How to blitz a home that has got on top of you
A weekend, in short bursts. €22.70–€23.40 in sacks, gloves and products.

THE JOB

How to blitz a home, in order

1. 1

   Walk through and set up the sorting station

   30 min

   Use the section above to identify what you are facing, and stop if you find needles, a lot of waste or signs of an infestation. Open every window. Set up labelled sacks or boxes at the front door — general waste, recycling, charity, keep — and a box for documents and valuables. Put on thick gloves. Agree with anyone you are helping what may be thrown away.

   • Photograph the rooms now; the before-and-after keeps morale up
   • Have a separate bag for anything wet or rotten
   • Plan where full sacks wait for collection

   Mistake to avoid: Diving into one corner and cleaning it to perfection. Two hours later the rest of the home looks no different and you have run out of energy.

2. 2

   Clear the rubbish, room by room

   2–3 hours

   Starting with the kitchen, then the bathroom, then the rest, take everything that is rubbish or obviously waste off the surfaces and floors and into the right sack. Do not clean yet. Bag food waste and food-soiled paper for the brown bin; mywaste.ie confirms food-soiled kitchen paper goes there. Flatten boxes for recycling. Clothes go to the wash or the charity sack.

   • Never put your hand into a bag you cannot see into
   • Lift sacks with bent knees and do not overfill them
   • Take full sacks out as you go so the hall stays clear

   Mistake to avoid: Picking up a bag of rubbish blind. Broken glass, blades or needles inside can injure you — tip it out onto a hard floor first if you must check.

3. 3

   Make the kitchen work again

   2 hours

   Empty the fridge of spoiled food into a sealed sack, then wash its shelves in hot soapy water. Soak dishes in the sink while you degrease the hob, splashback and worktops; spray, leave a few seconds, wipe with a cloth soaked in hot water, as one degreaser maker directs. Wash up, dry and put away. Wipe press fronts, handles and the bin. Clean the sink last.

   • Keep the window open; smells from old food linger
   • Change the dishwater whenever it cools or greys
   • If the fridge smells, see the fridge steps in the deep cleaning guide

   Mistake to avoid: Spraying cleaners onto food residue that has not been scraped off. You are cleaning the dirt, not the surface, and it smears.

4. 4

   Make the bathroom safe

   1.5 hours

   With the window open and the bathroom gloves on, clean in a fixed order: mirror and glass, basin and tap, bath or shower, tiles, then the toilet last, with its own cloth and brush where the cleaner has been working. Rinse thoroughly. Use a descaler on scale only on acid-resistant surfaces, and never in the same session as bleach — the HSA warns the mix with some cleaners gives off a harmful gas.

   • Hot water and a scourer shift most grime; save the products for what remains
   • Bag old razors and bottles separately
   • Check under the sink for leaks or damp

   Mistake to avoid: Pouring bleach into a toilet that already has toilet cleaner in it. That is exactly the combination the HSA warns about.

5. 5

   Deal with bulky items and the waste run

   1–2 hours

   Sort what cannot go in a sack: furniture, mattresses, electrical items, paint and chemicals. Furniture in decent condition can go to a charity shop; the rest to a civic amenity site, and some local authorities run bulky collections for a fee. Electrical items go to a WEEE drop-off or civic amenity site. Paint and chemicals are hazardous and go only to a site that accepts them; mywaste.ie lists them all.

   • Book a skip if there is more than a few car loads
   • Keep chemicals upright and capped in the car, away from passengers
   • Never burn rubbish

   Mistake to avoid: Leaving bulky items in the garden for later. They become a second problem, get wet, and are harder to move.

6. 6

   Bedrooms and living rooms

   2 hours

   Now the rest. In each room: strip beds and start the wash; dust from the top with a damp cloth; wipe surfaces, sills and switches; vacuum the sofa and mattresses; then vacuum the floor. The HSE notes dry dusting spreads allergens, so keep the cloth damp. Air each mattress with the window open before making the bed with clean linen.

