Tips for cleaning your Reston home.Now that we’re nearly at the end of December, many people are thinking about resolutions for 2021. Maybe it’s the year to get fit or get enough sleep. Or maybe this is the year you want to get your Reston home in really great shape. But how? Most of us have experience with making lofty resolutions only to abandon them in a few days or weeks. Making lasting change is challenging. One of the best ways to ensure success is to have a plan.

Reston Real Estate Owners Make a Plan to Clean the House from Top to Bottom

Don’t start randomly attacking the junk drawer or a cluttered closet. Think first about which areas of your house need the most work. Or perhaps you want to start with the areas of your house where you spend the most time. Whatever you decide, list out the areas of your house in the order you want to clean them. Then block out the time to do it. How do you work best? Some people like to reserve a whole day for each room. Or an entire weekend, if you want to do several rooms. If that sounds exhausting to you, break the job down into smaller jobs you can tackle in 15 to 20 minutes.

Cleaning is great. It feels better to be in a room that’s sparkling and smells fresh. However, if you really want to keep things clean, decluttering is the key. It’s too easy to hide stuff you need to deal with in a drawer or cabinet, but then you don’t have places to put things you want to keep. Again, you need a plan. Most experts recommend decluttering, then cleaning. Some people might have better success with having a staging area. That is, a place where you can put the things you’re not sure what to do with while you clean the rest of the room. Either way is fine, as long as you do set aside time to deal with those things.

Once you’ve got a room decluttered and clean, reward yourself by putting up a photograph or piece of art that makes the room feel special. A simple bouquet of flowers from the supermarket can also enliven a space. These touches will help keep you motivated to keep your Reston home clean and clutter-free.

If you’re thinking of selling Reston real estate, having a plan for cleaning and decluttering will be the first step in the selling process. Give our office a call if you need to speak with a real estate agent!