I always struggle with what to write about each month, because homemaking is such a big and personal subject! There are things that I think are important that other people do not think about at all, and there are things others find vital that I never bat an eye at.

I’m also terrible at a deadline (Vanessa, my editor, I am so sorry and I love you so much), and thought that some sort of series, where I knew months in advance what I’d intended to write, would be helpful as I tried to respect my editor more and submit things on time (this month, it did not work and again….I am so sorry and I love you so much). And thus, this series was born. Welcome to Worldmaking 001: For People Who Have No Clue Where to Start. This series is going to be practical. Yes, making a home is making new worlds, but how do you do it? How do you make your bed? How do you shine your furniture? When can you DIY it and when should you buy something extra strong?

I haven’t offered too much practical information because as I said, homemaking is personal! So a caveat for this week and every week: these are my opinions, and I’d love your opinions too! I’m imagining that we’re deep cleaning each room in Worldmaking 001–which means, you’re probably not going to need to do each of these things each week or even each month! Maybe you do some of these things only once a year, but it’s important that you have the know-how.

And now, let’s dive in, with the place most of us have access to and are responsible for cleaning:

If you take nothing from this series, please take my virgo insistence that you must make a list! You absolutely must make a list. Without a list, it’s so easy to get super fixated on one thing for too long and end up accidentally “tidying” your desk for 3 hours and somehow at the end, the desk is clean but the room is worse than you started with. A list helps; it might not fully prevent you from hyperfixating, but it’s a good motivator not to get too stuck on one thing!

Okay! You’ve made your list! You have your tools! Now let’s get to actually doing the do!

I start with these tasks because it’s easy to get out the way and makes a big difference in making it feel like you are in the process of cleaning. Set the timer for 25 minutes and go!

This is probably what you’re doing each week. I don’t know why, but I tend to start at the space farthest from my door and slowly move towards the door. Your mileage may vary.

Dusting and cleaning your windows will make your space feel fresher and brighter. It’s hard to explain, but it’s a noticeable change whenever I do these two chores. Give yourself 45 minutes to an hour for this, no more.

Your displays are so personal and special that I don’t want to tell you how to maintain them; your needs are not my needs!

The top of our mother’s dressers were alters, too.

— her name is cyn. (@cynfinite) January 14, 2021

We’ve all got clothes, and they last longer when we maintain their upkeep. It’s important for you and your clothes that you keep them clean and store them well.

Floors are not clean, there’s a reason we don’t tend to eat off them! But they can be clean enough. You do your floors last because all the dirt/dust you’re kicking up will eventually land here, so why not tackle it last?

Once you’re making your bed, you’ve made it. You’re so close to being done. Set a timer for 20 minutes and go. There are many styles to making a bed! Maybe you like a precisely made bed, maybe you like it to feel airy and loose, maybe you like turndown service! Do what feels good.

Light a candle, take a nap, invite over someone you might want to share the bed with! You did it. You deep cleaned your room, and it wasn’t so hard, was it? Yes, it took effort, but look at all the fun skills you’ve gained, and doesn’t it feel good to have a fresh and clean bedroom? I’m so proud of you!

Also, if you’d like to download the list and tools as a PDF, you can do so here.

Notes for a Queer Homemaker is a regular column that publishes on the fourth Friday of every month!

Ari is a 20-something artist and educator. They are a mom to two cats, they love domesticity, ritual, and porch time. They have studied, loved, and learned in CT, Greensboro, NC, and ATX.

Ari has written 329 articles for us.

i think the pdf link is missing!

thank you, it’s fixed now!

This is SO HELPFUL. Bookmarking for my next cleaning day!

There is something so deeply satisfying about a bullet point list. Thanks!!

I love this! I have just been getting into using baking soda for a bunch of things, but sprinkling it on the carpets and vacuuming it up had not occurred to me!

yeah! it’s so good for deoderizing!

You’re a genius. Virgo rising here. I was always wondering why I’m so bad at house cleaning, despite the fact that I’m quite ok with the act of cleaning, and I’m really good at cleaning/organising other people’s stuff/work stuff.

