming!

They do things like check the shower's not mouldy...look at the carpets to see how they're wearing....check for mould and things like that.

Go to Wilkos and get some underbed storage boxes and put some clutter. Make use of the loft if you have one too. We had a declutter and i was brutal in that if we don't use it at least once a year then we got rid. If it was stuff we only use a few times a year they went in storage boxes. Tried to only keep things on view that we used day to day or weekly. Then for cleaning, roll up your sleeves and do bathroom and kitchen (including oven and fridge). Also winows if necessary. Get some plug in air freshners or scented candles too.