The basement is a very important space in the home.
People often think this is a place to store junk items.
Well, it turns out the basement is more important.
It is one of those spaces that easily gets dirty, if you’re not paying attention.
So, How Often Should You Clean The Basement?
The frequency at which you should clean the basement depends on the rate at which is being used and how fast it gets dirty.
THREE Reasons To Clean Your Basement
1. When It Gets Dirty
Let’s face it.
Basements do get dirty because this particular area of the house is usually a place for storing items.
How fast it can get dirty depends on the activity that is going on there.
For instance, if you often stash items in it, it can even become dirty in a matter of few weeks.
Also, if you are using it as a kid’s playground, it can become dirty in a matter of days.
So, as soon as you spot any dirt in the basement, it is a good idea to clean it off before it gets worse.
2. When You Want To Put The Space Into A Modified Use
Even if you have been cleaning the basement frequently, when you want to modify it for better use, it is advisable to give it a thorough cleaning exercise.
Say you want to create a nice home office at the corner of your basement.
This calls for a serious cleaning exercise.
You may want to include better decoration, declutter and even add a carpet altogether.
3. When You Want To Rid It of Unused Items
With continued use, the basement becomes piled up with items of any kind.
After a while, it may even become very difficult to access important stuff from the basement.
All you want to do at this point is to execute a complete decluttering.
GET RID OF ANYTHING THAT YOU’RE NO LONGER USING.
Other useful items may be returned in there but with better placement.
Of course, you must do the cleaning when arranging any of this stuff.
How to Clean the Basement
Getting your basement cleaned should not be a complicated task for you if you can stick to these simple steps.
First, you must determine where to start and what to start with.
In this section, we will get into a simple guide to help you do it precisely and leave your basement looking sparkling clean.
What Do You Need To Clean The Basement?
Every cleaning assignment requires particular tools.
You need ideal tools to ensure that the basement remains ambient once you are done with it. You want to do a job you will be proud of in the end.
You will need:
- A bucket or two
- Rubber brush
- Dish soap
- Gloves
- Muriatic acid compounds
- A large broom
- Dumpster
- Colored stickers
Cleaning Guide
1. Determine What You Want To Use The Space For
People use the basement in so many ways.
It can be used as
- the main family media space
- home office
- kids’ playroom
- or extra storage space.
You can use the basement for whatever use. So, start with knowing what you want to use it for.
From this point, rid the basement of everything else that seems to hinder the end goal.
A clear vision of how you want to use the basement will give you a hint on how you should approach the cleaning.
This also helps you to figure out what the basement is going to look like once you are done with cleaning and putting things in order.
2. Declutter
A thorough decluttering is the next big thing you should do.
People often use the basement to store all sorts of things. Honestly, it is the only place where you can be tempted to pile up all used and unwanted stuff.
We need to resist this temptation and put everything in order. It makes it even easier to clean the basement in the future.
When decluttering, get rid of everything that you no longer use.
Other stuff that is still useful should be placed elsewhere in the home where it should be.
If you have shelves and drawers, for instance, remove everything first.
Then proceed to select them one by one-disposing all those that deem unimportant anymore.
This helps you to pave way for effective and absolute cleaning. Your shelves and drawers equally need to be cleaned.
3. Execute The Actual Cleaning
The next big thing is to do the actual cleaning of the basement.
You have everything in place, so all you want to do is rid the space of every dirt.
Trust me, a messy space would otherwise be very complicated to clean.
Cobwebs often find their way into the corners of hanging stuff.
That is why a thorough cluttering should be done before everything else.
If your basement has windows, wash them properly.
These should include window blinds and tracks.
Pay attention to areas along the baseboards where dirt usually accumulates.
End with a good vacuum of space. In case you have carpets in there, deep clean them. The flooring surfaces should equally be cleaned with a proper cleaner.
4. Organize
Once it is clean and dry, you need to put everything back in order.
This time, sort everything properly. Use categories to sort them. Make sure that everything can be retrieved with ease in case you want to in the future.
You can designate a home office in the corners.
You can also designate another corner as a kid’s playground.
Other remaining areas can be designated for storage purposes.
But make sure that everything is properly put in place. Do not arrange stuff haphazardly.
5. Decorate
Finally, decorate your basement with some nice touches.
Most people often forego this step, especially in the basement.
It should not be a scary place where junk or unused items are thrown.
Make it look impressive and attractive.
All the same, decoration should not be a complicated task.
Even hanging decorative items and installing beautiful lighting, just to name a few, can greatly upgrade the feel of the basement. Add everything that is nice-looking for you.
Final Words
Do not ignore your basement. It is a very important space.
Organize everything properly and put them in a specific place for easy retrieval.
Decorate your basement to look smart and inviting. Clean it often to rid it of dirt.
Hopefully, this guide has been helpful. There you go!