Overfixation. That’s the solution. And the resulting being stuck-ness. Why didn’t I see it??

You had me at list. I already feel that a list will solve this. I love lists. Why did I never make real lists for cleaning (apart from: clean room A, clean room B)?? I’m so stupid :-D

Now excuse me, I have to read the rest of the article–

The timer thing!!! That’s the bee’s knees or something. That’s brilliant!!

Also, the article is really interesting to see how different things are done in other countries. Never heard about baking soda on carpets or hospital folds.

so glad it was helpful!!

I’m about to move and this is super helpful to read for moving out cleaning/packing/ and setting up my new room for the most efficient future cleaning! But gosh my body CANNOT do this all at once, I honestly haven’t physically been able to deep clean for 2yrs now :/ But if you were to split this list into a 2 day situation, how would you do that? What is a good breaking point, like to wrap up for day 1 and then do a day 2?

Oh I absolutely love this question! I think I’d do sanitizing/prep work, tidying, and clothes on day 1, and dusting, floors, and fresh bed on day two. I’d wait to strip my bed and do laundry until day two!

Also, I’ve taken like…3-4 days to do this as well!

Okay yeah that makes sense to me! And I could totally see break that up even more! How exciting! Cause gosh I absolutely HAD a systemic deep clean practice years ago but have not been able to do it and been like welp… idk

oh my gosh this is SO useful – going to start picking away this list!!!

I’m so excited to use this on my upcoming staycation!

this post is everything I’ve ever wanted.

Just reading this makes me feel panicky. I might wait for the “good enough hacks for executive dysfunction” article instead :)

Holly I love this comment I love the honesty!

And what I want to add is that you do not have to do this in one day! Or two, or three or four! You could do one of these (someone mentioned cleaning their window screen and how much of a difference just doing that made!)

I think if you haven’t already read the cleaning for company column, that’s what i consider “good enough” cleaning, and hopefully something in there, or one easy thing from this gives you some inspo.

Love this!!! I have a pretty consistent weekly/biweekly/monthly cleaning system, but this was a great push to go ahead and do some of the more occasional stuff. A couple of favourites:

–where I live it is definitely not warm enough yet to leave the windows open for a whole cleaning session, but I did open them long enough to give the screens a vigorous rub, and I cleaned the just the insides of the panes, and it already feels like spring is a little bit closer with more light streaming in my bedroom

–setting an intention is not really my standard cleaning thing, but I went with it and it somehow clicked for me? Thinking about what I actually intended to do (get as much dust out of my bedroom as possible) helped me make choices as I went along and had to decide what I had time for and what to prioritize.

I know that reading about cleaning is not motivating for everyone, but it is for me, and I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this post/series.

glad this helped you!! also, yes the cleaning off your window screen and washing your windows hack is SUCH a game changer!

This is a really beautiful piece and I really appreciate it! I’m someone who (I like to think) is coming out of a hard couple years, and cleaning and reclaiming my space has been a big part of my healing. As you said here, cleaning can be intensely personal. I’ll get caught up in something I find that reminds me of another time and get so overwhelmed it becomes hard to keep going. This guide is really going to be helpful, and I love how it combines thoughtfulness and intention with practicality and cleaning. I can’t wait to see what else you write for this series, and undergoing this journey with others really does make me feel a lot less alone in it.

For fellow low energy disableds:

I’ve learned that the “put everything on the bed” thing becomes problematic when you will probably need to lie down mid clean, so instead I go around with a large laundry basket and a bin bag.

Trash hoes in the bin bag and Not Trash goes in the laundry basket. That way your bed is always free and you save a lot of energy walking back and forth between rooms, both when you’re picking things up and putting them away later

All the yes to this!

This is amazing. I just made and used the floor cleaner recipe — thanks!! I like it much better than the swiffer one I’ve been using.

I’ve never been good at deep cleaning, because I always get distracted by other things, but having this list-heavy structure and the timer hack is just perfect. Thanks, Ari!!

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