   • One room at a time, finished, door closed
   • Wash bedding at the temperature its label allows
   • Put things away into a place where they live, or into the charity sack

   Mistake to avoid: Moving clutter from room to room. If it has no home, decide now: keep and place it, or let it go.

7. 7

   Floors throughout

   1.5 hours

   With the floors finally clear, vacuum everywhere, edges and under furniture included. Then mop hard floors with a mild cleaner in warm water and a well wrung-out mop — barely damp on laminate and wood — working from the far rooms back to the front door. Spot-treat any carpet stains, testing the product first; heavy staining may need a carpet washer another day.

   • Change the mop water often; it will be dirty
   • Leave doors and windows open while floors dry
   • Keep pets and people off wet floors

   Mistake to avoid: Mopping before vacuuming. Grit and hair turn to a grey paste under the mop.

8. 8

   Wash the kit and yourself

   30 min

   Wash all cloths on a hot wash, the bathroom ones separately if your machine runs cool. Rinse the mop and buckets. Wash the gloves inside and out before taking them off, and wash your hands and arms well — the HSA's cleaning guidance stresses hand hygiene after contact with waste. Have a shower and a meal; you have earned it.

   • Throw out any cloth used on waste or droppings rather than washing it
   • Store products high and capped
   • Put the vacuum's dust in the bin outside

   Mistake to avoid: Reusing a cloth that touched rodent droppings or human waste. Bin it.

9. 9

   Set up a light routine so it holds

   20 min

   Write down three daily jobs — kitchen worktops and hob after dinner, a bathroom wipe, ten minutes of putting things away — and one weekly round. If you cleared for someone else, leave the list and the kit where they will see it, and talk about what help they need to keep on top of it. The regular cleaning guide sets out a routine in detail.

   • Keep the sorting sacks by the door for a week
   • Book the next waste collection now
   • Consider a cleaner for a few weeks while the routine settles

   Mistake to avoid: Treating the blitz as the end. Without a small routine, the home slips back within weeks.

1. 1

   Walk through and set up the sorting station

   30 min

   Use the section above to identify what you are facing, and stop if you find needles, a lot of waste or signs of an infestation. Open every window. Set up labelled sacks or boxes at the front door — general waste, recycling, charity, keep — and a box for documents and valuables. Put on thick gloves. Agree with anyone you are helping what may be thrown away.

   • Photograph the rooms now; the before-and-after keeps morale up
   • Have a separate bag for anything wet or rotten
   • Plan where full sacks wait for collection

   Mistake to avoid: Diving into one corner and cleaning it to perfection. Two hours later the rest of the home looks no different and you have run out of energy.

   Done — next step
2. 2

   Clear the rubbish, room by room

   2–3 hours

   Starting with the kitchen, then the bathroom, then the rest, take everything that is rubbish or obviously waste off the surfaces and floors and into the right sack. Do not clean yet. Bag food waste and food-soiled paper for the brown bin; mywaste.ie confirms food-soiled kitchen paper goes there. Flatten boxes for recycling. Clothes go to the wash or the charity sack.

   • Never put your hand into a bag you cannot see into
   • Lift sacks with bent knees and do not overfill them
   • Take full sacks out as you go so the hall stays clear

   Mistake to avoid: Picking up a bag of rubbish blind. Broken glass, blades or needles inside can injure you — tip it out onto a hard floor first if you must check.

   Done — next step
3. 3

   Make the kitchen work again

   2 hours

   Empty the fridge of spoiled food into a sealed sack, then wash its shelves in hot soapy water. Soak dishes in the sink while you degrease the hob, splashback and worktops; spray, leave a few seconds, wipe with a cloth soaked in hot water, as one degreaser maker directs. Wash up, dry and put away. Wipe press fronts, handles and the bin. Clean the sink last.

   • Keep the window open; smells from old food linger
   • Change the dishwater whenever it cools or greys
   • If the fridge smells, see the fridge steps in the deep cleaning guide

   Mistake to avoid: Spraying cleaners onto food residue that has not been scraped off. You are cleaning the dirt, not the surface, and it smears.

