When you think about cleaning, most often you think about the big picture items that need done in a whole room—clean bathrooms, clean hallways, etc. These things need done, no question. But there are a few small tasks that you can do that make a huge difference in how others perceive your organization. Some of them are things that may be forgotten, and some of them may be things that are bridge fixes until a more intensive cleaning can be undertaken. Some of them may be small things that add up to big time savers. But they all make a difference.
1. Wipe Doorknobs
Doorknobs are something that people don’t really think about other than the fact that they allow you to open a door. But if you consider how many hands touch a doorknob in a day, you can see their importance. Wiping these and disinfecting them is very important. By cleaning these, you can keep germs from spreading and keep everyone in your organization happy and healthy.
2. Wipe Cabinet and Drawer Pulls
While they may not be as busy as doorknobs, they get handled a lot. Wiping them off is just as important as wiping your doorknobs.
3. Dust Picture Frames
Picture frames are also taken for granted. But they are one of the biggest collectors of dust. By wiping the glass and dusting the top, you can keep the dust to a minimum, keeping potential allergens down and reducing the likelihood of long-term damage to your interior decorations.
4. Dust Fan Blades
These need wiped off at least seasonally. Most people don’t think about them. They can gather dust, so dusting them off makes a big difference in cleanliness.
5. Wipe Counters
Part of a large cleaning project, especially in a bathroom or kitchen, is wiping counters off. But by wiping these from time to time between cleaning the entire room, you keep the surface cleaner and save yourself time in the long run by not having as much to do later.
6. Sort Your Recycling as You Get It
This makes a huge difference. Sort your mail, documents, or other materials at the time they are in your hand. Then place what you don’t need into a recycling container. By doing this, you can save yourself a huge task later. By doing this as you go, you won’t have an overwhelming stack of papers to go through.
7. Wipe Handprints or Fingerprints Off of Glass
This is a tiny thing to do, but simply spot wiping these off will make your glass look cleaner and present a more organized reflection of your organization. Many organizations will wipe their glass every hour or more to maintain this good impression.
8. Wipe Mirrors
Mirrors are similar to glass in that they are a large surface that a lot of people see. Wiping water splashes off of mirrors leaves the impression of a cleaner restroom or room in general. So, making sure that there aren’t a bunch of water spots on your mirrors is a small but effective cleaning task.
9. Clean Baseboards
While this may not be the first thing visitors see, this area of the wall is very important. It takes the brunt of any bumps or knocks that may occur. So it is the section most likely to have mud or dirt on it. By wiping these down, you make your walls look cleaner overall and make buildings look better.
10. Wipe or Dust Air Registers
These are areas that are prone to dust buildup since they have so much air and particles blowing past them all of the time. By wiping or dusting them, you make your room look cleaner and remove potential allergens from the environment.
11. Wipe the Back of Toilets
The back of a toilet is one of the areas that often gets missed in an overall cleaning of a bathroom. No one sees the back, and generally if there is a bathroom-related mess, the back of the base of the toilet is not involved. This is an area in which prevention is key to cleanliness. Bathrooms can be high-humidity zones and the back of a toilet can become mold heaven when not cleaned regularly.
12. Shake Rugs
This task should be done with some regularity when you deal with throw rugs. When you don’t have to vacuum these small bits of carpeting, you can either sweep up their accumulated dirt or vacuum it up with a larger carpet. By doing this, you can save yourself or your team time and effort. Little rugs are hard to vacuum and are more time-consuming. Save your staff hours of unnecessary work over the course of the year by adding this to your cleaning routine.
While this list is no way comprehensive of all of the little tasks that add up to big results in impressions on visitors, it includes a few things to think about doing to help keep your building looking its best.
