Starting this on Friday for people who want to work on the branches over the weekend. Think of your home as a tree and each room is a branch of that tree.

First, break the house up into branches (manageable areas), which can be DEEP cleaned in a week's time.

For each branch, compile a list of all the tasks you'll need to do to get that room to SPARKLE! This includes cleaning, dusting and vacuuming the areas behind and under furniture, washing windows and curtains, etc.

Also, put together a Weekly Cleaning List to keep things looking good. Each week, finish your Weekly Cleaning THEN focus on doing some deep cleaning in this week's branch.

Cycle through the branches, one per week, to maintain a high level of cleanliness throughout the house.

Here's the schedule of Branches we'll be following:

Week 1: Entry/Living Room
Week 2: Dining Room/Laundry Room
Week 3: Bathrooms/Front Porch
Week 4: Kitchen/Back Porch
Week 5: Children’s Room/Guest Room + Closets for those rooms
Week 6: Family Room/Room of choice
Week 7: Master Bedroom/Master Closet
Week 8: All House Cleaning

Some sample "Choice" Rooms:
Office, Pantry, Craft Room, Garage, Attic, etc.

Make your master and individual branch lists work for YOU. The lists we share here are just our own examples; yours should be designed to suit your own home and situation.

If the branch you're working on needs decluttering, focus on that first. It's much easier to clean a room that doesn't have piles and boxes everywhere. Even if the whole house needs decluttering, this is a good way to focus on a room at a time on a regular schedule.

This isn't a competition. Just go at your own pace, as that will be exactly right for you. We are all here to support and encourage one another.

Start with a new branch each week. If you don't finish all the tasks on your branch list for the week, that's OK--you're already ahead of where you were before, and the unfinished tasks will still be there for you when you cycle back to this branch. If you finish early one week, you can go back to work on previous branches.

Good luck.
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Dropping in to just start this for all of you. I won't be on until Sunday probably.

Got the garage done with the help of the DD2 and the kids this morning! One of the boys put in the new solar lights in front also. It has been fun having them here to work! LOL

I'm jealous Diana, I need my kids here for several very big projects, they just can't seem to coordinate.

I'm glad it's kitchen/back porch week. I have one cabinet to tackle and would like to touch up the back door paint from the dog scratches.

Good time to clean the back deck, I already have cleaned the windowboxes, still have leaves on the deck to pick up. Too early to re-stain the deck, but will have to do that again this year.

No big projects and it's a good thing because I don't have a lot of free time in sight this week.

wipe down cabinet fronts
wash floors
wash chair cushion covers
dust lighting
dust shelves
change out winter for spring decorations

Kitchen cupboards and appliances have been wiped down. I have wiped all the surfaces including the pictures and skirting boards, vacuumed and mopped. Two shelves within the fridge have been cleaned I will do the rest before going on holiday.

Just going to ETE today and start on the kitchen tomorrow.
The cabinets need straightening and wiping down. Will clean all the appliances and that shoud do it.

The back porch can be swept, and had the boys bring up a chaise lounge and pad for me out of the shed so I can sit outside and read or relax. It has been in the 80s , in March (???) here this past week. I am loving it! I need to get some new chair pads and clean that table and chairs off. They really need a painting.....I'll think about it! They are wrought iron and need to be scraped and sanded before repainting.....

Fridge has been cleaned. See you all when I get back

I didn't plan to do the back patio, but weather up here has been crazy hot too. I mopped the patio, washed the table and chairs and wiped the railing. I sat for an hour while flipping through some magazines. It did wonders for moral. I then wiped the cabinet fronts, dusted the open shelves in my kitchen and changed out the decorations; out went the snowmen and in came the bunnies and fairy. Fleeling like I need new plants...

Have fun Karen!

Back porch for me is actually a screened porch. Planning a thorough vacuum and dusting on Thursday when I am cast-free and have 2 hands available. Need to pull down the matchstick blinds and bleach them from moisture accumulation over the winter as well. Will pick up a 5 gallon bucket and soak them while cleaning.

Kitchen needs some but not a lot of work. Big thing is mopping...again a 2 handed operation that can be tackled on Thursday. Still have a pile of baking dishes on the counter that need to be put away over the microwave. SO has promised that he will finish installing the wood babase so it will be level in there this week.

Dianaro, soo agree about the great weather...we have had high 60's and low 70's for the past week and it looks like it will be that way til Thursday, then we go back to 50 days and 35 nites.....aaarrrggghhh

Hmm - no back porch here. I will substitute sweeping the patio and cleaning the windows at the back of the house (as I did the front ones during the front porch branch).

Kitchen - cupboards are not too bad but could be reorganised if I get time, kitchen floor could do with a scrub and the worktop (which stains far too easily) could do with a deep clean.

Just thought - there are some bits down the side of the house some of which were here when we arrived and have to stay. But there are a few lidded boxes there (the old recycling system round here) and we might be able to repurpose those or neaten the pile in the meantime.

Enjoy your time away Karen!

BL:
I vacuumed the screend porch myself yesterday! It is part of the back porch also, the other side. Plan on wiping down the furniture tomorrow.

Vanilla Housewife:
You can do whatever you wish when their isn't a room that is suggested!

Cleaned a cabinet, and moved some painted wine glasses into the buffet, Took out some things, wiped the front of the cabinets and cleaned the inside. Have one more to do, that needs it and then I can do all the outsides of the cabinetts....also working on the screened in and back porch. Little each day. Am pretty well booked for the week.