   Done — next step
4. 4

   Make the bathroom safe

   1.5 hours

   With the window open and the bathroom gloves on, clean in a fixed order: mirror and glass, basin and tap, bath or shower, tiles, then the toilet last, with its own cloth and brush where the cleaner has been working. Rinse thoroughly. Use a descaler on scale only on acid-resistant surfaces, and never in the same session as bleach — the HSA warns the mix with some cleaners gives off a harmful gas.

   • Hot water and a scourer shift most grime; save the products for what remains
   • Bag old razors and bottles separately
   • Check under the sink for leaks or damp

   Mistake to avoid: Pouring bleach into a toilet that already has toilet cleaner in it. That is exactly the combination the HSA warns about.

   Done — next step
5. 5

   Deal with bulky items and the waste run

   1–2 hours

   Sort what cannot go in a sack: furniture, mattresses, electrical items, paint and chemicals. Furniture in decent condition can go to a charity shop; the rest to a civic amenity site, and some local authorities run bulky collections for a fee. Electrical items go to a WEEE drop-off or civic amenity site. Paint and chemicals are hazardous and go only to a site that accepts them; mywaste.ie lists them all.

   • Book a skip if there is more than a few car loads
   • Keep chemicals upright and capped in the car, away from passengers
   • Never burn rubbish

   Mistake to avoid: Leaving bulky items in the garden for later. They become a second problem, get wet, and are harder to move.

   Done — next step
6. 6

   Bedrooms and living rooms

   2 hours

   Now the rest. In each room: strip beds and start the wash; dust from the top with a damp cloth; wipe surfaces, sills and switches; vacuum the sofa and mattresses; then vacuum the floor. The HSE notes dry dusting spreads allergens, so keep the cloth damp. Air each mattress with the window open before making the bed with clean linen.

   • One room at a time, finished, door closed
   • Wash bedding at the temperature its label allows
   • Put things away into a place where they live, or into the charity sack

   Mistake to avoid: Moving clutter from room to room. If it has no home, decide now: keep and place it, or let it go.

   Done — next step
7. 7

   Floors throughout

   1.5 hours

   With the floors finally clear, vacuum everywhere, edges and under furniture included. Then mop hard floors with a mild cleaner in warm water and a well wrung-out mop — barely damp on laminate and wood — working from the far rooms back to the front door. Spot-treat any carpet stains, testing the product first; heavy staining may need a carpet washer another day.

   • Change the mop water often; it will be dirty
   • Leave doors and windows open while floors dry
   • Keep pets and people off wet floors

   Mistake to avoid: Mopping before vacuuming. Grit and hair turn to a grey paste under the mop.

   Done — next step
8. 8

   Wash the kit and yourself

   30 min

   Wash all cloths on a hot wash, the bathroom ones separately if your machine runs cool. Rinse the mop and buckets. Wash the gloves inside and out before taking them off, and wash your hands and arms well — the HSA's cleaning guidance stresses hand hygiene after contact with waste. Have a shower and a meal; you have earned it.

   • Throw out any cloth used on waste or droppings rather than washing it
   • Store products high and capped
   • Put the vacuum's dust in the bin outside

   Mistake to avoid: Reusing a cloth that touched rodent droppings or human waste. Bin it.

   Done — next step
9. 9

   Set up a light routine so it holds

   20 min

   Write down three daily jobs — kitchen worktops and hob after dinner, a bathroom wipe, ten minutes of putting things away — and one weekly round. If you cleared for someone else, leave the list and the kit where they will see it, and talk about what help they need to keep on top of it. The regular cleaning guide sets out a routine in detail.

   • Keep the sorting sacks by the door for a week
   • Book the next waste collection now
   • Consider a cleaner for a few weeks while the routine settles

   Mistake to avoid: Treating the blitz as the end. Without a small routine, the home slips back within weeks.

   Done — next step

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